Today I want to talk about dietary diversification.

Nutrition is both complex and very simple. My must-haves for healthy eating are as follows. Everything else that’s labeled “healthy” is either an extra or a cheat meal for me.

My “must-have” list below shows my daily diet from the food group I consume most to the least.

Colorful, varied vegetables and one piece of fruit a day

Eggs, legumes, or seasonal fish (meat for those who eat it)

Seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, etc.), nuts, oils

Very small amounts of whole and gluten-free grains (not every day)

Dairy products (a piece of cheese during the day or yogurt 1-2 times a week)

Now, let’s get to what I really want to talk about this week. First, I want to list some questions I’ve received.

Is it okay to eat 2 eggs every day?

Should I eat walnuts every day?

Should I have greens every day? And so on…the list goes on. It’s one of the questions I get asked very often.

No matter what food it is, nothing should be eaten every day, continuously, for years. For example, eggs… Yes, they’re a great and healthy source of protein, but if we eat two eggs every morning for 10 years, our bodies might react negatively. Allergies and intolerances usually develop this way.

So, what should we do? The best approach is to alternate our breakfasts: one morning an egg breakfast, another morning just a colorful salad with cheese, another morning oatmeal, and so on.

Even if we follow the flow of nature and the seasons, we still wouldn’t be eating the same thing every day.

I was chatting with my mother recently when she told me something that left me astonished. She’s been eating tomatoes every morning for 15 years. Without fail, every single morning… I couldn’t believe it, I asked her again and again. “Where did you find them in the winter?” I asked, and she said, “I bought small cherry tomatoes.” She’s currently experiencing some stomach problems, and we were discussing her routines. When I suggested she try giving it up for a while, she said, “I can’t have breakfast without tomatoes.” Maybe this is the underlying cause of her stomach problems; we’ll see, and in this world, you can live without almost anything. Such a strong dependence on a particular food can have other underlying reasons, and that might require a separate discussion. I’ll even talk about that sometime…

These examples can be multiplied. The body can react to things done continuously every day. It’s necessary to change things up and provide a variety of foods.

For example, eating meat every evening… Changing protein sources daily, sometimes using plant-based proteins (legumes), sometimes animal-based, diversifying dairy products (goat or cow’s milk), varying vegetables according to color and season, changing suppliers, brands, and even the water we use from time to time will be good for the body.

This diversification also makes eating more fun and offers more options. We don’t get bored eating the same things every day. Most of my meals and plates are created this way. This mindset also increases creativity in the kitchen.

The best range is a diet that diversifies vitamins and minerals from different sources, according to the individual’s body.

I wish everyone healthy, happy, and sugar-free days with plenty of options and a wide variety of choices.