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SPECIAL REPORT

5 Forbidden Foods That Can

Save Your Lifew w w . b e l m a r r a h e a l t h . c o m

Five forbidden foods that can save your life

Five Forbidden Foods That Can Save Your Life is published by Bel Marra Health, Harvard Square, One Mifflin Place, Suite 400, Cambridge, MA 02138; in Canada, P.O. Box 77001, RPO Martin Grove, Woodbridge, ON L4L 9S3. Contents Copyright 2014 by Bel Marra Health. No part of this report may be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any means or media without written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved. Five Forbid-den Foods That Can Save Your Life is presented for information purposes only, and should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. On any matter relating to your health or well-being, please check with an appropriate health professional. The opinions herein are exactly that, they are opinions of the author. 0514

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Five Forbidden Foods That Can Save Your Life

It’s true; some foods should be locked up. Put ‘em away in a prison cell and throw away the key, because they are good for nothing but tempting us. But this list of forbidden foods isn’t as long as many people make it out to be. This special report I’ve put together goes in-depth on five particular food choices that have a lot of myths and apprehension attached to them.

I’ve read a lot of the literature out there regarding healthy eating. While most of it is basically correct, I often see unnecessary fear mongering. Words such as “calories,” “cholesterol,” “sodium,” and “fat” leap off the page as things to avoid at all costs. Well, I hate to break it to everyone, but not only is it virtually impossible not to get these things in our diet, but it’s also downright necessary!

• We burn calories for energy. Want to feel really fatigued? Try eating a scant amount of calories.

• Not all cholesterol is bad. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is imperative to your body’s function.

• As for sodium, we have it in the

fluid around every single cell in our bodies. We need it for life!

• Not all fat is equal. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are powerful health-boosters and are critical for disease prevention.

There are too many myths involved in the food world. I want to dispel some of them. Overall, what you need to remember is moderation. Get your nutrients, calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium in the right amounts and from the right sources. Obesity is caused by many things, and one of them is overeating. Moderation is the road to health.

What follows are five stories being set straight. They are forbidden

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foods that need some discussion, because they do carry colossal benefits—so long as you eat them in the right amounts. These foods have special, individual, unique benefits that cut across the whole medical spectrum.

Sit back and smile, because you don’t have to give up everything you crave for the sake of health.

1: EggsThe first scratch to make on your list of forbidden foods should be “eggs.”

Before the Second World War, eggs mostly came from small farms that had fewer than 400 hens. In the few decades following, technology was introduced, and by the 1960s, egg production had turned into a major operation. In total, the U.S. produces roughly 70.5 billion eggs a

year. No joke.

Eggs: Quality and colorAn egg consists of the yellow yolk surrounded by a liquid see-through egg white, capped off with a shell. No other food is quite like the egg, which transcends food groups because of its use in cooking. The colors of the shell and the yolk tend to vary—but they don’t have anything to do with the quality of an egg or its nutritional value.

• The shell gets its color from the breed of the hen. It will be somewhere between white and dark brown. The only difference is price.

• The white, translucent part of the egg is called its “albumen.” It doesn’t turn white until cooked. If it has some yellow or green in it, this simply signals the presence of vitamin B2—quite the opposite of something to worry about.

• The yolk’s color depends on what the hen was eating. There are no artificial colors. It will be mostly yellow if the hen eats lots of plant pigments called “xanthophylls.” Medium-yellow yolks come from a hen’s diet of yellow corn and alfalfa. Hens fed wheat or barley produce light-colored yolks.

When anyone discusses Grade AA, A, or B eggs, they are talking about


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how big a particular egg is, how firm the yolk is, and how thick the white inside is. It is not so much a quality control measure. Then there are organic eggs, produced when hen food is made with ingredients that have never touched pesticides, fertilizer, herbicides, or the like. They are more expensive, as is organic produce, but worth the price if you can manage it. Organic eggs will have the same nutritional content.

Forbidden?Eggs get a bad rap from those pushing healthy food choices in our society. The main promoted cause for concern is the high cholesterol count of eggs that negatively impacts our heart to the point where, if you eat enough of them, they put you at greater risk of heart disease. But this needs some serious clarification.

First off, yes, the yolk in every egg is very high in cholesterol for such a small thing. What is also true is that the yolk contains many B vitamins, including riboflavin, vitamin A, and iron. Meanwhile, the white of the egg has no cholesterol at all and no fat. Now, cholesterol is equated with getting blocked arteries—which we all know can lead to strokes and heart attacks and the condition of atherosclerosis.

