Challenging Nutrition Myths: Myth # 2

Myth # 2: Cholesterol-free foods are a more healthful choice.

Not necessarily. Some foods that have absolutely no cholesterol may be loaded with calories, sugar and salt. Conversely, eggs contain cholesterol in the yolk (no big deal for the average person)and are also very rich in many important nutrients. They can be a valuable part of most people's diet. Watch out for baked goods made with hydrogenated vegetable oils...whether you bought them or made them in your own kitchen. These foods may very well have no cholesterol, but lots of trans fatty acids. I hope a special place is reserved in Hell for companies that brag "no cholesterol" when their product didn't have it in the first place...products like potato chips and peanut butter..

Speaking of fat and cholesterol, some people have concluded that the appropriate way to avoid these substances is to eliminate red meat from their diet. Bad move. It's certainly wise to avoid excessive intake (of anything)but just because nobody needs a 16 ounce slab of meat hanging off their plate, is no argument that therefore no ounces is a better idea. The minerals found in red meat, especially iron and zinc, as well as many vitamins, make it a perfectly healthful choice when consumed in moderation.

In a similar vein, some folks have bought into the notion promoted by some popular, though ill-informed, diet books that milk and milk products should be avoided. While it's true that whole milk and whole-milk products like cheese and yogurt contain fat and cholesterol, this poses no problem when consumed in normal amounts and when the rest of the diet is reasonably controlled for calorie content. Of course, one can choose low-fat or no-fat dairy products and still obtain all of milk's valuable nutrients...especially calcium and riboflavin. The down-side of opting for fat-free milk products is that a very important substance is thereby rejected: conjugated linoleic acid. CLA (the acronym for conjugated linoleic acid) has been shown in countless animal studies (and some human studies as well) to be anti carcinogenic and possibly anti atherogenic. It could be simple coincidence, or more telling than that, but as the intake of dairy fat (and the fat of all ruminant or cud-chewing animals) has gone down, the incidence of cancer and coronary artery disease has gone up. Compounding the problem is the fact that the intake of linoleic acid (found primarily in vegetable oils) has also sky-rocketed along with the incidence of these diseases. Linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid) is a known cancer promoter and of particular importance is the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 (found primarily in fish oils). For more on this topic see my blog dated June 19, 2009.

The upshot of all this, is that it's wise to concentrate on your overall caloric intake, but don't make the mistake of eliminating any important food group in so doing. Let moderation be your guide and take advantage of the many calorie-reduced and calorie-free products on the market. Just be sure that a product labeled "fat-free" hasn't replaced the fat with sugar, resulting in as many or more calories than the original product had in the first place.