follow the 80/20 rule
but de santis, who often has a small bag of potato chips with dinner, cautions that these foods are only problematic if they’re being consumed so much that they displace more important foods like lean proteins, nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables, and fibre-rich carbohydrates. healthy and sustainable eating “is not about demonizing certain foods” or a restrictive diet, but developing a healthy relationship with food, he says.
“there are a lot of people who are burdened by fear over food and have a poor relationship with food where there is going to be collateral damage or unintended consequences of this for their health,” he says.
as a general guide, he recommends the “80/20 rule”: you eat healthy 80 per cent of the time and indulge 20 per cent of the time.
“as the study authors said, if people can reduce the highly processed food to 23 per cent, the number of premature deaths would drop, says de santis. “the science really bears out that the 80/20 rule is a legitimate concept with nutrition.”
some healthy options to reach for
“legumes like lentils help lower blood sugar levels and lower blood cholesterol levels and they’re very filling — high in nutrients that people tend not to get enough of, like magnesium, potassium, calcium, fibre,” he says. “you can also buy them as a roasted and salted snack that’s a very, close replacement for chips if you’re looking for a snack.”
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