Say Yes To Five Forbidden Foods
By Kimberly Lord Stewart
Spring 2008
Did you know that simply thinking about certain foods – say, a cream-filled doughnut – actually may create enough mental stress and a blood sugar response to cause weight gain? This scientific revelation is clearly in life’s no-fair column.
The good news is that many foods once considered forbidden actually are good for you. But you knew there had to be a catch: You must eat these foods in the proper portions. Read the labels and perhaps do a bit of counting or measuring to know just how much is healthy to consume.
With this in mind, here is my list of formerly forbidden foods to include in your next shopping trip:
Dark Chocolate
Hallelujah! We can put away the outdated notion that chocolate is bad for our health. Cocoa phenols are known to lower blood pressure – but not from milk chocolate or white chocolate, only dark chocolate. In fact, research shows that the milk in milk chocolate (or when milk is consumed with dark chocolate) may interfere with the absorption of heart-healthy antioxidants.
For optimal health, buy natural cocoa rather than Dutch processed cocoa because the processing removes the phenols. Additionally, look for chocolate bars that are at least 70 percent cocoa. Keep the portions at one to two ounces – a little chocolate is healthy, but too much is not!
Foreign Fruits
This is the year of the “superfruits” – fruits from the tropics and
Food manufacturers are still playing around with the best ways to use these sweet and tart delights; so far, beverages are the most popular. These concentrated fruit juices can pack in the calories, so fill your glass with only about four to six ounces for optimum health and minimal calories.
Nuts
These addictive nibbles once resided on the outlawed food list for healthy eaters, but not anymore. Separate studies showed that eating about two ounces of nuts per week may cut heart disease by 25 percent to 39 percent. Why? Nuts are rich in healthy fats that improve cholesterol and heart health. For instance, the omega-3 fats in walnuts may protect against irregular heart rhythms. Also, all nuts are rich in arginine, a substance that may improve blood vessel function.
The health factor increases exponentially if you eat nuts with other healthy foods. Scientists now know that the body absorbs vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables more readily with the addition of healthy fats from nuts.
Cardiologists also suggest replacing other fats such as butter or margarine with nuts to obtain the optimal benefits without too many calories. Only two ounces of nuts per week is enough, preferably with no salt and no added fats from roasting. Healthful choices include almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, filberts, peanuts, pistachios and walnuts.
Carbohydrates
Remember the low-carb craze when breads and pasta were shunned? Do you recall when whole wheat bread tasted dry and gritty like sandpaper? Those days are over, thanks to the introduction of many new whole-grain breads and pastas that actually taste good – and they might even save your life. Medical research shows that men who eat whole-grain cereal at least seven times a week are 29 percent less likely to suffer heart failure than men who do not eat whole-grain cereals.
To identify 100-percent whole-grain products from imposters that are merely “made with whole grains,” look for the whole-grain stamp found on cereals, pastas, soups, entrées, breakfast foods, breads and snacks. Physicians recommend that adults eat three to five servings of whole grains per day (three to six servings per day for children).
Tea and Coffee
Perhaps you’ve heard that coffee and tea are medical pariahs responsible for everything from cancer to liver disease. The latest research refutes such claims and even elevates the two beverages to health-food status.
The change of heart, so to speak, was sparked largely by studies that show the antioxidants in coffee and tea boast remarkable health properties. Tea contains polyphenols that reduce heart disease (green tea is higher in these antioxidants than black, though both are beneficial). The role of coffee and heart health is perhaps less known and more surprising: Coffee helps reduce cognitive decline as you grow older, may help reduce liver disease and is good for the heart.
There are several caveats: (1) Consume only about three cups per day of coffee or tea, and switch to decaf if the caffeine causes your heart to flutter; (2) Use a paper filter in your coffee machine, since it filters out cholesterol-raising kahweol and cafestol; (3) Skip the milk, because milk can negate the healthy properties of both beverages; and (4) Stop smoking if you drink coffee, because researchers have found that the two do not complement each other. They aren’t sure why, but smokers who drink coffee exhibit higher rates of heart disease than smokers who don’t drink coffee. So quit smoking, or at least stop drinking coffee if you smoke.
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Kimberly Lord Stewart is the wife a retired naval officer and author of “Eating Between the Lines,” a supermarket shopper’s guide to the truth behind food labels (
