Foods dancers should avoid

Raise your hand if you’ve ever walked out of the studio with just one thought on your mind: a big, juicy cheeseburger. But raise your other hand if instead of getting that burger, you opted for a hearty salad or stir-fry.

While dancers need to fuel their bodies with nutrient-dense meals and snacks, plenty of foods get an unfair bad rap.

“The diet culture in this country vilifies various food groups as being bad while championing others as good,” says Kelly Hogan, MS, RD, CDN, clinical nutrition and wellness manager at the Dubin Breast Center at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Usually singers, prior to a performance or audition, will try to avoid dairy products such as milk or cheese due to their 'phlegmy' effect on.

“But black-and-white thinking like that has no place when it comes to food.”

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Some foods have less nutrition than others, admits Hogan, but if you’re eating what you crave and honoring your hunger and fullness cues, she says you’ll probably get the variety of nutrients your body needs.

Here are seven foods that can have a place on your plate—guilt-free.

Pizza

Pizza can be very satisfying. Photo by Brenan Greene/Unsplash

Why people think it’s bad