Logically, people start assuming that, since eggs have cholesterol and since cholesterol clogs arteries, eggs are not good.

But there is a distinction to be made here: dietary cholesterol (found in your food) is far different than blood cholesterol, which is the amount flowing through your body. These two are not as directly related as scientists used to think. The cholesterol inside the yolk does not immediately become blood cholesterol, which is the real problem that leads to heart conditions. Our liver actually makes blood cholesterol, which comes in two kinds: HDL (good) and LDL (bad).

I’ve read several studies recently showing that adding one or two eggs a day to your diet does not effect any major changes in blood cholesterol levels.

There’s also a very interesting study out of the University of Arizona, published in 1997. Examining 25 years’ worth of dietary research, these scientists came to the conclusion that it is saturated fat—not dietary cholesterol—that raises our blood cholesterol levels.1 And eggs are not that high in saturated fat, which would explain why people who eat a couple of eggs a day don’t have increased cholesterol levels.

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Nutritional profileSo, on the healthy side of the equation, what exactly do eggs contain?

• Protein: You get 11% of your daily value of protein by eating one egg, which has 5.5g of protein. And it costs you less than 70 calories to do so. It’s high-quality protein, fresh and natural, and our bodies crave it.

• Vitamin K: One egg gives you 30% of your daily value. Vitamin K plays a central role in blood clotting, which is important for healing wounds. It also helps make bones, in essence gluing calcium to the bone.

• Selenium: This powerful antioxidant mineral protects your health by playing a key role in many enzymes.

• Choline: Choline boosts your brain function, nervous system, and raises your heart’s health. Eggs contain a good chunk of choline, essential for keeping folate levels strong. One yolk provides 300 µg of choline, and 315 mg of another form of choline.

• Iodine: This mineral can be tough to come by through food. One egg gets you about 15% of your daily value, which is good.

Iodine is critical for your thyroid gland to work properly.

• Vitamin B2: You get about 14% of your daily value in one egg. This essential vitamin helps convert carbs, fat, and protein into usable energy. It also functions as an antioxidant, and is believed to help fight free radical damage.

Eggs also have vitamins B12, B5 and D, molybdenum, phosphorus and tryptophan.

Eggs improve your cholesterol levelsFar from making things worse, an egg can make your cholesterol situation better. Take this study, for instance, published late in 2004 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It took place in northern Mexico, where residents have diets that contain a lot of fat and have a high risk of getting coronary artery disease. Researchers sought to see what adding two eggs to the daily diets of 54 children would do—specifically to their LDL and HDL cholesterol levels. (Remember: first is bad, second is good.)

After a month of eating two eggs a day, the children’s ratio of LDL to HDL did not get any worse. And, as a matter of fact, it actually improved. What improved was the size of those LDL molecules. This is


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good, because bigger molecules are less likely to get stuck in arteries and cause atherosclerosis than smaller ones are. After one month, 15% of the children shifted to a “low-risk” status.2

Eggs do NOT raise your risk of heart diseaseResearch published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association confirms that up to one egg a day is not likely going to affect your risk of heart disease. The study group was enormous; totaling more than 117,000 Americans aged 34 to 75. Importantly, nobody had heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or cholesterol at the beginning. In other words, they were pretty healthy.

They wanted to see what relationship there was between eating eggs and getting heart disease. Over 14 years, about 1,800 got heart disease and 820 people suffered strokes. Then they looked at all the reasons why this could happen—smoking, age, genetics, and other risk factors for heart disease. After adjusting for everything, the researchers found “no evidence” of any association between eating eggs and getting stroke or heart disease. Their results were based upon eating one egg every day, and applied to both men and women.3

Yolks could prevent dangerous blood clotsReduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by eating eggs—that’s the conclusion of a study from 2003. Researchers say proteins found in yolk stop platelet aggregation, which is a major factor with blood clots. Those proteins also slow down the body’s creation of fibrin, a substance that begins the clumping and clotting process. In essence, the egg yolk is an anti-clotting mechanism because of the special proteins it contains.4

Eggs help protect your visionCan you believe it? Well, eggs have been found to contain significant amounts of lutein, an antioxidant nutrient that is documented to prevent cataracts and macular degeneration. Recent research suggests the best place could be eggs—the yolk increases

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the availability of lutein because of the cholesterol and choline it contains. (See, another advantage of cholesterol.) A big study last year confirmed it: lutein’s availability is higher in eggs than in other sources such as spinach, and even lutein supplements themselves.5 Chew on that for a while!

