Determining which product is useful and which can harm health is not so easy. And above all, this is due to the fact that we are all different and each has its own health characteristics. However, despite the fact that everyone is individual, most of us have our own assessment of the harmfulness and usefulness of products. Food manufacturers also contribute to our choice by actively promoting certain products, providing them with “healthy” labels. Agree, you often choose the product that says “no sugar”, “no cholesterol”, “no GMO”, “farm product”, often without thinking what is generally behind these words.
Avocado is one of the healthiest foods
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Scientists from Tufts University decided to sort out this issue once and for all, who evaluated the usefulness (and harm) of more than 8,000 products. Just think about this number — we are not sure that we can list so many products (and they could).
Each product was evaluated according to a specially created scale — a maximum of 100 points could be obtained. They studied several important characteristics, including: nutritional value, content of vitamins, minerals, artificial additives, fiber, proteins, and processing method. They placed all products in one rating: from the most harmful to the most useful, received a document on 123 pages. Products that scored more than 70 points fell into the category of healthy and useful. Those who scored less than 30 were classified as harmful.
Most Healthy Products
And what got to the first places of this rating, having collected the maximum number of points? There seem to be no surprises here. The following products received the most points:
tomato juice (without salt and preservatives);
raw vegetables and fruits;
whole grains;
legumes;
nuts;
fish (especially tuna and halibut);
natural yogurt;
vegetable oil.
Note that all these products are standard components of the Mediterranean diet, which has long established itself as a nutrition system that provides maximum longevity, as well as benefits for the heart and blood vessels.
The most harmful products
The list of harmful products that ended up at the very tail in the ranking included some food that we do not associate with something harmful at all. And here are the leaders of the utility anti-rating:
bread and pastries made from white flour;
soda (with sugar) and energy drinks;
concentrated juices and fruit-flavored drinks (with sugar);
processed meat — sausage, sausages, sausages;
salad dressings and low-fat sauces;
«light» oil with low fat content;
sweets and sweets, including those labeled «sugar-free».
It turned out that in addition to quite obvious harmful products — sweets and sausages — low-fat food, which many consider to be healthier and more useful, got into the rating. In fact, there is nothing dangerous for health in most fats, especially when it comes to polyunsaturated fatty acids, which, on the contrary, are necessary and important. The danger is mainly trans fats, which are found in large quantities in fast food and some prepared foods.
We did not expect to see some products on the list of harmful
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Some products made the list more than once. For example, whole-grain bread, which is high in fiber, scored significantly higher than white-flour bread, which is at the bottom of the list: 64 points versus 8. about nuts with salt, spices and other additives. The situation was similar with fruits: fresh ones were useful and healthy, but processing, during which they were immersed, for example, in sugar syrup, immediately caused a sharp drop.
Some of the items on the list are amazing. Beef in this rating scored only 24 points (which, by the way, is less than carbonated drinks) and ended up at the bottom of the standings, significantly behind chicken meat — 42.7 and seafood (more than 67 points).
The conclusion from this story is quite simple: when choosing products, you need to focus not on the bright packaging and advertising assurances of manufacturers, but on what is written on the label with the composition. Even if a product is labeled as sugar-free or low-fat, it can still be high in calories, often more than their full-fat counterparts. There are many ways to deceive us, but we must be on the lookout and not fall for these tricks. Following the principles of the Mediterranean diet can actually be beneficial. Even if you do not set yourself the goal of losing weight. Vegetables and fruits in the diet, whole grains rich in fiber, lean meats, fish and vegetable oils containing healthy fats — all this will make the diet healthy and healthy. In addition, on the Mediterranean diet, it is recommended to drink red wine — in moderation, of course, in quantities. The fact is that it is rich in antioxidants, mainly resveratrol, which fights inflammation and cellular aging, in general, it has a beneficial effect from all sides.
Fruits and vegetables are important to include in your diet.
