Is It Good for You … Or Bad for You?: Despite Conflicting Advice About Some Foods, Nutritionists Say Finding a Healthful Diet is Easy

By Dan Kelly, Reading Eagle, Pa.

Jan. 31–Ever since scientists presented the results of a study on butter in 1934, a debate has raged over the health values of foods we eat. Studies decrying the evils of butter have been followed by scientific papers reporting high levels of trans fats in margarine, a butter substitute. Is fish a great source of protein or an even greater source of mercury? Is salt good or bad? Is sugar a harmful or a useful cooking ingredient? Despite conflicting studies and papers, local nutritionists say finding a healthful diet is really easy. “Just stick to the perimeter of your grocery market,” said David J. Dolan, a Shillington chiropractor and nutritionist. Think about it. You walk in the front door, and along the right wall are fruits and vegetables. The back wall usually has fish and meats, and the left wall has dairy products. The front wall in many cases has fresh-baked breads. “Just don’t venture into the dark center of your supermarket and you’ll be OK,” Dolan said. And, by the way, Dolan comes down on the side of the butter eaters. “Most margarines have trans fats in them,” Dolan said. “Remember, if it’s made by a man, don’t eat it.” Dolan cites his nutritional density theorem: The nutritional density of food declines in direct proportion to the amount of processing it has undergone. “Nutritional density, that’s my term,” Dolan said proudly. Meanwhile, RealAge.com weighs in on whether all fat is bad for you. The nutrition Web site reports that even your salad should be accompanied by a little fat — olive oil and nuts are recommended — because fats actually help your body absorb and use all the vitamin E, carotene and flavonoids, which are fat-soluble nutrients. “People undergo a constant barrage of confusing and conflicting reports about the foods they eat,” said Jill Zelinsky, assistant director of nutrition services at Reading Hospital. “The science is ever-changing,” Zelinsky said. “But that’s actually a good thing.” Because so much research is being poured into our diets, our ability to establish a safe and healthful diet is growing, Zelinsky said. We need to calmly evaluate each study that comes out and consider the source, she added. For example, reports that diet soda is bad because it is high in sodium are false, unless you’re drinking gallons of it. “The amount of sodium in diet soda is dietetically insignificant,” she said. “Of course, you’d be better off drinking water.”"Eat colorful food. If you think about it, you can have white mashed potatoes, white turkey and white bread, or you can have sweet potatoes, whole grain bread, red peppers, salmon and fruit. “That would be higher in fiber and better for you.” Another tip, she said, is the bigger the fish, the more likely it has been exposed to mercury, PCBs, lead and other contaminants. Zelinsky said quick weightloss diets are the bane of good nutrition. “My pet peeve is the quickfix diet,” she said. “Diets end. Good nutrition is a lifetime commitment to good health.”

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, Reading Eagle, Pa.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.