Once food was considered a source of energy and pleasure. But today the dining table is turning into a minefield. Could a poisonous substance be hiding under the guise of harmless bacon? And the wheat from which bread is baked seems to be just waiting for the right moment to deliver a crushing blow to the brain! Even the bubbles in soda are recognized as a source of increased danger.
The main horror is that recommendations for healthy eating are constantly changing. As recently put by the famous British TV cook Nigella Lawson, 'It’s safe to say: if a product is considered healthy this year, next year something harmful will certainly be found in it.'
Perhaps this is to some extent inevitable: evidence-based health recommendations must be constantly updated as new research reveals new features of foods and their effects on our bodies. But when journalists (and poorly informed medical 'gurus') exaggerate the results of these studies, presenting them out of context, it can cause unfounded fears and, paradoxically, spur increased consumption of even more harmful products.
We tried to sort out this confusion by studying all the currently available information. You will probably be pleased to learn that many of your favorite foods are by no means time bombs, no matter what you’ve been told.
PRODUCT: BACON
Cause for concern: processed meat is as dangerous as cigarettes.
In fact, the World Health Organization announced that there is undeniable evidence that bacon (and other types of processed meat) can contribute to the development of colorectal cancer. However, the danger is actually not as great as some media tried to convince us.
In a very sensible blog by the British Center for Cancer Research, it is noted that colorectal cancer itself is a relatively rare disease. If you almost completely abstain from meat, the lifetime risk of developing such a tumor is 5.6%. But even if you eat bacon and ham every day, the probability increases only to about 6.6%. In other words, out of every hundred people who stop eating bacon, only one will avoid cancer because of it.
For comparison, consider similar data on tobacco consumption: out of every hundred people who quit smoking, 10-15 may have their lives saved by giving up cigarettes. Quite a different story, right?
But still, the habit of eating 20 slices of bacon a day might be worth reconsidering. The UK government warns citizens that a healthy intake of such products averages 70 grams per day – that's about three slices of bacon or two sausages.
Let's sum up. Good old bacon and eggs may not be as healthy as a bowl of oatmeal, but they are not poisonous either.
PRODUCT: COFFEE
Cause for concern: caffeine addiction can lead to a heart attack.
In fact, there is very little evidence that a cup of coffee can prematurely send a person to the grave. Moreover, it is possible that the opposite is true.
In 2012, the authoritative American publication New England Journal of Medicine published data from observations of the health of 400,000 Americans over 13 years. Scientists found that among people who drank three to six cups of coffee a day, the probability of death during the 13-year observation period was 10% lower. They developed cardiovascular and infectious diseases, as well as stroke and diabetes, less frequently.
In 2014, a review of several studies that observed the health of over a million people showed a similar picture: people whose daily coffee intake was four cups had a 16% lower probability of death.
Note that these are only observational results, not experiments. Although scientists tried to take other factors into account, such studies cannot determine whether coffee was the 'protector' of the heart or whether there is another explanation. It is quite possible that healthy people are simply more drawn to coffee. However, this 'addiction' is relatively harmless compared to others.
Let's sum up. Coffee may not be the 'elixir of life' as some believe, but at least you can certainly allow yourself a shot of espresso in the morning.
PRODUCT: WHEAT
Cause for concern: wheat can affect the brain, triggering the development of Alzheimer's disease.
In fact, a true gluten allergy, called celiac disease, which can affect the intestines leading to digestive disorders, is observed in a very small number of people – about 1% of the population. Other people without celiac disease may have 'increased sensitivity' to gluten: symptoms do not appear at a small dose, but discomfort may occur if bread is overeaten.
Explanations for this increased sensitivity to gluten not related to celiac disease appear contradictory: the unpleasant condition may be caused not by the gluten in wheat, but by various sugars and proteins that are also found in other foods, including fruits and onions. In that case, simply eliminating wheat from the diet will not be enough to relieve symptoms.
Nevertheless, some people follow a gluten-free diet even in the absence of any specific symptoms – simply because they consider wheat toxic. As recently stated by Peter Green, a researcher at Columbia University (USA), "Proponents of a grain-free or gluten-free diet often cite our work on celiac disease, drawing conclusions from it that are far removed from the tenets of evidence-based medicine."
