Author Topic: Not All "Healthy" Food Is Good For You!  (Read 2628 times)

Offline David In Indy

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Not All "Healthy" Food Is Good For You!
« on: October 02, 2007, 03:50:32 pm »
I found this on America Online. Since most of you do not belong to AOL, I decided to post this information here, because it surprised me when I read it, and I think this is important and should be shared with as many people as possible. Below is a list of seven foods most people consider healthy and good for them... but aren't.


Granola Bars

Most granola bars are simply candy bars in disguise, with very little fiber, lots of processed carbs, and a ton of sugar. You're better off making your own healthier version from raw oats, chopped almonds, coconut flakes, raisins and a dollop of raw organic honey.


Egg White Omlettes

No yolks in your omelettes? That's just utterly unnecessary. The yolk contains lutein and zeaxanthin, which are crucial for eye health. Egg yolks are also an important source of phosphatidylcholine, a nutrient that boosts brain health. Worried about your cholesterol levels? Consider this: Half the fat in the yolk isn't even saturated.


Farm Raised Salmon

You'd think eating penned salmon would be the healthier way to go, but the farm-raised fish are pumped full of antibiotics and are lower in nutritional value than their wild relatives. In addition, wild salmon get their red color from an antioxidant in their natural food source, krill. Farmed salmon get their color from dye.


Supermarket Cereal

Most supermarket cereals are fiber lightweights and are also loaded with sugar. The best cereals are old-fashioned oatmeal, and a few standouts like Fiber One and All-Bran. Check the labels and choose cereals that have fewer than 5 grams of sugar and more than 5 grams of fiber per serving.



Frozen Yogurt

The only thing fro-yo has in common with real yogurt (the plain, non-frozen kind) is that they're both white. The frozen stuff doesn't have live cultures, which help maintain digestive health and the nonfat varieties are a mix of chemicals and artificial sweeteners. You're better off with a serving of organic ice cream.


Canola Oil

Along with olive oil, canola oil seems like a healthy standout. But conventional canola oil goes through a caustic refining process that creates some trans fats. Unless it's cold-pressed and organic, stay away.


Apple Juice

It's sweet, refreshing and a favorite among kids. But most apple juice is nothing more than sugar water with apple flavoring. One cup of apple juice has no fiber, 117 calories and 27 grams of sugar. And most people consume way more than a cup at a time. Stick to fiber-rich apples and skip the juice.








Healthy Foods That Aren't in AOL Body
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Offline Lumière

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Re: Not All "Healthy" Food Is Good For You!
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2007, 01:39:07 am »
Indeed David.  :)

And as we all know, a lot of the "fat-free", 0 calorie stuff out there is packed with sweeteners, artificial flavors and all sorts of chemicals with names as long as the entire alphabet.  Best to eat the fat sometimes.  At least our bodies can digest it.


Offline delalluvia

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Re: Not All "Healthy" Food Is Good For You!
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2007, 12:31:29 pm »
Farm Raised Salmon

You'd think eating penned salmon would be the healthier way to go, but the farm-raised fish are pumped full of antibiotics and are lower in nutritional value than their wild relatives. In addition, wild salmon get their red color from an antioxidant in their natural food source, krill. Farmed salmon get their color from dye.

I think people eat farmed raised - I know I do - for a couple of different reasons.  One, farm-raised fish are farmed, not taken from the wild, depleting wild resources and two, wild fish get nutrients naturally from their environment, but they also get garbage.  Any rotting animals or a heap of bear shit in the river?  Oh, yeah, they absorbed that, too.  You don't even want to know what wild catfish eat, I prefer farm-raised.


Quote
Canola Oil
Along with olive oil, canola oil seems like a healthy standout. But conventional canola oil goes through a caustic refining process that creates some trans fats. Unless it's cold-pressed and organic, stay away.


You know, I think trans-fats is the boogey man buzzword of our time.

What I learned in organic chemistry, take it as you will, is that trans-fats is another word for "poly-unsaturated" fats.  Here is what Wikipedia says about it:

Chemically, trans fats are made of the same building blocks as non-trans fats, but have a different arrangement. In trans fatty acid molecules, the hydrogen atoms bonded to pair(s) of doubly bonded carbon atoms (characteristic of all unsaturated fats) are in the trans rather than the cis arrangement. This results in a straight, rather than kinked, shape for the carbon chain, more like the straight chain of a fully saturated fat.

Meaning that a poly un saturated chain, has less hydrogens  in the arrangement than a saturated chain (all possible bonds filled with hydrogen).

So, you healthily and happily eat unsaturated fats.

What's in your stomach?

Hydrochloric acid.

It starts to break down the chains of fat slowly, fats taking longer - and hey, guess what?  During that time, some of the hydrogens in the acid attach to unsaturated/trans fat chains making them - ta dah! - saturated fats in your stomach.

[shrug]

Offline Wishes

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Re: Not All "Healthy" Food Is Good For You!
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2007, 06:22:25 pm »
I really read labels and I avoid hydrogenated oils which are in just about everything it seems. Crackers and cookies. I buy crackers and graham crackers at the health store. These healthier options do cost more but I only have to feed myself (plus pets) so I don't really worry about it.

I think reading labels is really a key thing. Another hidden ingredient is corn syrup in so many things. I was looking at jam yesterday because the store I was at does not carry my usual brand and I had to read through several before I found a jam that wasn't loaded with corn syrup.