A Simple Way to Think About Food: My Three-Bucket Framework
Patients ask me some version of "what should I actually eat?" more than almost anything else. My honest answer isn't a diet — it's a simple sorting system I use myself, most days, without much drama. I think of everything on my plate as falling into one of three buckets: the foods I treat as non-negotiable, the foods I try to keep to a minimum, and everything else, which I'm free to enjoy. Here's how I use it.
Bucket 1: The non-negotiables
These are the whole, minimally-processed foods — vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, nuts, plain proteins — that I try to build every day around. I don't think of them as optional any more than I think of oil changes or brushing my teeth as optional; they're basic maintenance.
The target I keep in my head comes straight from the World Health Organization: at least 400 grams of fruit and vegetables a day, in a good variety of colours. That's roughly 5 servings — easy to picture as a small bowlful before each of three meals.
Why this bucket matters: whole plant foods bring fibre, potassium, and a wide range of plant compounds (often grouped as flavonoids and polyphenols) that laboratory and population studies link to lower inflammation and better long-term cardiovascular and metabolic health. I want to be careful here — this is an area of active, evolving research, and no single food or compound "cures" or "prevents" any disease. The honest, defensible statement is simply: diets built around a variety of whole plant foods are consistently associated with better health outcomes over time. That's a strong enough reason on its own.
Bucket 2: The ones I keep small
The second bucket is ultra-processed food — the stuff built in a factory more than grown on a farm, engineered with combinations of added sugar, refined starch, salt, and fat designed to be very easy to overeat. Think sugary drinks, most packaged snack foods, fast-food combos, and processed meats eaten as a daily habit rather than an occasional one.
I want to be precise rather than alarmist about this bucket. These foods aren't "poison," and one bag of chips won't undo anything. The evidence is about pattern, not single instances: diets that lean heavily on ultra-processed foods are, on average, associated with higher risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease over years — likely because they're easy to overeat and tend to crowd out the whole foods in Bucket 1. So my rule isn't "never" — it's "less of, more of the time." I frame it as less of rather than never, because absolutism is what makes people quit.
Bucket 3: Discretionary — still on the menu
Everything else — the dessert, the good bread, the glass of wine, the birthday cake — is discretionary. Once the fundamentals in Bucket 1 are reasonably in place, I don't think these foods need to be earned or feared. I eat them mindfully and moderately, and then I move on. Food is also culture, celebration, and pleasure, and a framework that leaves no room for that isn't one anybody can live with for the long run.
Why I like thinking this way
The appeal of the three-bucket approach is that it's not a diet with a start and end date — it's a lens for an ordinary Tuesday. I'm not counting or forbidding anything; I'm asking, "did I get my non-negotiables in today, and did the processed stuff stay in the background rather than taking over?" Most days, that's enough.
A note for anyone with a medical condition
This is general, healthy-population guidance — a starting lens, not a prescription. If you have diabetes, chronic kidney disease, are on blood thinners (vitamin K in leafy greens can matter here), have a history of disordered eating, or are managing any other condition affected by diet, please personalize this with your own physician or a registered dietitian. General frameworks aren't individual medical advice, and in some conditions the "more vegetables, less processed food" default needs real adjustment.
General information, not a substitute for individual medical advice. If you have questions about how this applies to you, talk to your family doctor.
— Dr. Carlos Yu, Ajax Harwood Clinic