White Foods Don’t Actually Deserve Their Bad Rap

Pasta meal
Photo by Kelsey Curtis on Unsplash

Have you ever heard the phrase “eat the rainbow”? There is a persistent belief that color equals nutrition and therefore white food is bad or unhealthy. However, that is a myth. Many people avoid potatoes, pasta, milk, and other white foods, but according to dietitians, that is not necessary at all. Here’s why white foods should be a part of a healthy eating plan.

Categorizing food as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in general isn’t very practical. In reality, no food is bad, it’s all about moderation and how you incorporate it into your healthy eating plan. Granulated white sugar, for example, isn’t the most nutritious choice, but it doesn’t mean you have to cut it out of your life completely. The 2020-2025 dietary guidelines for Americans set a maximum daily limit of 10% of total daily calories from added sugar.

The same is true for other white foods, including some fresh produce, which some people tend to avoid. One medium potato provides 30% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C, plus carbs and potassium. Pasta has gotten a bad rap because it’s usually eaten in very large portions. But if you opt for enriched wheat pasta or whole-grain pasta, and swap the tomato sauce for cooked vegetables and chicken strips—that is actually a very nutritious meal. 

The bottom line is all food can fit into a healthy eating plan. It just depends in how you use it in your meal.