In a game of chess, the King is the most important chess piece on the chessboard. Given that he can only move one space in any direction, he is not exactly the most tactful piece on the board. The King’s greatest assets are the other board pieces who strive to protect him. Any threat and he is placed in checkmate and the game is over. The Queen, like the King, can move in any direction. However, she is not limited to just one space. She can move any number of spaces. For this reason, she is considered the most powerful chess piece on the chessboard. The game is not over when a player loses their Queen, but a player is considerable disadvantaged without their queen!
Content and context
The phrase ‘Content is King’ implies unique, good quality and relevant content is pivotal to the success of written material. But without context, content is meaningless. To use the same metaphor, we could say that ‘Context is Queen.’ In writing, if content is essential, then context is quintessential.
Context with food
Many get caught up analysing each and every individual food. “Are eggs good?” “Is white bread bad?” However, there are no ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods. “Is butter healthy?” “Is white bread unhealthy?” Maybe. Maybe not. Here, the answer is not straightforward. Many factors, such as lifestyle, health and likes/dislikes, need to be taken into account. The white bread is the content. But we also need to consider it in the context of the whole diet and personalized health needs.
White bread may be judged as being non-nutritious. However, white bread may be a means with which to enjoy other foods. For example, removing bread will impact on sandwiches with a multitude of sandwich fillings. Choosing to forgo bread may also mean forgoing curries and soups. So, if bread is removed, other nutritious foods may also be affected.
Demonising white bread and removing it, may also result in it being replaced with less nutrient dense choices. Furthermore, removing choices creates less variety and ultimately creates monotony with food. A sandwich made with seasonal fillings offers variety, excitement and something different to look forward to throughout the year. A muesli bar is a muesli bar, all year round.
Word to the wise
When we question whether a food is ‘healthy’ or ‘good’ we are considering a food in isolation. But we don’t eat foods in isolation. Nutrition is not the sum of the nutrients in an individual food. Nutrition is the sum of the nutrients of all foods eaten. With our eating pattern, we need to consider content and context.
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