Best and Worst Foods For You

A lot of people ask me one of two questions:
1. What is the worst food for you?
2. What is the best food for you?


I have a lot of trouble answering these types of questions for the mere fact that it is hard to label one food as being "the worst" or "the best". It's like asking who is the "best" person that ever lived, and who is the "worst." There are a lot of contenders, and you have to look at all aspects of their lives, not just what they did in the spotlight. Likewise, when people ask me what healthy foods are, I have trouble answering that too, simply because it depends what you are looking for when you want something "healthy." 


What is healthy to one person might not be considered healthy by another. For example, I think almonds are a "healthy" food. However, one on a diet might say they do not meet their definition of healthy because almonds are high in calories and fat. In my dietitian head, I feel like I go through complex logarithms and analyses to determine if a food is healthy. Last night I tried to explain to my clients how I look at a food label and determine if the food is "healthy"... but again, it's way too complicated for me to tell them simple steps: Look at: 1) calories 2) fat 3) fiber 4) sodium, etc. If you look at the nutrition label of a peach, one might think it is unhealthy because it will show up as 60 calories, all from carbohydrate (mostly sugars and maybe 1-2 g fiber), so no protein and no healthy fats.Thus It is much more complicated than simply looking at calories, fat, sugars, and protein on a food label. One must consider the quality of the calories you are receiving. 200 calories from raw almonds is different than 200 calories from cotton candy. With the almonds you are getting mono-unsaturated fats, some polyunsaturated fats (a little saturated too, but in this case I waive that- another exception), fiber, protein, Vitamin E, etc. With the cotton candy all you are getting refined sugars and all sorts of additives to make it those funky colors.


Anyway, I could spend hours trying to stress how difficult it is to determine if a food is healthy or unhealthy. It depends what you are looking for in a meal or snack. Is it protein you need? Do you need just a filler food (in which case I would look to fiber, protein, and some fat)? However, if I had to break it down to the top best and worst foods, my list would start off something like this (in no particular order):


BEST FOODS
Oat Bran (not oat bran muffins, the hot cereal in the oatmeal aisle)
Sweet Potatoes
Salmon
Tuna Steak
Chia Seeds
Beans (navy, kidney, garbanzo, black, etc.)
Leafy greens (spinach, kale, collards, swiss chard, etc.)


WORST FOODS
Sausages and other heavily processed high-fat meats (Brats, hot dogs, bologna, salami, bacon, etc)
Klondike Bars and Super-premium ice creams (Haagen-dazs, Ben & Jerry's, etc.)
Anything with cheese + high-fat meat in one (cheese-steak, stromboli)
Cream and cheese-based soups, pastas, meals (Alfredo, chowders, chicken pot pie etc.)
Cheesecake and other rich cakes


So, you see, I can barely list a single food that is the "worst" it has to do with all the ingredients that go into it.... I hope this post gets your mind thinking about how YOU evaluate foods, and determine what "healthy" means to YOU. I'm sure this post will also cause some controversy, as many people like to challenge me when it comes to processed meats and cheese. I welcome a challenge, and remember, this is MY opinion of what is healthy- I'm just trying to get you thinking and let you have a nutrition experts opinion ;-)

Mung Beans

I spent the past 24 hours soaking and making mung beans. This is my first time working with this legume, and I owe it all to my friend Mikey, who inspired me to make them for a St. Paddy's party tomorrow ((okay, it was more of a joke b/c I'm the nutrition girl, but I figured why not make a delicious and very nutritious treat? (I also made an Irish specialty-Irish soda bread- to be discussed next week, as well as a not-super healthy dessert: PB Cheerio bars)). 

Most likely you have eaten Mung beans but are just unaware of it. If you have ever eaten "sprouts" (not alfalfa sprouts) you  probably have eaten mung beans. Their most common use in the western world is in sprout form, which is used in stir fries, sandwiches, salads, etc. However, over in Asia they have many different uses. In Thailand, they are used in a lot of dessert recipes (custards, puddings, etc.). In China they are used in their sprout form as well as soaked/boiled and used in soups or made into noodles. Indians use Mung beans in dal (Moong dal) recipes with curry, coriander, turmeric, etc. 

