Aaron Carroll decided to look closely at the research regarding food. Dr. Carroll learned a lot of the studies claiming coffee is a menace and eggs are causing heart attacks are flawed. Dr. Carroll shows that many foods have been demonized unnecessarily. Meat is a perfect example. Dr. Carroll discusses research that reveals that meat is not a “silent killer.” The research on diet sodas show they are mostly benign. Some people have problems with gluten, but those people are only 2% of population. The rest of us can eat gluten without worry. The most revealing part of The Bad Food Bible to me was the chapter on alcohol. Alcohol is another substance pilloried by “experts.” According to Dr. Carroll, men who had two drinks a day (women one) had lower rates of heart disease. They also lived longer than non-drinkers. There’s a lot of phony claims about the health aspects common foods like meat, eggs, and alcohol. Dr. Carroll clarifies the research and makes common-sense recommendations. Moderation is the key! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Foreword by Nina Teicholz ix
Introdution xiii
1. BUTTER: On fats 1
2. MEAT: On protein 19
3. EGGS: On cholesterol 39
4. SALT: On sodium 51
5. GLUTEN: On grains 68
6. GMOs: On genetically modified organisms 79
7. ALCHOHOL: On booze 95
8. COFFEE: On caffeine 113
9. DIET SODA: On carbohydrates and artificial sweeteners 129
10. MSG: On monosodium glutamate 155
11. NON-ORGANIC FOODS: On conventionally grown fruits, vegetables, and meat 171
CONCLUSION: SIMPLE RULES FOR HEALTHY EATING 187
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 199
NOTES 203
INDEX 227
So true. So many foods that are supposedly “bad” for you are nothing of the kind. Look at all the recent studies saying you are better off drinking more coffee, not less. I remember for years, my mother in law always ordering an egg white omelet and being obsessed with cholesterol. While we’re away for two months I eat eggs every day (I used to eat them at home nearly as much, but I’m too lazy to make them for than a couple of times a week), and my cholesterol is lower than Jackie’s. She drinks a lot of coffee like you, and doesn’t have a problem with it. Again, I remember my aunt claiming if she had caffeine any time past noon that she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Maybe it was the two packs of cigarettes a day she smoked (that ultimately put her on oxygen 24/7, before they killed her). If you eat a six ounce steak it is only 250-300 calories, and it is better for you than a lot of seemingly “healthy” foods. And the whole gluten/lactose intolerant thing may be real, but as you rightly state, for only a small percentage of the population.
Jeff, you’re right. So many foods have been demonized as “unhealthy”–coffee, red meat, diet sodas, etc. Yet, as Dr. Carroll shows from the research, it just isn’t true.
Besides my aunt’s caffeine story, my uncle (her and my mother’s brother) always claimed he couldn’t eat salt because it gave him a rash, made him swell up, or something like that. Once, some 40 or so years ago, my father jokingly told him the food he’d been eating had salt in it – it didn’t – and he immediately started having an allergic reaction!
Jeff, salt and alcohol have been considered “unhealthy” when the research shows health improves with moderate use of both substances!
I can’t handle booze myself, but I have nothing but envy for those who can take a drink or two, then leave it alone. Now if someone would just come out in defense of Hagen Dazs chocolate peanut butter ice cream and cheap cigars…..
Dan, with me it’s BEN & JERRY’S NEW YORK SUPER FUDGE CHUNK and HAGEN DAZS CHOCOLATE DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND BAR! Yummy!
Jeff, I’m one of those people who can’t have caffeine after a certain time of the day and be able to sleep. It used to be 5pm, now it’s more like 2pm, though I try not to have it after Noon if I can help it. I remember one time, I had an orange soda late in the day, and couldn’t sleep. I checked the contents and it had caffeine in it. I know some people (Hi, Beth!) who can fall asleep right after drinking a caffeinated beverage. I limit my consumption due to blood pressure.
One thing I can’t eat any longer are carrots. I’ve been unable to eat more than a few raw baby carrots for years, and now it seems even a smaller amount of raw carrots or even cooked carrots affects me. (maybe it’s just a reaction to the orange one in DC)
I try to cut down sugar, fats and salt. I pretty much gave up on Splenda, and use stevia or monkfruit sweetner, though the brand of monkfruit I used to use, Nectresse, has disappeared from the shelves (probably due to high cost).
Maggie, as we grow older, our dietary requirements change. I used to be able to eat a pizza late at night. No longer. I used to be able to drink some wine in the afternoon. Now, the minute I finish the wine I want to take a nap! A lot of foods I used to like just don’t agree with me anymore. I love hot peppers, but if I eat too many of them my face breaks out like a teenager!
Here in Europe we often have a glass of wine or a beer with our lunch – no problem, but we now regularly go for a walk (without our dog which we had to put away at 16 years …) through the village to “compensate”.
And we try to cook and eat smaller portions – I can eat almost evrything, but my wife has to be careful with milk, butter,cheese etc.
She uses lactose-free milk for her coffee, lactose free yoghurt etc …
The problems we see here are often that old people eat as before – though there’s no more bodily work to do for them and so they get really fat. One of our neighbours here in Hungary weighs 150 kilo – 320 pounds and he’ less than 5 feet tall!
And his wife always has a plate of cookies on the table …
PS:
That was one thing I told my wife before she accompanied me to the USA:
US portions are (too …) big for us!
So we often had at Wendy’s or BK (but never McD!) just one burger and a salad with chicken for the two of us – when I was really hungry I would add a chili con carne, my favourite.
Wolf, food in the U.S. is relatively inexpensive. And mass market companies like McDonalds and Burger King keep offering more food for less money, encouraging Americans to eat more. That’s part of our obesity crisis.
Jackie may love pizza, but the tomato sauce often gives her heartburn. She had fajitas last weekend, and she got a stomachache from the greasy onions and peppers.
When we were first dating (back before they discovered the wheel), we would go out for a cheeseburger deluxe at 11 at night. Now I like to be finished with dinner by 6.
And keep off my lawn!
Jeff, same here. Eating after 6 P.M. usually produces “problems.”
I love fajitas and tacos and …
When my wife’s nephew came to visit us with his teennage sons we decided that I would do the cooking so my wife had more time for the guests – I made several “fillings”, some with chicken some with minced meat, some hot, some not so hot so the guests could mix their “rolls”. And my “gringo Guacamole” also was a big hit. Luckily now we can get all kinds of vegetables and fruits and the spices too in Hungary – our Lidl supermarket regularly has Mexican week – and of course US week (just got peanut butter for my wife).
PS:
I read somewhere that Lidl opened its first stores in the USA – in Europe they are a big competition for Aldi.
Wolf, Tex-Mex food is very popular even in the northern parts of the U.S. and Canada.
Thank you, George. I am now going to eat myself into a food coma.
Jerry, THE BAD FOOD BIBLE recommends moderation. But many of those silly “Don’t Eat” warnings are debunked by this book!
…and a happy MLK Day to you, too.