Good Nutrition News
By Ann Tyndall, Ph.D.
If headlines about pink slime in hamburger, the push to go
gluten free and the panic about pesticides in orange juice make you think that
there is no news but bad news on the nutrition front, here is a list of good
news items about food to make you feel better.
- Frozen food is just as nutritious as fresh food and sometimes more so because it is frozen at the peak of freshness while fresh produce may take days to travel to market and then sit on grocery store shelves, losing nutrients. Fresh and frozen foods are better than canned foods to avoid exposure to the chemical hormone disrupters in the plastic liners of cans.
- Coffee is good for you. After years of scares that it may be associated with a variety of ills, coffee is now recognized as a healthy source of antioxidants that can be preventive against certain cancers, heart rhythm problems and strokes. Coffee drinkers are less likely o have Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Black coffee or coffee with low-fat milk and no sugar are better choices to keep the calories down.
- Tea is good for you. Tea may help with cancer, heart disease, and
diabetes. It may lower cholesterol and increase mental alertness. Tea also appears to have antimicrobial qualities. Some teas, including green tea and oolong tea may encourage weight loss.
- Chocolate is good for you. Dark chocolate, not milk chocolate or white chocolate, has powerful antioxidants that protect against heart disease and cancer. Dark chocolate has been shown to lower blood pressure. Watch the calories and eat just a little for maximum benefit. The good news is that you could eat chocolate every day, knowing that not only is it delicious but it helps you.
- Fat free is not necessary nor is it the best choice for maximum nutrition benefits. The vitamins in salad are absorbed best if there is a little olive oil on the salad. Many vitamins are fat-soluble and they require fat to be utilized. Enjoy the flavor and the vitamin boost.
Ann Tyndall is an award winning nutritionist and the author of Prolong the Prime of Your Life: A Simple, Easy-to-Follow Program of Exercise and Nutrition.
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