Just like other beans, mung beans are very high in protein, fiber, and iron. In fact, just one cup of Mung beans contains 14 grams of protein, 15 grams (61% DV) of fiber, and 16% the daily value of iron. You have to be careful with portions though if you are watching your weight, one cup has about 215 calories... but if you are going to eat 1 cup of anything, mung beans (or any beans for that matter) are the way to go (along with veggies!).  

For the party tomorrow I made a Mung Bean & Lentil Curry (I merged a few recipes together) recipe which goes something like this:

Spicy Mung Bean & Lentil Curry

1 cup of mung beans, soaked overnight

1/2 cup of lentils
2 cups of water
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/4 cup diced mango
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoon of cumin 

1 tablespoon of ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne powder

1 cup light coconut milk

Soak mung beans over night (be careful, they double in size!). Transfer to a medium size saucepan, along with the water, turmeric, salt and chili powder. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed - about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. 
Add rest of ingredients and set aside.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When starting to sizzle, toss in the cumin, coriander and cayenne, stir a few times and pour over the mung beans.

Serves 4 - 6.

So, if you are looking to expand your legume repertoire, try eating Mung beans... which can be found in the bulk foods section of Whole Foods (they look like tiny green balls).

PhytoeSTROGEN's: A little hormonal, yes. But immasculating? No!

Last Friday night I was handing out flaxseed samples and a man came up to me asking why the flax brochure didn't say anything about the phytoestrogens in the seeds. I was rather taken aback because it was not until starting this new job that I learned how many men are opposed to eating soy and flax because of their high
phytoestrogen content. Men have told me they avoid these foods because they think it will take their testerone out of balance, and therefore, inhibit muscle growth and decrease fertility, or they avoid it because of other health concerns. As I probably mentioned before, I have come across a lot of women here too that completely avoid soy and think it is the root of many of our health problems (including AHDH, autism, diabetes, etc).

Here is what we know:

• Phytoestrogens (PE's) are compounds (including isoflavones, lignans, and coumestans) which are structurally similar to the hormone estrogen in human beings. These are found in grains, beans, seeds, berries, fruit, vegetables, and root crops (so if you are looking to avoid them, you are cutting out the foundation of a healthy diet). Another fun fact: they are found in trans-resveratrol in red wine which has been shown to be protective for cardiac health.
• Studies are not definitive, but many suggest that soy protein intake may help prevent breast cancer. In the Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study, the authors concluded: "Among women with breast cancer, soy food consumption was significantly associated with decreased risk of death and recurrence" (2). However, the findings of different studies are mixed, with the strongest trend showing that soy intake during adolescence may be protective against developing breast cancer later in life.
• PE's help to regulate blood-sugar balance, which is involved in insulin metabolism and weight control
• Only when PE's are isolated and concentrated (as in supplement form) do they actually promote some types of cancer growth
• Only a few studies have shown that in rats with high PE intakes their fertility decreases. However, most of these studies did not take into account other factors such as oxidative stress, so they are inconclusive.
• More research is still needed on PEs, but overall, the studies show no, or possibly, a favorable effect of eating a high PE diet (through food sources!). The message is that the studies are inconclusive.
• In order to get the most benefit, you need to eat PE's in natural food form, and DO NOT use supplements or concentrated doses. If you are a women with breast cancer or without ovaries, consult with your doctor before adopting a high PE diet (PE's act differently on these types of women).

My recommendation: Eat lots of beans, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and yes... even soy and flax!


References:
1. Feminist Women's Health Center Website: www.fwhc.org/health/phytoestrogens.htm
2. Boyapati, S.  M., et al.  (2005).  Soyfood intake and breast cancer survival:  a followup of the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study.  Breast Cancer Research Treatment.  92, 11-17.
3. The World's Healthiest Foods Website.  "Do phytoestrogens, like those found in flaxseed, have an effect on male hormone balance?" http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=144&utm_source=rss_reader&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_feed
4. Linus Pauling Micronutrient Information Center. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/soyiso/