9 'Bad' Foods That Aren't Always So Bad

By Nicci Micco, Editor-at-Large for EatingWell

Some healthful foods have gotten bad raps they just can't shake. Do you avoid peanut butter because you think it's super-fattening? Have you banned egg yolk because you're concerned about your heart health? Get the good truth about these and more "misunderstood" foods and why you should eat them -- in moderation, of course.

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Nicci Micco is editor-at-large for EatingWell and co-author of EatingWell 500-Calorie Dinners. She has a master's degree in nutrition and food sciences, with a focus in weight management.

 

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Comments

[MikeyJaii]

09:47 PM on 11/01/2011

I got a 18oz bottle of peanut butter right next to me... so sad that it's fattening :/...

[jd mumma]

03:56 PM on 10/03/2011

Make sure to get GMO corn (no worry since most of it is now GMO, unless it is organic) to do your part to destroy our planet! NOT!
http://www.google.com/search?q=gmo+corn

[Kevin Chung Lin]

11:27 AM on 10/03/2011

I can't eat the first one cause I'm allergic to it =\

[Razorsharp1234]

10:15 AM on 10/03/2011

I am so confused. No matter what every day I read another story on what is good to eat and what is bad for you. The next day it's vice versa. What should we do? Starve to be safe?
Live healthy and eat smart, don't buy too much sugar and fatty stuff. Look at our own body and see how it has evloved over the years, if you tend towards heaviness don't eat garbage. If you are slimmer, don't eat garbage stay the way you are by exercising and eating smart as well. Bottom line: eat smart, don;t fall for that nasty burger, or fries or Krsipy Kream, or birthday cakes, cupcakes, it's pure sugar and gives our more than just a belly ache.

[buffalobeard]

08:47 AM on 10/03/2011

My old man was a bicyle fanatic who grew up in the 30's. They sprayed the apple trees with Arsenate of lead; no protective clothes or repirator masks, they had lead paint all over the 200 yr. old house and asbestos on the pipes in the cellar. They ate whatever didn't try to eat them first. Poor, Dad, he might have made it to 100...instead of 92 if only he'd known what was bad back then!! All things in MODERATION!!!

[NJBill]

11:35 AM on 10/03/2011

You're right, all things in moderation! You'll go crazy if you listen to the "experts" all the time. I myself used to run behind the mosquito fog truck gulping in all that DDT every week during the summers about 45 years ago, my friends and I swam in flood waters in streets probably teaming with bacteria.. no one ever got sick. Not that you should swim in flood waters in moderation or breathe in chemicals, I'm just making a point that most of our bodies aren't as delicate as some would have us believe. Eat and enjoy!

[thechthonicblueberry]

07:18 AM on 10/01/2011

oh, also, i've found that a better alternative to bread is a high-fiber, low calorie cereal, like publix's brand of 'fiberone' which they call 'fiberactive'. it's the same cereal, but publix's is like half the price of the other.

[thechthonicblueberry]

07:12 AM on 10/01/2011

pretty good list. as some people have already pointed out, corn is a grain, not a vegetable, and dark chocolate with a high cacao content. personally, i like godiva's 72% cacao dark chocolate. and instead of beef, ostrich or buffalo have about 7 grams less fat and 60 less calories per serving. and they taste much better, and i have never heard of anyone getting ill from it. and instead of eggs, i always get a carton of egg whites only. a lot (or possibly all) of the items i mentioned are more expensive than the less healthy options, but not by too much. and i have found that when i eat food that tastes better, i eat less.

[eternalhealth1]

08:57 AM on 09/28/2011

People are paying attention to what they eat because you are what you eat. Unfortunatly alot of foods you mentioned cannot be eaten for other reasons. Some foods are members of the nightshade family, yet through hybrids some of the poison was weeded out. Beef has alot of problems besides the high fat content. E-coli outbreaks, Mad Cow, too much blood intake. There are other foods that have high quality iron like Greens, Turkey, Grapes. Chocolate will make you feel good, just the sugar and other compounds will make you high. Coffee has a very high caffiene content which can make heart and hyper-thyroid patients jittery among several other ailments. Again the sugar needed for the bitter beans like chocolate is way too much. With Eggs watch out for Samonilla and with Peanuts Mold and anybody allergic to them watch out thrice because they process them in alot of plants. Nuts are great for anyone who is not allergic to them, again watch out thrice because they are processed in alot of plants. Corn is great when it is organic and priced at 13 Ears for one dollar. Otherwise they are overpricing it for Ethanol, which does not make sense because they make more money off corn because of the overpricing of a barrel of oil.

[William Anderson LMHC]

07:50 AM on 09/28/2011

Good job busting the common myths and food fear inflamed by a lunatic fringe. We don't need to be scared of these harmless foods when they are part of a reasonable and healthy diet.

If we focused on turning around our compulsive overeating habits and culture of "consumerism" rather than stoking fears of endlessly tested, studied, and harmless foodstuffs, we'd be a lot better off.

There are things we know are killing us, no doubt about it: obesity, transfats, the intense marketing of addictive foods, especially to children, diets predominantly of sugary and fatty food devoid of nutrients, smoking....... Let's be afraid of that which we all agree killing us, enough to get rid of them, and hold off being afraid of everything else, at least until there is a reasonable consensus on the danger of specific things.

