Cultural food deserves to be seen as healthy

Markouk Bread being hand-made and stacked in a Lebanese Bakery

When people think of “healthy food,” they often picture something bland and Western: plain chicken breast, steamed broccoli, maybe a salad with no dressing. Meanwhile, dishes from other cultures rich curries, delicious wraps and pastries, fragrant stews, rice bowls packed with herbs and spices get labeled as “heavy” or “unhealthy.”

The truth? Many of these so-called “unhealthy” ethnic dishes are loaded with nutrients, fiber, protein, and health-boosting spices. But because the recipes are complex and the nutrition info isn’t available, they get unfairly written off. Trust me - it was shocking to me as a person of Lebanese Heritage growing up in Canada when I found out that the most nutritiously dense and tastiest bread that existed in our grocery stores here in Canada happened to be the “Markouk” bread that I grew up thinking was heavy due to socitial misconceptions.

It’s not that the food is less healthy, it’s that the numbers aren’t there. Without transparency, people assume the worst, and a shawarma can often be overlooked in favour of a plain pre-packaged chicken wrap at the grocery store that happens to have calories listed.

This is exactly why nutrition transparency matters. It’s not just about calories, it’s not just for people who track their calories, it’s about giving every cuisine, every chef, and every small business the chance to show the real value of their food.

Because health doesn’t only come in beige.