Great News: Being Bad Is Good!

Find out how these forbidden foods can make you healthy

Prevention, November 2000

COLLEEN PIERRE, RD

Intro
Why is it that everything you love--from chocolate to cheese to roast beef--is bad for you? Too much fat, too many calories, "death on a plate!" Yet deep down inside, a little voice keeps crying, "But I want some!" Well, now you can have some--along with the utter joy of knowing that you're doing your body some good.

Science really has rescued some of our "naughtiest" foods from the taboo list. New studies suggest a luscious list of former no-nos that actually add to better health and longer life. In effect, some of our vices have turned into virtues!

Steady, now. You can't go hog-wild with Dove bars, Brie, and supersize burgers, or you'll overdose on calories and saturated fat. That's an invitation to obesity, clogged arteries, cancer, and diabetes. But enjoying just enough of these once-forbidden treats may actually boost your diet's health quotient.

You Scream for Ice Cream
Body Bonus: As long as you choose the right ice cream, you'll get a very impressive dose of calcium for your bones and your blood pressure. Look for a variety with 15 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for calcium in every 1/2-cup serving. That way, a double portion (1 cup) gives you as much calcium as an 8-oz glass of milk--300 mg.

Downside: Premium brands drip with calories and saturated fat. A 1/2-cup serving of coffee flavor Haagen-Dazs packs a whopping 275 calories and 11 g of saturated fat (more than 75 percent of your saturated fat allotment for the day).

Healthy Indulgence: Officially, one serving of ice cream is 1/2 cup--the size of a tennis ball. Stick to this amount if you're eating calorie- and fat-loaded premium ice cream (one with 250 calories or more per 1/2 cup). But if you're eating regular or low-fat brands, 1 cup is a more realistic serving size.

Avoiding Sin: If you can't keep a "high vulnerability" half-gallon on hand, go to an ice cream shop, and buy just one scoop. At home, have an ice cream on a stick, or buy just enough so that everyone in your family gets one scoop. Or save the real deal for birthdays or other occasions when guests can help prevent leftovers. Consulting nutritionist Robyn Flipse, RD, recommends serving ice cream in a stemmed, 6-oz wine glass. "It looks elegant--and you must stop with a small amount," she says.

You Crave Olives
Body Bonus: Olives grow in searingly hot sunlight, so they produce an overload of anthocyanins, flavonoids, and phenols that fight the oxidation caused by ultraviolet light. Inside you, these same phytochemicals fight the oxidation that may cause aging. And, like the oil they produce, olives are rich in monounsaturated fat, which will help lower your cholesterol and reduce blood clotting and may offer some protection against breast cancer.

Downside: They're salty. A briny serving of 10 large green olives may contain more than 900 mg of salt. (A healthy limit for a total day's salt intake is 2,400 mg.)

Healthy Indulgence: The American Dietetic Association says that eight large black olives or 10 stuffed green olives weigh in at a mere 45 calories and 5 g of fat, equal to 1 teaspoon of olive oil. What about the salt? Go light on sodium the rest of the day. (If your doctor's told you to cut back on salt, limit yourself to one or two olives.)

Avoiding Sin: You can enjoy olives more often by spreading the flavor of a few olives around. Slice a few strong-flavored olives such as kalamatas into pasta sauce. Dab a tablespoon of tapenade (olive spread) on a piece of crusty bread as an appetizer. Add sliced stuffed green olives to potato salad, egg salad, or mixed green salad. Explore olives, from the tiny, pistachio-size French green to huge, inky black Cerignolas.

You Swoon for Chocolate
Body Bonus: This time, love isn't blind. Chocolate, especially the dark or bittersweet kind, is rich in flavonoids, antioxidants that protect your heart by preventing platelets from sticking together and forming clots that could cause a heart attack. But even milk chocolate is good: A typical 1.5-oz bar packs as much antioxidant power as a 5-oz glass of red wine.

Downside: Too much chocolate winds up on your hips. That same 1.5-oz chocolate bar loads on 234 calories. That's more than 10 percent of the calories that most women need for a whole day.

Healthy Indulgence: If you crave a daily dose of chocolate, stick to about 100 calories' worth. That's about four Hershey's Kisses.

