Five foods you thought were bad for you, but aren't

I remember the way my mom's eyes lit up when I told her she could eat real butter. "Like...actual butter?" she asked. Since the 80s she had been in search for a "healthy" butter alternative. The splashy Fabio commercials for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter distracted her from the fact that the packaging featured questionable ingredients.

Which brings me to...

BUTTER

Vegan butter is a modern marketing spin on margarine. Though I do applaud anyone with the willpower to cut animal products out of their diet (and gory, guilt-inducing content out of their Instagram feed), this product is usually made with unnecessary additives and hydrogenated oils, which clog your arteries. Butter is pure, made with just cream and salt.

 

EGG YOLKS

Simply put, most of the nutrition in an egg comes from the yolk. The egg whites have protein, but none of the vitamins, minerals and healthy fats you need. If you hopped on the egg white train, you're missing out on a lot of nutrients. Concerned about cholesterol? Your brain is made of 60% cholesterol. McDonald's is a little late to the party, trying to market their egg white McMuffins just as the world is waking up from this 90s health trend. 

SALT

Granted, not all salt is created equal. Those concerned with blood pressure can rest easy if they use pink Himalayan salt, as it's lower in sodium, and bursting with vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron. And of course, salt is a necessity in our diet, and low sodium levels can cause sleep disruption. 

WINE

Okay, we all have that friend who is a walking billboard as to why we shouldn't drink too much. And we've all been the billboard at least once, as evidenced by my above photo. But it turns out with that people who enjoy at least one drink per week are less likely to have impaired cognitive function later in life - even less likely than teetotallers. And red wine is loaded with resveratrol, an antioxidant linked to increasing levels of good HDL cholesterol.

COFFEE

Addicive stimulant, or nectar of the gods? New research shows that drinking coffee can lower rates of type-2 diabetes, reduce the risk for certain cancers, improve memory and elevate mood. The USDA's updated dietary guidelines say that drinking between 3-5 cups of coffee per day is harmless.

If too much coffee makes you jittery, you can always cut back. Also, consider yourself lucky. It used to make me hyper. Then it just kept me awake. Now it just keeps me alive.