Opinion: Why Is Eating Healthy So Difficult?

It’s the age of the internet. Just a click of a button will let you know ‘why you aren’t losing weight’ (spoiler alert: it’s your diet) or what that headache that just won’t go away means. You’re probably not dying, but it’s not too difficult to find an explanation that makes death a valid option. As for eating healthy? There’s plenty of information on that too.

Scrolling through my newsfeed during a bathroom break (as one often does) I came across a video titled “This Is Why Eating Healthy Is Hard”. The video, uploaded by Funny or Die shows a ‘time travelling dietician’ who visits a man in the 70’s who is sat down to eat breakfast to give him advice from the future on what he should or shouldn’t eat. You can watch the entire video below.

The problem is – his advice keeps changing. First, eggs are bad for you, then just the yolk is, then it turns out that they aren’t bad for you at all. Sound familiar? The BBC recently published a report which found that coconut oil may not be a ‘healthier’ option. Unsurprisingly, this left many shook. This came close on the heels of another report which had stated coconut oil was good for you.

With so many opposing opinions, new studies popping up all the time, and the easy access we have to this information it doesn’t come as a surprise that eating healthy is difficult – like, really difficult. Almost any new study or finding of a new ‘super food’ can be disproved as easily as it can be substantiated.

However, do we care to do the research? Is the even research worth it? Regardless of the mumbo jumbo, some things remain the same. Sugar is undoubtedly bad for you and exercise is always good. Has the time come to disregard the ‘current’ popular notion of what eating healthy entails? The time-travelling dietician seems to think so – and so do I.