Avoiding Sin: Try individually wrapped mini or fun-size chocolate bars such as Nestle plain chocolate or crunch. At 50 calories each, you can have two. Or dilute your chocolate with other flavors: mini-peppermint patties are only 35 calories each, so have three! Dip your strawberries in chocolate syrup, or drizzle chocolate syrup on almost anything.

"Even when I have PMS, I can be satisfied with 100 calories' worth of chocolate if I stick with the good stuff such as mini Dove bars," says American Dietetic Association spokesperson Althea Zanecosky, RD. "I know that tomorrow is another day, and I can have more."

You Really Smile When You Say "Cheese"
Body Bonus: The news about cheese--except the fat-free kind--is that it contains a special kind of fat called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, that scientists are investigating as a new weapon against breast cancer. And all that concentrated calcium--300 mg, as much as a glass of milk, in just 1 1/2 oz of Cheddar--is a boon for bone health. And finally, there's your smile: Eating hard cheese at the end of a meal can protect your pearly whites from tooth decay.

Downside: Cheese has cholesterol-raising saturated fat--1 1/2 oz of Cheddar packs 9 g of saturated fat. For most women, that's more than half of the saturated fat that you should have in a day.

Healthy Indulgence: 1 1/2 oz, max, in any one day. Eyeballing it? It's equal to about six dice.

Avoiding Sin: "I could live on cheese, so I have to be careful," says Zanecosky. Her advice? Choose strong-flavored cheese such as extrasharp Cheddar or Gorgonzola, and you'll be satisfied with less. Prevent overindulgence: Take what you need, then wrap and refrigerate the rest immediately. Or use proportioned string cheese, cheese slices, or mini-cheese wedges.

At parties, choose a couple of cubes of exotic types, then move on. Pair cheese with another food to make it last longer. Or try this: Cut an ounce of cheese into eight tiny pieces. Let a piece melt on your tongue while you relish the taste, texture, and aroma. Then cleanse your palate with a thin sliver of apple. Repeat. This trick can satisfy a cheese craving as much as eating a big hunk of cheese.

You Demand Real Dressing on Your Salad
Body Bonus: Forget the fat-free stuff. By choosing salad dressing made with oil, you absorb more protective phytochemicals such as beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthan, which fight cancer and protect vision. If your dressing is made with canola or walnut oil, you're getting prime sources of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fat. In the body, omega-3s help your heart maintain its rhythm; control the pain of rheumatoid arthritis and severe menstrual cramps; and may fight asthma, depression, and breast cancer. Dressings made with canola or olive oil are rich in cholesterol-reducing monounsaturated fats.

Downside: Oils weigh in at 120 calories per level measuring tablespoon (3 teaspoons), so it's easy to pour on calories.

Healthy Indulgence: Use dressing with no more than 1 tablespoon of oil (14 g of total fat). As yet, there is no RDA for omega-3s, but 1 tablespoon a day of canola or walnut oil provides 1 g of ALA--the amount recommended by omega-3 expert Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD, distinguished professor of nutrition at Pennsylvania State University in State College.

Avoiding Sin: If you make your own dressing, choose the best quality, full-flavored oil--such as extra virgin olive oil--so you can use less but enjoy it more. For a single serving of salad, measure out 2 to 3 teaspoons, then add zesty vinegar or fresh lemon juice to thin the oil. Toss the salad well in a large bowl so that every leaf gets thinly coated with dressing. When you're at a restaurant, ask for oil and vinegar on the side, then spoon it on yourself. Watch those carryout dressing packets: The nutrition information is for 1 tablespoon, but packets are usually 4 tablespoons.

You're Nuts for Nuts
Body Bonus: Several large studies have linked nuts to lower heart disease risk and longer life. In the landmark Nurses' Health Study, for instance, women who ate the most nuts (about 5 oz per week) had half the risk of heart attack as those who rarely ate them. Although the power source in nuts is unclear, researchers suggest that their unsaturated fats, magnesium, copper, folic acid, protein, potassium, fiber, and vitamin E may all play a part.

Downside: Nuts are a high-calorie treat, weighing in at about 180 calories per ounce (that's about a scant 1/4 cup). Eating an entire can instead of a handful could pack on the pounds, and that's not good for your heart.

Healthy Indulgence: Several studies suggest that eating a handful (about an ounce) of nuts two to five times a week gets the job done.