For example, the claim that wheat-based products supposedly cause inflammatory processes throughout the body, which may contribute to cognitive dysfunction and increase the risk of serious diseases such as Alzheimer's, is very popular. But despite the fact that high consumption of foods rich in carbohydrates and sugars can indeed lead to brain damage over time, whole-grain wheat is still better than other energy sources like potatoes, because the release of sugars during digestion of wheat occurs more slowly.
Let's sum up. People have been eating wheat for at least 10,000 years, and if you have no identified allergy, there are no particular reasons to give up this product – at least until much more information is gathered.
PRODUCTS: BUTTER, CHEESE, AND WHOLE MILK
Cause for concern: consuming dairy products clogs arteries and leads to cardiovascular disease.
In fact, for decades we've been told one simple thing: 'saturated' fats found in cheese, butter, and whole milk raise blood cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of heart attack. For this reason, many medical organizations urged us to incorporate margarine and vegetable oil into our diet, thus replacing saturated fats with 'polyunsaturated' ones, which are traditionally used in Mediterranean cuisine, known as an example of healthy eating. However, over the past few years, we've been hit by a flood – and then a veritable deluge – of very surprising information contradicting this accepted 'truth'.
After reviewing all available data, the authors of a large-scale review recently published in the American scientific journal Annals of Internal Medicine concluded that 'high consumption of saturated fats has no effect on the development of coronary heart disease.' In this case, we are also dealing only with observational results, but a group of scientists decided to test these findings in practice and conducted a carefully designed study in which participants were asked to eat 27% fat Gouda cheese daily for eight weeks. By the end of this period, their cholesterol levels were lower than those of the control group, which consumed low-fat products.
Strangest of all, although regular milk and butter are literally packed with calories, lovers of full-fat dairy products develop obesity no more often than those who drink low-fat milk. Moreover, according to 12 different studies, these people are on average slimmer than consumers of low-fat products. Perhaps it's because the fats themselves help regulate metabolic processes, allowing the body to burn energy more efficiently, or that fatty dairy products curb hunger for a long time, reducing the desire to 'top up' with something harmful.
Let's sum up. We don't yet know why, but perhaps fatty products will soon be recognized as dietary.
PRODUCT: PASTEURIZED MILK
Cause for concern: consuming pasteurized milk may trigger eczema, asthma, and other immune diseases.
In fact, it's not only regular-fat milk that has come under criticism. According to a common belief, the more 'natural' the food, the healthier it is, so some people have started avoiding pasteurized milk. Adherents of this approach are convinced that pasteurization destroys many beneficial nutrients in milk, including proteins that can protect the body from allergies. Moreover, they believe that 'good microbes' die during pasteurization, which could improve gut microbiota, aiding digestion, strengthening the immune system, and even protecting against cancer.
However, many doctors believe that such conclusions are premature. With the gentle heating used in pasteurization, almost all nutrients should be preserved. Moreover, it is unlikely that the beneficial bacteria in raw milk are so important for the body: for a sufficient number of such bacteria to survive digestion and reach the intestine, their colonies would need to be several thousand times larger.
And despite indirect evidence for this assumption – supposedly those who drank raw milk as children develop allergic diseases less often – it's hard to say with certainty that the cause is the consumption of milk itself, rather than the fact that raw milk is usually drunk by village children whose bodies are accustomed from childhood to fighting allergens (otherwise they wouldn't survive among so many animals).
Moreover, raw milk can be dangerous: it's not without reason that it is pasteurized to get rid of microbes that can cause serious diseases – tuberculosis bacteria, salmonella, and E. coli.
Let's sum up: before diving into raw milk and risking a dangerous infection, it's worth waiting for scientific confirmation of such strange claims.
PRODUCT: EGGS
Cause for concern: an egg means death from a heart attack!
In fact, it was once believed that eggs, like regular fat milk, cause blockage of arteries with cholesterol plaques and an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. There may be some truth in these claims, but for a healthy person, consumption of up to seven eggs per week does not appear to have any adverse effects.
To summarize: aside from the risk of flatulence and constipation, eggs should be recognized as a safe and valuable source of protein.