Here's a link to my SelfGrowth article, "How to Eat Everything You like and Still Lose Weight": http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/how-to-eat-everything-you-like-and-still-lose-weight

I lost 140 lbs. with the Behavioral Medicine techniques I discovered as a counselor and therapist and now I teach others. Here's a link to my blog explaining Behavioral Medicine: http://theandersonmethod.com/what-is-behavioral-medicine-and-behavioral-healthcare/

Keep up the good work!

William Anderson, LMHC
Author of 'The Anderson Method- Secrets of Permanent Weight Loss'
www.TheAndersonMethod.com

[dragondancer1814]

09:19 AM on 10/03/2011

Well said! We need to get rid of processed junk, additives like high-fructose corn syrup/corn sugar, trans fats, etc. and stick to the healthier REAL foods.

Also follow the EIM Plan (Everything In Moderation) with those foods, and you'll do well.

[William Anderson LMHC]

08:09 AM on 10/06/2011

Thanks, Dragondancer. The EIM idea is good. The trick is self-control, getting ourselves to do what we know is best.

[Michaele Kruger]

06:41 AM on 09/28/2011

I really liked this article and found that I had a lot to say about it, as there was much clarification that was needed regarding these selected food items. Rather than posting a long response here, I wrote a blog entry about it. Thansk! Please check out my blog: http://thebetterbitesgirl.blogspot.com/2011/09/myth-busting-myth-buster.htmlblog to see the complete list of clarifications and comments ragarding these "healhty" foods.

[sabelmouse]

06:04 AM on 09/28/2011

this is so last century, millenium even.

[HyacinthGirl]

07:59 PM on 09/27/2011

Corn is not a vegetable. This glaring inaccuracy makes me question the entire article.

[Chuck Bluestein]

11:38 PM on 09/27/2011

In the English language words have mulitple meanings. For example a question on a test is-- is self-esteem a good or bad quality? If you say yes or no, the teacher can mark it correct or incorrect. The dictionary says that self-esteem1 is a good quality and self-esteem2 is a bad quality. Diets1 do not work so you should be on a good diet2. All sororities are fraternities, but not all fraternities are sororoties. All yoginis are yogis, but not all yogis are yoginis.

"Vegetable" has multiple meanings. So on a test it says is wheat an animal, vegetable or mineral? What answer would you pick. So in one definition any plant is a vegetable. All fruits are vegetables, but not all vegetables are fruits. Tomatoes are a fruit and vegetable just like cucumbers and squash. Celery is a vegetable, but not a fruit. So is wheat a grain or a fruit? It is a fruit, vegetable and grain. All grains are fruits, but not all fruits are grains. Eaminer.com says:

"However, the answer is not so simple. In a nutshell, according to Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the answer to the question “Is corn a vegetable, a grain or a fruit?” is that it’s all three."

[rosemaree124]

02:24 PM on 09/28/2011

So right! Corn is a GRAIN! It should be served as a "starch" portion like rice, pasta, or potatoes, not as a vegetable!

[NJBill]

11:37 AM on 10/03/2011

Lordy sakes I'm a fool... I never knew that.

[alahnar]

03:40 PM on 09/27/2011

Some clarity is needed in this article.

Grass-fed AND pastured beef is healthy. Tortured, factory-farmed beef is not healthy, no matter who you are or how moderate your consumption. (Why would you want to eat the flesh of a diseased, tortured animal, anyway? In generations past, no one would think to eat a diseased cow: yet in conventional grocery stores, it's all there is.)

Organic peanut butter is good for you in moderation. Nasty, sugar-filled peanut butter isn't good for you AT ALL.

The quality of the dark chocolate is more important than if it's "dark chocolate." Sure, Hershey's makes a dark chocolate, but how much is actually cocoa? You can bet it's not much. I'd much rather buy 70% cocoa dark chocolate at a health food store (there's tons in the metro area where I live), because it's fair trade, organic, and ACTUALLY good for me, not some lie I tell myself as an excuse to eat crappy chocolate.

Same thing with the eggs: pastured (not the unregulated "cage free) eggs are healthier than tortured chickens. So, all of this is true, if put in the right light.

[Chuck Bluestein]

03:25 PM on 09/27/2011

If you buy a healthy peanut butter then there is nothing significant in it other than peanut butter. But many have as a main ingredient sugar or HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). Then that makes it very unhealthy. Also there are breads made with different sprouted grains. But when it comes to bread made with refined wheat, people are already getting too much refined wheat in other places like pasta, pizza, cous cous, pancakes, cookies, crackers, cakes, muffins and many other places. http://bit.ly/9APMvm Also many people have celiac disease or a sensitivity to gluten that is in wheat, rye and barley and do not know it. But they feel better avoiding these grains.

[C West]

02:52 PM on 09/27/2011

Definitely Chocolate is a good move. It has to be dark with no added sugar as well. A dark chocolate milky way isn't the same as the Dark chocolate you can buy at whole foods or your local health food store. Check the info yall. I love chocolate, in-fact...I'm about to go get some today!