Good News About Bad Foods

Some foods get a bad rap for no good reason...chocolate for example; public enemy number one among the health-conscious may not be as harmful as we think. While chocolate's high in fat, calories, and sugar, it also contains cancer- and heart disease-fighting antioxidants such as flavanol. Some researchers also speculate chocolate is a mood booster: it contains an amino acid called tryptophan, which the body uses to produce serotonin, the feel-good hormone.

Heart attack survivors who eat chocolate twice a week cut their risk of dying from heart disease. Investigators at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, studied the diets of 1,169 heart attack patients, tracking them for eight years. Remarkably, they found those who ate chocolate at least twice a week were three times less likely to die from a second heart attack than those who ate no chocolate.

This doesn't mean you should go crazy and gorge on chocolate at every meal and in between or bathe in chocolate....Just eat it a couple of times a week. And, choose dark chocolate : it's purer, less fatty, and most nutritious - melt it over strawberries, bananas, and other fruits
Avoid: supermarket checkout chocolate bars filled with marshmallows, nougat, and other fatty fillers. Buy the solid chocolate.

Eggs: Another myth

According to a well known nutritionist and reseacher Zannat Reza, it's time to get cracking. Eggs may be high in cholesterol, but they usually don't negatively affect the blood cholesterol levels of most people. People with heart problems or high cholesterol levels should talk to their doctor about how much they can consume. Eggs are also low in fat and packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and protein.
Choose: boiled or poached eggs, which are low in calories Eat your eggs served with whole-grain toast, fruit, or vegetables. Avoid fried eggs served with bacon, sausage, ham, and home fries.

Cheese:

"Some people are concerned about the saturated fat levels in cheese, but on the whole, cheese is very nutritious," Reza says. Cheese is high in calcium, protein, vitamin A, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and more, and its bone-strengthening qualities help prevent osteoporosis. Choose hard cheeses such as cheddar and mozzarella - "they're flavourful, so you don't need a lot to enjoy it," Reza says. Eat your cheese with crackers or with fruit such as grapes, apples, berries. Avoid processed cheese slices, low fat cheese and non fat cheese. They are not flavorful and we tend to eat bigger portions of them to feel satisfied. So eat cheese but keep your portions small.

Beef:

Heart patients should keep their beef consumption to a minimum but don't eliminate it from your diet. Healthy people can enjoy it without fear, in moderation.Many people avoid beef with its high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol, but beef also contains 14 essential nutrients, especially iron, vitamin B12, and zinc, Reza says.
"Beef is important for brain development and for thinking clearly and functioning properly," she says.

Choose lean cuts of beef with a minimal outer layer of fat or lean ground beef.If you can, get grass-fed beef - it's lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Avoid fatty T-bone, prime rib cuts and steaks slathered in butter and cream sauces.

Nuts:

Go nutty over nuts! They may be high in fat, Reza says, but it's monounsaturated fat - the cholesterol-lowering kind found in olive and canola oil. They also contain vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, which fight heart disease and high cholesterol.
"Eaten in moderation - a handful a day - nuts are very good for everyone," Reza says.
Choose a handful of unsalted, dry roasted, or unprocessed nuts for a snack or nuts sprinkled on your salad, cereal, or yogurt.
Also natural brands of peanut butter without sugar, salt, or other additives are healthy. Again, and it bears repeating, 'in moderation.'

So eat and enjoy the so-called bad foods but not, hopefully, all in the same meal. Remember,moderation,moderation.