Avoiding Sin: Sizzle up the texture and flavor of raw nuts by roasting them lightly in your toaster oven. "I add nuts to green salads and cooked vegetables, and I toss about 1/2 cup into homemade bread," says Susan Adams, RD, a nutritionist at Washington State University in Pullman. They're also great in hot or cold cereal, yogurt, pudding, and pasta dishes. For a snack, try a small handful of almonds and dried dates. For the ultimate dessert, have two or three chocolate-covered macadamias. Ah...heaven.

You Long for Real Beef
Body Bonus: Beef is one of the richest and best-absorbed sources of zinc, a key mineral in your immune system's fight against many enemies, from viruses to cancer. Getting enough zinc is also critical for appetite, taste, and night vision, yet only half of adults over 50 come close to the DV of 15 mg.

Downside: Plate-size portions of fatty meats such as hamburger and prime rib are loaded with saturated fat, which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk. A restaurant-size 14-oz sirloin steak has 27 g of saturated fat--nearly twice the saturated fat that women should have in a day.

Healthy Indulgence: When it comes to beef, portion size is everything. A 3-oz portion, "about the size of a computer mouse or a bath-size bar of soap, is about right," says Flipse. A 3-oz sirloin steak has 6 g of saturated fat, well within a woman's saturated fat maximum of 14 g.

Avoiding Sin: Choose the select grade, and stick with lean cuts such as round (top, bottom, eye) and loin (sirloin, tenderloin). These don't raise cholesterol any more than poultry or fish, a recent study shows. Use small portions as flavor enhancers for stir-fries.

When you eat out, pass on the huge steaks and burgers. "Instead, choose kebabs, fajitas, or stir-fries, where a small amount of beef is served with lots of veggies," says Flipse. For a special treat, have a 4- or 5-oz filet mignon. Mail-order steak houses send them portion controlled.

Your Favorite Food Group Is Pizza
Body Bonus: Pizza recently got rave scientific reviews for fending off prostate cancer. Pizza sauce delivers tons of lycopene, a carotenoid found at high levels in the blood and prostate of men with lower rates of prostate cancer. And the cheese provides calcium, which helps build bone, lower blood pressure, and inhibit colon cancer.

Downside: A 12" double sausage and pepperoni pizza delivers more than 2,000 calories and 60 g of saturated fat.

Healthy Indulgence: Two slices of thin-crust veggie pizza weigh in at just 300 calories and 2.5 g of saturated fat.

Avoiding Sin: Order a small pizza--with extra tomato sauce--for two or just you. While you wait, have a salad (a mostly veggie antipasto) or a mug of minestrone or pasta e fagioli soup--then just two slices of pizza. Patronize shops that pile on the sauce and veggies, but just lightly oil the pan. (Place your slice on a napkin to detect pizza with a greasy bottom.) For takeout, order plain cheese pizza with extra tomato sauce, then add veggies at home. Or make your own pizza with reduced-fat cheese. Gotta have meat? Precook pepperoni or sausage, then blot the grease on paper towels before adding the meat to the pizza. Use low-fat Canadian bacon, then season with anise seed or hot peppers to mimic sausage.

You're the Peanut Butter Kid
Body Bonus: Along with yummy taste, peanut butter contains monounsaturated fat, a "good" fat that can be especially healthy if you have diabetes. For some diabetics, a high-carbohydrate diet backfires and increases heart attack risk by reducing helpful HDL cholesterol and raising levels of harmful triglycerides in the blood. Studies now show that replacing some starchy foods with peanut butter in a healthy eating plan actually lowers triglycerides (along with "bad" LDL cholesterol) without reducing HDL cholesterol.

Downside: Peanut butter is chock-full of calories, at 180 to 200 per 2-tablespoon serving, and it's so easy to overeat.

Healthy Indulgence: According to the American Diabetes Association, 2 level tablespoons of peanut butter provide as much protein as 1 oz of lean meat.

Avoiding Sin: Spread your peanut butter on small slices of dense, whole grain bread or crackers to get more out of your 2 tablespoons. "To get the right amount, use a kitchen teaspoon and roll up a rounded mound about the size of a golf ball," says Flipse. "Then put the lid on the jar real quickly." Once you permit yourself to indulge on a regular basis, the urge to pig out should pass. Then use peanut butter instead of cream cheese on your bagel, or use it in place of butter on English muffins, waffles, and pancakes.