Top 10 worst foods
A colleague posted a question on a dietitian listserve today, asking for input on the top 10 best, and top 10 worst foods.
That got me thinking: how do you choose the very worst foods? What criteria do you use? Some people chose foods that are high in stuff we know is bad for us: saturated fat (as in whole milk and whole fat cheeses), trans fatty acids (in crispy snack foods and many processed foods), food colors and dyes (how do they make those foods glow-in-the-dark blue, anyway?), mercury (in some types of ocean fish, especially swordfish, king mackerel, and shark).
But what about all the things that are OK in moderation? Sugar and salt, for example. Reasonable amounts of sweeteners and salt aren't going to hurt the vast majority of us, but how much is too much? Who gets to decide? Are Twinkies too high in sugar? What about deep-fried Twinkies that you can get at many county fairs? I grew up eating Twinkies on a regular basis, and so far I'm OK. But I've never tried a deep-fried Twinkie, so who knows?
Back in the days before scientists told us on a regular basis what to eat and what to avoid, people just used common sense. We ate three regular meals; I don't know anyone when I was a kid who skipped breakfast, and you could hear all the moms yelling "dinner time" starting at 5:30pm. There was little to no snacking, or if we did snack, it was on fruit, cereal, or crackers. Twinkies weren't a snack at my house; they were dessert with lunch. My sister and I shared a package; we each had one Twinkie. Eating out was a treat, not a daily occurence. Using a vending machine was a big event, not something you did for lunch rushing back to work.
My personal feeling is that if we used some commonsense about eating, it would be better for all of us. What if we only eat one of the worst foods, say pork rinds (I don't even WANT to know what goes into those things), once a year. Is that a horrible thing? Can we eat them once every 6 months? Monthly? I think most people would agree that eating them on a daily basis, especially if they take the place of foods we know are good for us - fruit, veggies, whole grains - is a bad idea. But where do you draw the line?
My feeling: avoid lists of best and worst foods. Figure out what makes the most sense to you, based on your health history and personal food preferences. Then eat, enjoy your meals, and get outside for some fresh air.
But I still think I'll avoid the deep-fried Twinkie.
Lynn
That got me thinking: how do you choose the very worst foods? What criteria do you use? Some people chose foods that are high in stuff we know is bad for us: saturated fat (as in whole milk and whole fat cheeses), trans fatty acids (in crispy snack foods and many processed foods), food colors and dyes (how do they make those foods glow-in-the-dark blue, anyway?), mercury (in some types of ocean fish, especially swordfish, king mackerel, and shark).
But what about all the things that are OK in moderation? Sugar and salt, for example. Reasonable amounts of sweeteners and salt aren't going to hurt the vast majority of us, but how much is too much? Who gets to decide? Are Twinkies too high in sugar? What about deep-fried Twinkies that you can get at many county fairs? I grew up eating Twinkies on a regular basis, and so far I'm OK. But I've never tried a deep-fried Twinkie, so who knows?
Back in the days before scientists told us on a regular basis what to eat and what to avoid, people just used common sense. We ate three regular meals; I don't know anyone when I was a kid who skipped breakfast, and you could hear all the moms yelling "dinner time" starting at 5:30pm. There was little to no snacking, or if we did snack, it was on fruit, cereal, or crackers. Twinkies weren't a snack at my house; they were dessert with lunch. My sister and I shared a package; we each had one Twinkie. Eating out was a treat, not a daily occurence. Using a vending machine was a big event, not something you did for lunch rushing back to work.
My personal feeling is that if we used some commonsense about eating, it would be better for all of us. What if we only eat one of the worst foods, say pork rinds (I don't even WANT to know what goes into those things), once a year. Is that a horrible thing? Can we eat them once every 6 months? Monthly? I think most people would agree that eating them on a daily basis, especially if they take the place of foods we know are good for us - fruit, veggies, whole grains - is a bad idea. But where do you draw the line?
My feeling: avoid lists of best and worst foods. Figure out what makes the most sense to you, based on your health history and personal food preferences. Then eat, enjoy your meals, and get outside for some fresh air.
But I still think I'll avoid the deep-fried Twinkie.
Lynn
posted by Lynn Grieger and Mike Ryan at
6:15 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home