7 'Bad' Foods That Are Actually Pretty Good For You
You know what I hate? When I'm chowing down on something delicious and healthy, like a bowl of granola, and someone comes over to me to tell me how loaded with butter and sugar my breakfast is.
Thanks a lot, everyone.
Truthfully, a lot of the "healthy" things I love aren't all that great for me.
For example, it sucks red wine stops being healthy the second I have two glasses. I also hate that all my favorite breakfast cereals are loaded with sugar, as are a lot of the yogurts I bring for my mid-day snacks.
Yep, life is unfair. But, here's the good news: Some of the things we've always been told are "bad" have some surprising health benefits.
Prepare to be amazed and eat some fantastic meals this week.
Butter
If you frequently spray I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! on your bread, you can swap it out for the real thing starting right now.
While it's true butter has a good amount of calories and fat, when eaten in moderation, butter is actually a great way to get healthy, saturated fats and fat-soluble vitamins.
Not convinced? Research shows consuming full-fat dairy products is actually correlated with a lower risk of obesity.
Tequila
Let's get one thing out of the way right now: Drinking four margaritas tonight will lead to a hangover.
That being said, when it comes to alcohol, tequila has some awesome health benefits. Studies show tequila helps lower blood sugar and aids in blood flow. And in its purest form, tequila actually doesn't lead to a hangover.
I now give you permission to have two shots of high-quality tequila with your dinner tonight.
Coffee
If you feel guilty about your coffee habit, you really shouldn't.
It's true super sugary, calorie-packed Starbucks drinks aren't doing you any favors. Plus, you should probably cut back if you think the caffeine is making it harder for you to sleep. But overall, coffee is actually pretty healthy.
In fact, your morning cup of Joe is filled with antioxidants, keeps you mentally sharp and reduces stress.
Eggs
Eggs are one of those foods we're constantly getting mixed messages on. There are eggs in cookies, super cheesy, high-calorie omelets and basically every other "bad" food you can think of. Plus, you heard some weird things about the yolk, so you should probably never touch an egg again... right?
Wrong.
In fact, you should probably make a batch of hard-boiled eggs right now.
Not only are eggs low in calories (a large egg has about 77 calories), but they're packed with nutrients. Just one egg delivers a healthy dose of vitamins B12, B2, A and B5, as well as selenium.
I don't know about you, but I'm having eggs for dinner.
Potatoes
Here's why potatoes get a bad rap: They're fried up to make french fries, mashed up and mixed with butter to make mashed potatoes and covered with sour cream and bacon when they're baked.
But in their purest forms, medium-sized potatoes are super nutritious. They have 14 percent of your daily fiber, 36 percent of your daily vitamin C and 27 percent of your daily potassium.
Plus, potatoes are cheap. They deserve a place on your dinner plate.
Full-Fat Yogurt
Buying nonfat yogurt is out of style. The full-fat stuff is officially in.
Here's the thing about nonfat yogurt: It has fewer nutrients than full-fat yogurt, and it generally has quite a bit of sugar added to it, which will leave you feeling hungry and tired for the rest of the day.
On top of that, studies show people who eat full-fat dairy products gain less weight and are at lower risks for obesity. So, ditch the fruity yogurt and go for the plain, creamy kind.
Chocolate
As a chocoholic, this is the best news ever.
No, you shouldn't be loading up on Snickers bars and M&M's (I know, it sucks), but eating a few squares of dark chocolate every day can curb sugar cravings, improve blood flow and provide the body with antioxidants.
Just try not to eat it too close to bedtime; dark chocolate contains small amounts of caffeine.
I hope you took notes and made a very impressive grocery list -- just go easy on the tequila!
Citations: The Full-Fat Paradox: Whole Milk May Keep Us Lean (NPR), 7 Reasons Why Butter is Healthy in Moderation (Authority Nutrition), Should I Eat Potatoes? (TIME), 11 Reasons You Should Drink Coffee Every Day (Huffington Post)
