7 "Bad" Foods You Should Be Eating!
1. PEANUT BUTTER
Rumor: Peanut Butter is being charged for being fattening
Good News: Peanut butter is high in fat, but that doesn’t mean it’s fattening. (Gaining or losing weight, and body fat, basically comes down to balancing calories.) That said, peanut butter is a concentrated source of calories, so you don’t want to go overboard. But you don’t need to eat tons to feel satisfied: just a tablespoon (90 calories) or two of peanut butter goes a long way. Plus, peanut butter provides protein and folate, a B vitamin important for the healthy development of new cells.
2. EGGS
Rumor: Egg yolks are off- limits!!
Good News: eggs are super-satisfying: in one study, people who ate a scrambled-egg-and-toast breakfast felt more satisfied, and ate less at lunch, than they did when they ate a bagel that had the same number of calories. Egg yolks contain lutein and zeaxanthin, compounds that research links with reduced risk for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in people over 50.
3. BEEF
Rumor: Beef is full of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, so people who care about their hearts should avoid it.
Good News: Lean cuts of beef are a low-fat source of protein and iron, a mineral essential for getting oxygen from the lungs to cells throughout the body—and one many women (of childbearing age) are deficient in. There are many lean cuts of steaks: filet mignon, sirloin, strip steak, flank steak. If you can’t remember the names, pick steaks that are deep red with a relatively small amount of marbling—a fancy name for fat—to find lean cuts.
5. CHOCOLATE
Rumor: Chocolate has lots of fat, lots of sugar—and it tastes amazing, so it must be bad for you.
Good News: Dark chocolate contains flavanols, antioxidants that seem to have a blood-thinning effect, which can benefit cardiovascular health. And, recently, researchers in Switzerland reported that eating dark chocolate (1.4 ounces of it) every day for two weeks reduced stress hormones, including cortisol, in highly stressed people. But be sure to account for the calories (1.4 ounces delivers 235)—or you may be stressed to see extra pounds creeping on.
6.
BREAD Rumor: Bread is bad for you, because it’s loaded with carbs.
Good News: Bread isn’t bad—eating too many refined grains is, and that’s why the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend making at least half of the grains you consume whole grains. Switching to 100% whole-wheat bread, or other whole-grain breads, is one way to do that.
7. POTATOES
Rumor: Potatoes rank high on the glycemic index, which measures how quickly different foods raise your blood sugar. Foods with a high GI value tend to cause a higher spike in blood sugar—and in insulin, the hormone that helps glucose get into cells—which can be a problem for some people, particularly those with diabetes.
Good News: Potatoes are a good source of fiber, potassium and vitamin C. And unless you’re eating an absolutely plain potato all by itself, its GI value doesn’t matter. (It’s also worth noting that the glycemic index is an imperfect and controversial scale.) A high-GI potato becomes a low-GI meal if you simply add a little olive oil, because the added fat helps slow the absorption of the potato’s carbohydrates.
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