What makes certain foods ‘healthier’ than others?

We’re constantly bombarded with health claims from food companies. One year the trend is to write “Now with ADDED PROTEIN!!” on every product… next it’s something vague about antioxidants and added fibre. What does this all actually mean?

Ultimately, our bodies require nutrients to survive and thrive. Of these nutrients, the ‘essential nutrients’ are the ones that our bodies can’t create — we have to get them from our diet. One vital part of a healthy diet is getting these essential nutrients.

The World’s Healthiest Foods is a not-for-profit organisation with a great website on nutrition. It includes a list of 100 foods which are brilliant sources of the essential nutrients that we need, with a full (super detailed) page on each food. It gets pretty deep into the science but even if you just take a skim it’s a really useful guide for finding great whole foods that provide the nutrients that your body needs.