But isn’t it BAD for me?!
Image courtesy James Palinsad via CC BY-SA 2.0 license. Image was cropped.
(4 theoretically “bad-for-you” foods that that are much better for you than you might have heard…)
Whenever your fearless editor is too lazy, uninspired, or too behind-schedule to write an actual article, he writes a list
1.Nuts?
So often, we get caught up in what a food “has” vs. what a food “does.” Yes, nuts have a decent collection of nutrients. Magnesium, manganese, vitamin E complex, fiber, protein, lignans, prebiotics, healthy fats, etc. But what nuts do transcends what we understand about their nutrient content. Here, we focus primarily on heart disease, weight loss, and all-cause mortality (i.e. death).
All-Cause Mortality is a term used in medical and public health research to refer to dying of any cause during the study. It’s often the best way to capture population-wide effects of a food, a drug, or an exposure. According to a number of large, high-quality reviews, people who consume an ounce of more of nuts a day die on average 19% less (during the study periods). Most, but not all, of the benefit can be attributed to reduction in cardiometabolic disease – stroke, heart attack, and how the body processes blood sugar. These results exceed other superstar foods and diets – vegetables, fish, and even the vaunted Mediterranean Diet.
According to a number of high-quality studies, nuts support weight loss. Epidemiology shows that people who eat nuts tend to be fitter. Clinical trials show people have better success losing weight when they substitute nuts for other foods, even healthy foods. Nuts make it easier to stick to a diet, and make the diet more effective. PLUS – nuts mitigate the ill effects of overeating. They blunt spikes in blood sugar. They lower bad cholesterol, and raise good cholesterol.
So, are all nuts created equal? Of course not! Unfortunately, it’s hard to really pin down the pros and cons. The research is almost always Nut vs. Placebo, or Nut vs. Other Kind of Food – never Nut vs. Nut. I tend to prefer walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and pistachios for the heart disease and metabolic benefits. Brazil nuts are great, but probably too rich in selenium to eat lots of all the time. Cashews are probably a second-tier nut, so to speak.
If you have a hard time digesting, soaked/sprouted nuts will help. They taste better too.
And then pine nuts! Well, there are Siberian pine nuts, Korean pine nuts, and Mediterranean pine nuts. There are dozens of species. Some people react poorly to Chinese pine nuts. They experience a metallic taste for days after eating them. Generally speaking, pine nuts may be extra special for their ability to reduce reflux and heartburn.
2.Pesto?
Another fatty, yummy food, so of course we’re trained to think of it as bad for us. It certainly doesn’t help perception that we associate it with pasta, pizza, and other indulgences. But – good pesto is a health superstar.
What is pesto? Literally, the word is Italian for “paste.” Technically it can apply to all manner of coarsely or smoothly ground sauces and spreads, generally made from some combination of fresh herbs, nuts, oil, garlic, and hard cheese. The most familiar to many of us pesto alla Genovese: basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. And why is this a health food? Look at what’s in it! First, we start with basil. Culinary herbs – especially leafy aromatic herbs from the Mediterranean – are some of our most powerful, most protective antioxidants, packed with phytonutrients that could put blueberries to shame. And then nuts. We already covered nuts. If you do it right, you buy pesto (or make pesto) with pine nuts, or some other kind of “nice” nut. Extra virgin olive oil is of course a winner. Garlic is a winner. And a little high-quality grass-fed hard cheese just seals the deal. Pesto is remarkably nutrient-dense.
I’ve made all kinds of pesto. I’ve made pesto with pistachios – with purple basil and curry leaves. I’ve used made a vegan pesto with basil, parsley, hemp seeds, and brewer’s yeast.
You can find some old pesto recipes from our newsletter here, here, and here.
3.Mustard Seed Oil?
If you’ve ever tasted food in Northern India or Nepal, and it has a certain subtle, pungent je ne sais quoi you can’t get at home, chances are it’s the mustard seed oil. It’s got a horseradish-y bite, without being overtly spicy. One journalist called it “untamed.” It’s got a high smoke point, so it’s great to cook with. It’s also rich in healthy, isothiocyanates, which promote detoxification on the cellular level. Dozens of published studies connect isothiocyanates with lower cancer risk.