Final wordThe truth is that eggs need not be avoided. The key is to eat them in moderation.

The way you cook eggs will influence the amount of oxidized—bad—cholesterol in your blood. Cooking eggs in high heat is not a great idea, as the temperature will promote the oxidation. Since the yolk is the problem here, the one whose delicate balance can suffer oxidation in high heat, the safest way to cook eggs is to remove the yolk altogether. And cook the whites only.

If you want the yolk—here are the two best ways to ensure its cholesterol won’t be oxidized: 1) boil the egg; 2) poach the egg. The reason is that the chances of oxidation grow when the yolk is exposed to air while cooking. Both of these methods keep it covered. Going by this reasoning, the worst way to cook eggs is scrambling them.

2. NutsFor thousands of years, humans

have been eating nuts and enjoying the health benefits. Lacking cholesterol, they pack a punch with unsaturated fats—the healthy kind that helps your heart. There are, of course, many types of nuts that are eaten raw, toasted, roasted or pureed. Those that offer the most significant health benefit include walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, and pistachios.

But before we go a step further into this section, here is the number one point you must remember about nuts. They must be eaten in moderation.

Forbidden?Nuts are coated with false apprehension. They are unfairly and improperly linked with snack foods such as potato chips and pretzels, when in reality they offer endlessly greater health benefits.

Maybe it’s because people think they are a treat or a temptation—something to be saved until company comes over. Rarely do people think of them as an everyday food choice. That’s because the “fat” label has been applied to nuts in North America. High in fat must mean no


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good. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Nuts are not a source of saturated (animal) fats, but instead contain the kind of unsaturated fatty acids that promote health and strengthen your heart. Instead of the mistakenly held belief that they are bad for your heart, nuts are instead very healthy for your heart. They are powerhouses of nutrition.

A handful of walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, or pistachios can do wonders for your body. Wonders that potato chips could never perform. They have unique and explosive flavors, and are fun to munch on. Eating healthy can’t get more enjoyable than this.

Nutritional profileMost nuts contain.

• Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats: Nuts are exceptionally high in the safest

and best type of fat around. These protect your heart, particularly the omega-3 fatty acids that are found in high amounts within walnuts.

• Arginine: Protein in nuts is very high in arginine, a substance that improves the function of your blood vessels. Arginine is needed by another substance, nitric oxide, which helps keep vessels relaxed and open—thus preventing dangerous clots.

• Manganese: Manganese plays a slew of roles in your body—most notably it is an antioxidant that scavenges for free radicals and is known to protect your bones against osteoporosis.

• Vitamin E: Nuts are huge sources of this potent antioxidant and critical nutrient. Almonds, for instance, get you 40% of your daily value in a 1/4 cup.

• Tryptophan: All nuts contain big amounts of this essential amino acid. Almonds get you 20%, cashews 23%, and peanuts 28%.

• Magnesium: This one keeps calcium in check, maintains muscle and nerve function, helps with muscle relaxation, blood clotting, and the formation of new cells, bone, protein, and fatty acids, as well as the creation of ATP—the energy your body uses

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as fuel. A 1/4 cup of cashews gets you about 23% of your daily value.

• Copper: Nuts have a ton of this essential—and easily missed—nutrient. For instance, cashews get you 38% and peanuts 21% of your daily value.

• Fiber: Fiber is always important; many of us don’t get enough in our diets. Almonds are powerful sources, getting you 18% of your daily value in just a handful!

• Phytochemicals: Like all plant foods, peanuts are sources of powerful phytochemicals—natural chemicals that play a key role in keeping you healthy. That list is just a quick cross-

sampling of nutrients. Other ingredients in nuts you benefit from include zinc, vitamin B3, folate, phosphorus, and vitamin B2. And, of course, don’t forget about protein—nuts are a superior way to add some to your diet.

Clinical studies prove it Let’s look at some studies that shed light on why nuts shouldn’t be a forbidden food.

More good fats & lower cholesterol with peanutsResearchers looked at the diets of 14,000 people. They found that while peanut-eaters ate more fat, they had more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats than those who didn’t eat peanuts. Those are the better kinds of fat. They also had lower cholesterol levels and their weight was considerably lower.

