Variety: Good or Bad?

Variety is a recommendation we hear all the time from nutrition professionals, as a cornerstone of a healthful diet. But what if variety can actually make you gain unwanted weight?
 
Research shows the variety of dietary choices in the U. S. has increased exponentially just in one generation. When I was a kid, there was less than ½ an aisle each, on just one side, for breakfast cereal, crackers, cookies, and salty snack foods. Now, a typical grocery store has a full aisle of each, and it’s not uncommon to see shoppers selecting several types of each food, for a nice “variety”.
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The problem is, once home, we eat more when we have more choices! Why have a chocolate chip cookie when we can have it as well as a pecan shortbread, oatmeal, and sandwich cookie?
 
Just One Thing to do: Choose a variety of fruits, vegetables and protein sources, but limit cereal, crackers, and snack foods to one type at a time.

​Bonus: See what the experts have to say about dietary diversity.