So it’s delicious, it’s good for you… AND – in United States, it’s illegal because, apparently, it’s hazardous to your health. To be specific, it’s illegal to sell mustard oil for use in cooking (yes, a loophole suggests itself; read on!) Meanwhile, it’s still legal elsewhere, and sometimes even recommended as a healthy choice by the local authorities.
The controversy centers around erucic acid, a naturally occurring fat that accounts for ~25% of the mustard oil by weight. Going back to the 1970s, series of lab reports showed that erucic acid caused rats to develop dangerous fatty deposits around their hearts. So in 1976, the FDA banned it. (Technically, the agency banned any oils with 5% or more erucic acid). The thing is, rats metabolize erucic acid differently than people. Differently than most animals. It turns out erucic acid isn’t toxic to pigs. Or dogs. And it appears to not be toxic to humans (although to be fair large-scale, long-term 100% conclusive clinical trials have not yet been conducted).
So now you can buy mustard-flavored oil. (The word “flavor” is usually in small print).
Or you can buy low-erucic acid mustard seed oil specially bred to meet FDA criteria by keeping the EA under 5%, all while tasting as neutral as possible. You’ve seen this before; they call it “Canola oil.” Nothing wrong with a good, fresh, organic canola oil. But it’s not the same.
OR — you can buy the real thing – organic, cold-pressed, and packed in amber glass to maintain its freshness – but legally it’s gotta say it’s a “massage oil.”
Personally, I feel good cooking with mustard oil. I use it in a Nepali-inspired (“Sekuwa”-style) marinade for grilled chicken or tofu. (Per 1 pound protein, try ½ C Greek yogurt, ¼ C mustard oil, 1 tsp each garam masala, turmeric, cumin, garlic paste, ginger paste, and salt). Or in coconut mustard fish curry. It makes the best palak paneer, and even better saag paneer).
OR — you can buy the real thing – organic, cold-pressed, and packed in amber glass to maintain its freshness – but legally it’s gotta say it’s a “massage oil.”
Personally, I feel good cooking with mustard oil. I use it in a Nepali-inspired (“Sekuwa”-style) marinade for grilled chicken or tofu. (Per 1 pound protein, try ½ C Greek yogurt, ¼ C mustard oil, 1 tsp each garam masala, turmeric, cumin, garlic paste, ginger paste, and salt). Or in coconut mustard fish curry. It makes the best palak paneer saag paneer).
4.Coffee?
When Debra’s first opened in 1989, we didn’t sell coffee. Coffee was “bad for you” – according to many health food gurus of the day.
Well…. they were wrong. In addition to all the obvious benefits (i.e. how we actually feel on a nice cuppa), we now see good evidence that regular moderate/reasonable coffee consumption is linked with a lower risk for:
- Type II diabetes
- Stroke
- Coronary artery disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Cirrhosis, and other kinds of liver disease
- Alzheimer’s
- Kidney disease
- Colon and liver cancers
- Depression, up to and including attempted suicide
- Premature mortality in general
Now to be clear, it’s hard to tease correlation from causation in some of this research. In other words, we can’t always discern if coffee is itself protective, or if it’s simply a marker for other positive traits and behaviors, i.e. having sense of purpose, and a reason to get up in the morning. I’d argue it’s probably a combination of both. But – mostly the coffee. And what about coffee is responsible for these miracles? Is it the caffeine? Well… maybe. To a certain degree. But coffee is also rich in phenolic compounds like chlorogenic acid, which multiple documented, protective benefits. The bitterness of coffee is a stimulant to liver, gallbladder and pancreatic function. (Don’t underestimate the importance of bitterness and sourness, especially in the context of a fatty and heavy modernized diet). Whatever role caffeine plays, it’s certainly not the only player in the beverage.
(and if the acidity of regular coffee bothers you, consider alkaline BioCoffee — our #1-selling grocery item in the entire store!)Can we drink too much coffee? Well, of course. And how much is too much? The answer may surprise you. Three to five 8-oz cups is considered “moderate.” And moderate is what we’re aiming for. Long story short, if the amount you’re consuming feels good — doesn’t leave you jittery or anxious or sleepless – it’s probably a right amount for you.