Chicken nuggets: tasty treat, cardiac nightmare
Here’s a news flash for you. Those deep-fried chicken nuggets your kids love have “minimal nutritional value”, according to a new investigation by Consumer Reports Health. UK chef and food activist Jamie Oliver justifiably calls these chicken nuggets “fake food” – a creepy concoction of mechanically processed carcass, chicken skin and bread crumbs. Watch Jamie explain to a group of school children just what’s inside chicken nuggets in this must-see two-minute video.
Whether purchased in frozen packages at the grocery store or hot from fast food chains like McDonald’s, chicken nuggets pack a wallop of coronary artery-damaging fat and sodium, Consumer Reports Health says in a news release about their study. And the brand of nuggets that ranked lowest in fat and sodium ( ‘Health is Wealth’) rated dead last in taste.
What’s more, many brands make claims that are misleading, using terms like “whole grain,” “all natural,” or “organic” - which make some people think of the little chicken bites as healthy dinner choices, the report says. (more…)
How eating simple carbs raises heart risks for women – but not for men
Do you love a flaky croissant along with your morning coffee? A diet that’s rich in simple carbohydrates like that croissant (quickly transformed into sugar in your bloodstream) raises the risk of heart disease for women, a new Italian study has found.
The same effect, however, is not seen in men, according to the report, published April 12, 2010 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The study, by researchers at Italy’s National Cancer Institute, looked not only at total carbohydrate intake but also at what is known as the glycemic index of those carbohydrates — a measure of how quickly and to what extent blood sugar rises after intake of specific carbohydrates.
“A high glycemic index is known to increase the concentration of triglycerides in the blood and lower the concentration of HDL (good) cholesterol,” explained Victoria Drake, director of the Micronutrient Information Center at the Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University. “Those adverse effects make it a stronger risk factor for heart disease.”
No effect from total carbohydrate consumption or consumption of foods with a high-glycemic index was seen in men in the Italian study, a pattern also seen in other studies, Drake added. “There is definitely a gender difference.“ (more…)
Heart-smart food rules: your dietary dos and don’ts
Author and foodie Michael Pollan asked and answered this question of his New York Times readers last year: “How did humans manage to choose foods and stay healthy before there were nutrition experts and food pyramids or breakfast cereals promising to improve your child’s focus or restaurant portions bigger than your head?
“We relied on culture, which is another way of saying: on the accumulated wisdom of the tribe.”
Curious about the wisdom of other people’s tribes, Pollan asked his NYT readers to send him their own favourite rules for eating well. Within days, he received over 2,500 responses, including gems like:
“If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you are not hungry.”
Here are just 20 of the food rules he liked best.
What’s your best food rule for eating well? Share it with us!
Eggs: good or bad for you? Take this quiz
“I cannot lay an egg, but I am a good judge of omelettes.” George Bernard Shaw
Eggs were once vilified for their high cholesterol content and were thought to be a major contributor to heart disease.
According to Harvard University’s Harvard Heart Letter, however, it is not the cholesterol in eggs or other food that’s a major culprit. It’s saturated and trans fats (which our bodies convert to artery-clogging cholesterol). Here’s how Harvard cardiologists unscramble the dietary facts and myths about the egg.
Fact: Eggs are a good source of nutrients. One egg contains six grams of protein and some healthful unsaturated fats. Eggs are also a good source of choline, which has been linked with preserving memory, and lutein and zeaxanthin, which may protect against vision loss.
Myth: Eating eggs is bad for your heart. The only large study to look at the impact on heart disease of eating up to six eggs per week (reported in the April 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) found no connection between the two. In people with diabetes, though, egg-a-day eaters were slightly more likely to have developed heart disease than diabetics who rarely ate eggs. (Ed. note: this study was done on men only). (more…)
My favourite brunch recipe for heart-healthy Blueberry Almond French Toast
- The best thing about this heart-smart brunch recipe for eight is that you make it the night before. Ten minutes of easy prep time, about eight hours of overnight sitting time, and 50 minutes of baking time next morning, filling your kitchen with that irresistible vanilla-cinnamon aroma while you’re off showering and making coffee. And did I mention that it also looks and tastes fabulously delicious? Perfect for feeding a crowd of hungry holiday houseguests! (more…)
