Efficiency is not everything when it comes to nutrition. Once someone is beyond being able to procure enough food to survive, utility is important to quality o

Efficiency is not everything when it comes to nutrition. Once someone is beyond being able to procure enough food to survive, utility is important to quality of life and long term health. What sort of utility? 1) Total caloric intake depending on if the goal is maintenance, weight loss, or weight gain. 2) Macronutrient split depending on specific health and/or performance goals. E.G. high protein for strength trainees. 3) Micronutrient split and density for general health and/or to correct deficiencies. For example, many people are Vitamin D deficient. 4) Mental health. An extreme approach to diet can create eating disorders and may lead to social isolation. As with most things in life, there is a cost/benefit equation associated with nutrition choices, and focusing purely on efficiency most certainly has its costs - some of which are not obvious. Those costs can have a negative impact on short-term and long-term health. Health is easy to take for granted - until there’s an issue. The point of my post? I hope that the takeaway from this article isn’t: “make cost efficiency your primary goal in food selection,” but rather, “carefully evaluate your specific situation, establish nutrition goals, and treat food intake like a solution to a problem - just make sure the problem(s) are very well defined.” This advice applies to those that have the discretionary funds to facilitate this level of selectiveness, which I’m guessing applies to most people reading this.