5 "Bad" Foods That are Actually Healthy

decides2dream

http://health.yahoo.com/featured/80/5-b ... y-healthy/

5 Bad Foods That are Actually Healthy
By Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief, Prevention

What am I happy about today? Science really has rescued some of our "naughtiest" foods from the taboo list. New studies suggest that former no-no's like red meat, ice cream, and cheese may add to better health and longer life. This isn't an excuse to go out and binge on every burger you see—overdoing calories and saturated fat is an invitation to obesity, clogged arteries, cancer, and diabetes. But indulging in these once-forbidden treats once in a while (and in waistline-friendly 400-calorie portions) may actually boost the health of your diet.

1) Ice Cream
As long as you choose the right ice cream, you'll get a very impressive dose of calcium for your bones and your blood pressure. Look for a variety with 15% of the Daily Value (DV) for calcium in every 1/2-cup serving-about the size of a tennis ball. Stick to this amount if you're eating calorie- and fat-loaded premium ice cream (one with 250 calories or more per 1/2 cup). But if you're eating regular or low-fat brands, 1 cup is a more realistic serving size. If you can't keep a half-gallon on hand, go to an ice cream shop and buy just one scoop.



2) Chocolate
Chocolate, especially the dark or bittersweet kind, is rich in flavonoids, antioxidants that protect your heart by preventing blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots that could cause a heart attack. But even milk chocolate is good: A typical 1.5-ounce bar packs as much antioxidant power as a 5-ounce glass of red wine. If you crave a daily dose of chocolate, stick to about 100 calories' worth. That's about four Hershey's Kisses or two individually wrapped mini or fun-size bars such as Nestle plain chocolate or crunch. Or dilute your chocolate with other flavors: Mini peppermint patties are only 35 calories each, so have three!


3) Cheese
The exciting news about cheese--except the fat-free kind--is that it contains a special kind of fat called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, that scientists are investigating as a new weapon against breast cancer. And all that concentrated calcium--300 mg, as much as a glass of milk, in just 1 1/2 ounces of Cheddar--is a boon for bone health. Finally, there's your smile: Eating hard cheese at the end of a meal can protect your pearly whites from tooth decay. But keep in mind that cheese contains cholesterol-raising saturated fat--1 1/2 ounces of Cheddar packs 9 grams. For most women, that's more than half of the saturated fat that you should have in a day, so stick to 1 1/2 ounces, max.



4) Beef
Beef is one of the richest and best-absorbed sources of zinc, a key mineral in your immune system's fight against many enemies, from viruses to cancer. Getting enough zinc is also critical for appetite, taste, and night vision, yet only half of adults over age 50 come close to the DV of 15 mg. Still, plate-size portions of fatty meats such as hamburger and prime rib are loaded with saturated fat, which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk. A restaurant-size 14-ounce sirloin steak has 27 g of saturated fat--nearly twice the saturated fat that women should have in a day, so stick to a 3-ounce portion, which is about the size of a computer mouse or a bath-size bar of soap.



5) Pizza
Pizza recently got rave scientific reviews for fending off prostate cancer. Pizza sauce delivers tons of lycopene, a carotenoid found at high levels in the blood and prostate of men with lower rates of prostate cancer. And the cheese provides calcium, which helps build bone, lower blood pressure, and inhibit colon cancer. Choose two slices of thin-crust veggie pizza, which weighs in at just 300 calories (add a side salad for a 400-calorie meal) and 2.5 g of saturated fat.



:thumbup:

mikalina

Hi, thanks for the info, its great to be able to cheat on a diet. I love dark chocolate (1) small peice every day !!! :P

Claireack

Fab - cheese and chocolate, brilliant!

awilkins

Cool, I guess; but food science scares me and I'm a vegetarian.

Rygar

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/besttreatments/2010/feb/15/are-chocolates-supposed-health-benefits-simply-too-good-to-be

DPrival78

decides2dream wrote:

http://health.yahoo.com/featured/80/5-bad-foods-that-are-actually-healthy/

:thumbup:

easily my favorite article ever.

Digital Twilight

I was hopeing a donna kebab was gonna be on there but i guess it was a long shot

RW81233

This sounds about right (except the pizza), but note the portion sizes...they are basically like take a bite and that's all you get. On the pizza are they suggesting that you get tons of lycopene from processed tomato sauce? If so that's just bullshit, that's why Heinz had to remove their lycopene claims from ketchup bottles (I think you'd have to eat like a bottle of ketchup to get the needed lycopene). As one of the others on here said, be wary of "food science", especially if it comes from a big food front group that's paying of scientists to find favorable evidence to buying more food.

-Buru-

good news, but keep to quite small portions

so maybe news are not as great as they could be

decides2dream

RW81233 wrote:

This sounds about right (except the pizza), but note the portion sizes...they are basically like take a bite and that's all you get. On the pizza are they suggesting that you get tons of lycopene from processed tomato sauce? If so that's just bullshit, that's why Heinz had to remove their lycopene claims from ketchup bottles (I think you'd have to eat like a bottle of ketchup to get the needed lycopene). As one of the others on here said, be wary of "food science", especially if it comes from a big food front group that's paying of scientists to find favorable evidence to buying more food.

idk if they are suggesting you get TONs, just that you DO get SOME. and for the record, ALL tomato sauce, even homemade, is 'processed'.....processed, in and of itself, is not a dirty word....it simply means the whole food has been altered in some way, in this case...turned into a sauce. and heinz probably was asked to remove that language b/c yea, while ketchup does contain lycopene, you'd have to eat soooo much of it, thus a regular serving of ketchup would have a negligible amount. 'processed' tomatoes...as in sauces, cooked, etc...actually contains MORe lycopene than just a raw tomato. something about a tomato being cooked actually releases more of the compound. so yea....even pizza can be 'healthy'...but just as you, and the article i might add......clearly points out portion size; 2 thin-crust veggie slices.

i am not wary of food science. sure, there is bias in just about everything but if i consistently read information in more than a few sources stating the same/similar information, then i think there's some truth in it. and i think the article clearly points out not to indulge often, and also to be very controlled in your portions. pretty straight-forward. honestly, same thing you read over and over - portion control, and that truly...no food should be viewed as 'bad' or verboten, and that sure...even some indulgences have some good points to em.


as to the chocolate, again...i've read about the flavinoids in dark chocolate more than a few times, so i tend to believe the benefits.....and sure, in moderation.

