Do Humans Still Know What They Are Supposed to Eat?

Sometimes I genuinely wonder whether humans still know what they are supposed to eat.

We consider ourselves the most intelligent species on the planet. We have sent people to the moon, built machines that talk back to us, created artificial intelligence, and carry powerful computers in our pockets. Yet when it comes to food, something we deal with every single day, we appear permanently confused.

One day carbohydrates are described as dangerous. The next, they are declared essential for brain function. Coffee is unhealthy until it suddenly becomes a superfood. Eggs were once portrayed as a shortcut to heart disease, only to be rehabilitated later as protein-rich heroes of the breakfast table.

There is always a new diet competing for attention. Keto, paleo, vegan, carnivore, Mediterranean, intermittent fasting, and others that seem to involve mostly restriction and regret. Cookbooks continue to sell in large numbers, while social media fills with carefully styled meals and confident claims about gut health, balance, and optimization.

Despite all this guidance, many people remain hungry, uncertain, or quietly eating something they feel guilty about because it does not fit the current plan. Eating, which should be one of the simplest parts of daily life, has become an ongoing negotiation.

It does make you wonder whether we have overcomplicated things. Perhaps food was never meant to come with constant debate and shifting rules. Early humans probably ate what was available, cooked it, and moved on with their day. There was no label, no lecture, and no sense of dietary failure.

This is not an argument for abandoning modern knowledge or returning to primitive living. But it would be refreshing if eating did not come with instructions, warnings, and a moral scorecard.

At this point, a meal that does not argue back feels like progress.

So tonight, I am having toast. Just toast. No analysis, no research, and no checking whether it is currently approved. Sometimes, that feels like the most sensible choice of all.