Have you ever scarfed down a buttery slab of toast without feeling guilty? Or knocked back a brewski for the health benefits? This may sound like an alternate diet universe, but new science is revealing that some of our most-feared foods and drinks actually arent so bad for us and can even do a body good.
The truth is, there are very few truly bad foods out there, says Karen Ansel, a NY-based, registered dietitian. You can eat the vast majority in moderation and still have a really healthy diet.
From stronger bones to better weight control, heres a closer look at the surprising virtues of our biggest dietary vices.
Those creamy yellow centers have long been feared as a cause of clogged arteries. Theyre among natures richest sources of dietary cholesterol, packed with about 200 milligrams apiece. Newer research, however, has found that the cholesterol we eat doesnt have much effect on the cholesterol that ends up clinging to blood-vessel walls.
We now know that its actually saturated fat not cholesterol in foods that raises levels of blood cholesterol, says Ansel, nutritionist and author of Healing Superfoods for Anti-Aging.
An egg yolk contains about 1.6 grams of saturated fat a mere 10th of what most people can safely consume in a day. Not to mention, yolks are loaded with nutrients such as vitamins D and B-12.
That likely explains why a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association of roughly 40,000 men and 80,000 women showed that even people who ate a whole egg every single day had no increased risk of heart disease. So you can skip the whites-only omelet, unless you really love the taste.
Theres no question that overdoing the booze can have harmful effects on health, whether from accidental injuries or liver disease. But emerging evidence suggests that an occasional pint of beer may do a body good. In an analysis of 100 commercial brews, scientists at the University of California, Davis discovered that beer (especially hoppy varieties, like IPAs) is surprisingly high in silicon a key contributor to bone strength. In a separate 6-year-long study, published in 2016, researchers at Penn State found that light to moderate beer drinkers retained higher levels of heart-healthy HDL cholesterol over time than teetotalers did.
To reap the benefits (and avoid a harmful buzz), Ansel advises women to cap their intake at one 12-ounce bottle per day, while men should stop after a second round. Either way, bottoms up.
This decadent condiment became public enemy No. 1 way back in the 1960s, when a large preliminary study seemed to uncover a link between overall fat intake and poor health. What the public didnt realize, however, was that shady bigwigs in the sugar industry were secretly paying researchers to cast fat in an unflattering light downplaying the negative effects of sugar on the heart, says NY nutritionist Keri Glassman, founder of Nutritious Life.
To be clear, butter will never be a health food, per se. But experts now say its not a bad way to dress up your steamed veggies. A 2016 study at Tufts University officially declared butter a neutral food neither nutritious nor evil with no discernible link to stroke, heart disease or diabetes. That makes it way better for you (and better-tasting) than man-made margarine, which traditionally has more harmful trans fats.
As with butter, weight-conscious eaters have long avoided full-fat versions of milk, yogurt and cheese in hopes of avoiding extra pounds. After all, the whole-milk versions are way higher in calories than their skim-based cousins. But heres tasty news for cheddar fiends: Adults who regularly nosh on whole-milk dairy are actually less likely to battle obesity than folks who skip the creamy stuff, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This builds on a 2013 meta-study in the European Journal of Nutrition that searched for weight-gain effects of dairy fat and came up empty.
Some scientists speculate that bioactive substances in milk fat keep human metabolism humming, despite the higher calorie count. And compared with skinny versions of dairy, the fatty stuff unquestionably is more satiating, Glassman says. In short, you feel fuller on less and for longer. For reassurance, read nutrition labels to ensure you enjoy just a single serving (and not the whole pint) of your favorite Ben & Jerrys.
Wake up and smell the health perks: Once denounced as a drink that could dehydrate the body, strain the heart and stunt growth, coffee is enjoying well-deserved redemption among wellness pros. Those old myths simply arent supported by modern science, says Bob Arnot, M.D., author of The Coffee Lovers Diet (William Morrow, out now).
In fact, people in one 2012 study who guzzled up to six cups a day were less likely than coffee skippers to die of coronary artery disease. That same year, the New England Journal of Medicine followed up with a study of nearly 905,000 adults and found that regular coffee drinkers were less likely to die due to any cause whatsoever.
One possible explanation is that java delivers a mother lode of inflammation-soothing antioxidants, especially the disease-fighting plant compounds known as polyphenols, according to a 2004 study published in the American Journal for Clinical Nutrition.
The most antioxidant-rich beans are lighter roasts grown in high-altitude equatorial regions such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia and Brazil, Arnot says. For optimal extraction of coffees healthy compounds and better flavor he recommends the pour-over brew method using water thats just shy of boiling.
Conventional wisdom once held that too much salt in the diet triggers hypertension and ratchets up the risk of strokes and heart attacks by ballooning blood vessels with retained water. Luckily for potato chip lovers, sodium really doesnt work that way.
Were starting to understand that we probably had it wrong about salt 40 years ago, when federal intake guidelines first took shape, says cardiovascular researcher James DiNicolantonio, Pharm.D., author of The Salt Fix (Harmony Books). Since then researchers have learned that sodiums action is buffered by other nutrients, such as the potassium found in bananas, watermelon, sweet potatoes and black beans. No wonder a large Canadian Journal of Cardiology study concluded in 2014 that the dangers of excess sodium are exaggerated.
In general, adults can safely have up to 6,000 milligrams of sodium a day with no ill effects, DiNicolantonio says more than the 3,000 to 4,500 mg most Americans now consume. But if you have a medical condition that necessitates slashing salt, such as kidney disease, the most efficient way to cut back is to simply cook and salt your own meals, as overseasoned restaurant and packaged fare accounts for a whopping 71 percent of sodium in the American diet.
Tough to believe theres anything good to say about this stuff. In 2015, the World Health Organization declared red meat a probable carcinogen, generating a fearful wave of vegetarians in its wake.
What the headlines didnt say is that the report had major limitations. In the fine print, its authors admitted that they had limited evidence and couldnt rule out bias or chance to explain their conclusions. In addition, they lumped together all red meat, putting lean cuts such as pork tenderloin in the same category as additive-filled beef jerky and baloney.
Red meat can be part of a healthy diet.
Well, the science is finally catching up and offering tasty reassurance for anyone craving a burger right now. In 2016, scientists at Purdue University crunched the numbers from two dozen clinical studies and found that eating up to three 3-ounce servings a week of minimally processed red meat does not affect short-term cardiovascular disease risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol.
Packed with protein and niacin, red meat can be part of a healthy diet, says Lisa Young, Ph.D., a registered dietitian and nutrition instructor at New York University. Iron is another big perk: To get the same amount of iron in one 6-ounce burger of 85-percent lean beef, youd have to choke down more than 4 cups of kale.
For maximum benefit, opt for red meat that doesnt contain extra ingredients. Grass-fed varieties tend to be more nutritious, research shows. And dont leave your steak on the grill too long compounds in blackened meat may be harmful to health (and dont taste good anyway).
Originally posted here:
These 'unhealthy' foods don't deserve their bad rep - New York Post
