Better Health & Living
Bad Foods You Should Be Eating
New research has discovered that some of the yummy things we've been avoiding are really good for us. Go figure!
Published in food+nutrition •eating_right •METRO •METRO Story | 0 Comments, Talk about this article »
Eggs and shrimp have too much cholesterol. Nuts will pack on the pounds. Oils are bad for your heart. For years, we’ve been warned to treat many of the foods we love as if they were marked with a skull and crossbones. Order a bubbling omelet for breakfast or bring a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, and others will look at you in horror as if you’d just jumped out of an airplane without a parachute.
As it turns out, we’ve been avoiding foods that new research says are actually healthy for us. So rest assured: You can put these formerly scary foods back on your shopping list.
Shrimp Concerns
Has worry about high cholesterol caused you to give up ordering a shrimp cocktail with a special meal or enjoying peel-and-eat, spicy shrimp while watching your favorite team on the tube?
Like eggs, shrimp have gotten a bum rap because they’re high in cholesterol. Also like eggs, shrimp are low in saturated fat and don’t contain trans fats—the real culprits in raising levels of “bad” cholesterol. So it was really no surprise that a recent Rockefeller University study showed that eating shrimp not only didn’t increase total cholesterol, it also decreased levels of triglycerides, a type of blood fat that contributes to heart disease. What’s more, shrimp won’t wreck your diet—there are only 84 calories in a 3-ounce serving.
Eggs: Villains?
Eggs got a bad rep because of the 213 milligrams of cholesterol they contain. Since cholesterol is linked to heart disease, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that we eat less than 300 milligrams daily. It’s understandable that a food containing almost an entire day’s allotment would wind up on the untouchables list.
But avoiding eggs altogether turns out to be misguided nutritional advice for most people. Eggs are a great (and cheap) source of protein and may even contribute to eye health. And they’re not as dangerous as you think.
One reason that eggs aren’t a dietary disaster for most people is that their cholesterol forms large particles…
“At least one egg a day is OK,” says Robert J. Nicolosi, PhD, director of the Center for Health and Disease Research at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. (Even the AHA is on board with that advice.) Dr. Nicolosi and his research team showed that when otherwise healthy people over age 60 eat one egg a day, their cholesterol doesn’t rise. In 2007, a study at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey looked at more than 9,700 U.S. residents, ages 25 to 74. Researchers found that those who ate six or more eggs a week had no greater occurrence of coronary artery disease or strokes (high cholesterol contributes to both) than people who didn’t eat eggs. The only ill effects showed up among people with diabetes; they had more heart attacks.
One reason that eggs aren’t a dietary disaster for most people is that their cholesterol forms large particles, which move quickly through and out of the body; the smaller cholesterol particles in other foods such as meat and full-fat dairy foods enter artery walls more easily. Plus, they’re low in saturated fat, which has been linked to heart disease.
What’s more, eggs provide significant amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin, nutrients that build up in the retinas of the eyes and prevent age-related macular degeneration. They also reduce cataract development, says Dr. Nicolosi, who eats two poached eggs every day for eye health. While lutein and zeaxanthin are also found in foods such as spinach and in dietary supplements, research shows they are far more available for use by the body when they come from eggs.
Oil Change
All oils are 100 percent fat, so they’ve been lumped together as foods to fear. Yet our bodies need fat to function. In fact, U.S. government guidelines recommend that we eat some fat—up to 20 to 35 percent of total calories. Of course, most of that should be good-for-you monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (from fish, nuts, and vegetable oils), not bad-for-you saturated or trans fats (from meat, full-fat dairy foods, and baked goods).
There are several good oil options. “Canola oil is one of the lowest in saturated fat,” says Penny M. Kris-Etherton, RD, PhD, a researcher in nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Kris-Etherton coauthored a 2007 study showing that simply substituting canola oil and canola oil-based margarine for other oils and spreads in cooking helped 9,000 Americans achieve recommended levels of healthy fats in their diets while decreasing their intake of saturated fat. Canola oil can be used in salad dressings and for baking and frying.
Don’t stick to just one oil, though. “Choose a variety of oils—canola, olive, sunflower,” advises Dr. Kris-Etherton. Read the nutrition label carefully for types of fat (all oils have the same calorie count). “Look at the total amount of trans fat and saturated fat, and do your comparisons that way,” she says.
Nut News
Yes, they’re loaded with fat and calories, so of course, people who snack on them weigh a ton. Wrong! In his studies of people who nosh on nuts, Purdue University’s Richard D. Mattes, MPH, RD, PhD, found that “the people who ate nuts generally had lower BMI,” or body mass index, a measure of obesity. Dr. Mattes is also coauthor of a 2007 study showing that women who ate 300 calories worth of almonds daily for 10 weeks gained no weight, nor did their body-fat percentage increase.
The reason for that is simple: Nuts are filling. People who eat them “spontaneously eat less at other times of day,” Dr. Mattes says. “That offsets two-thirds to three-quarters of the calories.” A few studies also have suggested that eating nuts regularly raises your resting energy output, burning more calories.
Also, the fat in nuts is the healthy kind—monounsaturated fat that’s good for your heart. Just keep track of how many you eat. A handful of almonds (about 21) has roughly 160 calories, and if you’re not careful, that can add up.
What About Chocolate?
Yes, it’s true, chocolate is healthy—lowering blood pressure and helping your cardiovascular system. It doesn’t even cause acne. But gorging on its goodness can supply too much sugar and fat, so keep portions small (a 1.5-ounce bar of dark chocolate with 230 calories will supply all the antioxidants you need). Just adjust your daily calorie and fat intake accordingly.
Freelancer Robin Warshaw enjoys all of these foods regularly.
Related Articles
Eat Healthy For Less
Posted by Colleen Pierre, RD5 Minute Breakfasts
Posted by Elizabeth Somer, RD3 Weeks To A Sculpted Body
Posted by Marianne McGinnisBeef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Posted by Meredith Deeds
» Advertisement «