Choices — And Why That’s Dangerous!
Scroll through Instagram or WhatsApp for five minutes and you’ll find absolute statements
about food.
Sugar is poison.
Carbs are the enemy.
Seed oils are toxic.
This superfood will fix everything.
The problem isn’t curiosity.
The problem is how easily opinions are accepted as truth.
Social media thrives on extremes. Nuance doesn’t trend – fear does. A single reel can
declare a food “bad” without context, dosage, metabolic differences, or clinical relevance.
Over time, repetition creates belief. Suddenly, nutrition becomes moral: good foods vs bad
foods, clean vs dirty, right vs wrong.
But biology doesn’t work in absolutes.
As a sports and clinical nutritionist, I see the fallout of this every day. People aren’t
confused because they lack discipline – they’re confused because they’re drowning in
misinformation. One week fats are villainised, the next week carbohydrates. The body,
meanwhile, still needs balance, timing, and adequacy.
So where does the truth lie?
The truth lies in context -your age, hormonal phase, gut health, activity level, medical
history, and cultural food patterns. A food that is harmful in excess or in the wrong
metabolic state can be neutral or even beneficial in another. No single reel can account for
that.
This brings us to an important but uncomfortable concept: there is no perfect food system –
only lesser evils.
In an ideal world, we would eat fresh, seasonal, minimally processed food at every meal. In
the real world, people eat packaged food, eat out, travel, work long hours, and manage
stress. The question is not “Is this food perfect?” but “Is this the lesser metabolic damage
compared to the alternative?”- To simple it – Which out of it is lesser evil for my body ?
For example:
Is a small amount of a low-GI sweetener better than repeated sugar spikes?
Is a packaged protein option better than skipping meals entirely?
Is controlled convenience better than chaotic restriction followed by bingeing?
Nutrition is about RISK management, not PURITY.
Social media often sells certainty. Science deals in probability.
The smartest dietary decisions are rarely dramatic — they are boring, consistent, and
PERSONALIZED.
Before accepting any food claim online, ask:
For whom does this apply?
In what quantity?
Under what conditions?
And compared to what alternative?
Because in nutrition, the goal is not to be perfect.
The goal is to choose what harms you the least and supports you the most – consistently.
Hi, I am Pooja Ahuja, Clinical and Sports
Nutrition Consultant, With over 9 years of
experience and treating PCOS, Hypothy- roidism, Diabetes, Hypertension etc
and Marathoners, triathletes, boxers, squash players have been my clients. The beautiful synergy only happens with great Supple-ments, and looking at lighter side of the life.
Founder: Nutrishastra, Lower Parel.
a newspaper for residents of Malabar Hills.