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

in a month they will have an article explaining why this one is junk, then a month later there will be another article saying that it really is good for you, then a month later another one exposing it as a myth, then.... you get the idea.

81

i don't see beer on the list.

Rygar

81 wrote:

i don't see beer on the list.

It's there. #6.

decides2dream

81 wrote:

i don't see beer on the list.

red wine is consistently on this list...so i'm a happy dreamer.
tho with that, the caveat of one drink per day if female, two drinks per day if male. :evil: wtf?

LikeAnOcean

decides2dream wrote:

81 wrote:

i don't see beer on the list.

red wine is consistently on this list...so i'm a happy dreamer.
tho with that, the caveat of one drink per day if female, two drinks per day if male. :evil: wtf?

Just drink a bottle a day like the French. They live much healthier lives than us!

RW81233

decides2dream wrote:

RW81233 wrote:

This sounds about right (except the pizza), but note the portion sizes...they are basically like take a bite and that's all you get. On the pizza are they suggesting that you get tons of lycopene from processed tomato sauce? If so that's just bullshit, that's why Heinz had to remove their lycopene claims from ketchup bottles (I think you'd have to eat like a bottle of ketchup to get the needed lycopene). As one of the others on here said, be wary of "food science", especially if it comes from a big food front group that's paying of scientists to find favorable evidence to buying more food.

idk if they are suggesting you get TONs, just that you DO get SOME. and for the record, ALL tomato sauce, even homemade, is 'processed'.....processed, in and of itself, is not a dirty word....it simply means the whole food has been altered in some way, in this case...turned into a sauce. and heinz probably was asked to remove that language b/c yea, while ketchup does contain lycopene, you'd have to eat soooo much of it, thus a regular serving of ketchup would have a negligible amount. 'processed' tomatoes...as in sauces, cooked, etc...actually contains MORe lycopene than just a raw tomato. something about a tomato being cooked actually releases more of the compound. so yea....even pizza can be 'healthy'...but just as you, and the article i might add......clearly points out portion size; 2 thin-crust veggie slices.

i am not wary of food science. sure, there is bias in just about everything but if i consistently read information in more than a few sources stating the same/similar information, then i think there's some truth in it. and i think the article clearly points out not to indulge often, and also to be very controlled in your portions. pretty straight-forward. honestly, same thing you read over and over - portion control, and that truly...no food should be viewed as 'bad' or verboten, and that sure...even some indulgences have some good points to em.


as to the chocolate, again...i've read about the flavinoids in dark chocolate more than a few times, so i tend to believe the benefits.....and sure, in moderation.

they do say that you get a ton in pizza, but anyway it looks like we agree on most everything else. i love food and have started studying and learning about it as much as i can so this is pretty useful.

Leathe?ma?

81 wrote:

i don't see beer on the list.

I believe beer should share first place with pizza

decides2dream

RW81233 wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

RW81233 wrote:

This sounds about right (except the pizza), but note the portion sizes...they are basically like take a bite and that's all you get. On the pizza are they suggesting that you get tons of lycopene from processed tomato sauce? If so that's just bullshit, that's why Heinz had to remove their lycopene claims from ketchup bottles (I think you'd have to eat like a bottle of ketchup to get the needed lycopene). As one of the others on here said, be wary of "food science", especially if it comes from a big food front group that's paying of scientists to find favorable evidence to buying more food.

idk if they are suggesting you get TONs, just that you DO get SOME. and for the record, ALL tomato sauce, even homemade, is 'processed'.....processed, in and of itself, is not a dirty word....it simply means the whole food has been altered in some way, in this case...turned into a sauce. and heinz probably was asked to remove that language b/c yea, while ketchup does contain lycopene, you'd have to eat soooo much of it, thus a regular serving of ketchup would have a negligible amount. 'processed' tomatoes...as in sauces, cooked, etc...actually contains MORe lycopene than just a raw tomato. something about a tomato being cooked actually releases more of the compound. so yea....even pizza can be 'healthy'...but just as you, and the article i might add......clearly points out portion size; 2 thin-crust veggie slices.

i am not wary of food science. sure, there is bias in just about everything but if i consistently read information in more than a few sources stating the same/similar information, then i think there's some truth in it. and i think the article clearly points out not to indulge often, and also to be very controlled in your portions. pretty straight-forward. honestly, same thing you read over and over - portion control, and that truly...no food should be viewed as 'bad' or verboten, and that sure...even some indulgences have some good points to em.


as to the chocolate, again...i've read about the flavinoids in dark chocolate more than a few times, so i tend to believe the benefits.....and sure, in moderation.

they do say that you get a ton in pizza, but anyway it looks like we agree on most everything else. i love food and have started studying and learning about it as much as i can so this is pretty useful.

i just reread and you are correct.
perhaps pizza does offer up a 'ton' of lycopene. why not? pizza does have a substantial amount of tomato sauce, and they are suggesting eating two slices. just sayin'....stranger things have occurred....:)

and.....me too.