Nuts lower heart disease riskIn a 1992 study, researchers found that, of more than 31,000 people, those who ate nuts up to four times a week had a 27% lower risk of dying from heart disease (compared to those who ate nuts less than once a week). Incredibly, eating nuts five or more times a week cut that risk by a whopping 48%. This proved true no matter how much people smoked or exercised, what they ate, or how old they were. Later, they found that nut-eaters lived an average of three years longer than non-nut-eaters.6

Nuts lower heart attack riskIn more than 86,000 women, followed for 14 years, those who ate five or more ounces of nuts each week had a 35% less chance of dying from a heart attack. If these women also didn’t smoke or drink, the reduced risk was 52%.7


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Almonds cut risk of coronary heart diseaseAccording to a study in a 2002 issue of Circulation, almonds are an important tool for people suffering from high cholesterol. Thus, they could significantly reduce their risk of coronary heart disease. In this study, almonds were shown to significantly reduce LDL cholesterol when compared to low-saturated-fat whole-wheat muffins. This shows that the good fats found in the almonds may help control cholesterol and other lipid levels.8

Nuts lower cholesterolIf you add healthy nuts to an already healthy diet, researchers found that the nuts will add their own unique beneficial effects. When people in a study added a variety of nuts to their diet, their LDL cholesterol levels fell further in only two weeks.9

Almonds help you lose weightAlmonds helped overweight adults shed more pounds than a low-calorie diet in a 2003 study. Those eating the nuts got 39% of their calories from fat compared to the other group, which got 18% of their calories from fat. The results: after six months, the almond group lost more weight (18% vs. 11%), trimmed their waistlines (14% vs. 9%), and dropped their

body fat (30% vs. 20%) and their blood pressure (11% vs. 0%).10

Peanuts are huge antioxidantsPeanuts are as high in antioxidants as many fruits, according to a study published in May 2005. Several powerful polyphenols in peanuts are responsible for it being more powerful than strawberries, blackberries, apples, carrots, and beets. When the nuts are roasted, the overall antioxidant content rises by 22%.11

Final wordUnsalted or lightly salted; the more natural the better. Only eat a handful or so a day. Substitute them for other snack foods. EAT IN MODERATION. Aim for relatively small amounts because of their high-calorie content. Simply include them as part of the balanced, disease-blocking diet.

3. BreadEverybody (and their brother) is looking to cut down on bread products in their everyday diets. They’ve been convinced that bread is bad news. Well, number three on my list of forbidden foods is all about one important and monstrously nutritious thing: whole grain bread.

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Bread made with whole grains means that each grain is still entirely intact. It contains all its original nutritional content—it has not been processed or refined (an issue I’ll briefly describe as you read on). It’s easy to spot whole grain bread: the very first ingredient on the package must be the name of a grain. This means choosing whole wheat brands of sliced bread and pita, whole grain pumpernickel or sourdough

or anything that says whole wheat or 100% stone ground. Also, look for breads with these types of grains: oats; flaxseed; soy; cracked wheat; sunflower seed; spelt; barley; buckwheat; rye; or linseed.

For your money, the least forbidden and most health-boosting grains are the following:

• Spelt: It boasts a higher proportion of more nutrients than

any other grain. That includes more than half your daily requirement of vitamin B2 in just two ounces of grain.

• Barley: This old, cultivated cereal is extremely nutritious. Most notably, it is this food category’s greatest source of fiber: just one cup gives you nearly 70% of what your body needs daily. The fiber in barley of course helps with passing stool and decreases the risk of colon cancer. That fiber plays several other roles as well. Two ingredients in barley are capable of lowering cholesterol levels.

• Bulgur (Cracked) Wheat: Bulgur consists of cracked and paraboiled wheat grains. It is often used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes. The grain is perhaps best known as the central ingredient in tabouli. Bulgur is packed with nutrients, and its fiber content—at over 40% of your recommended intake a day—is second only to barley amongst the whole grain family.

• Oats: This is a hugely important grain, because it can grow in any type of soil. When they are hulled, their nutrients and fiber stay intact. It has beta-glucan in it, contributing to the overall cholesterol-lowering effect of


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oats. Its phytochemicals and flavonoids help prevent cancer and heart disease by preventing oxidative damage to LDL cholesterol.

Forbidden?Why should all bread suffer the

forbidden fate when there are stark differences between white, refined bread, and that made with whole grains? Let me show you why all bread shouldn’t be avoided; why none of us has anything to fear from toast or a sandwich.

The Western diet is filled with these refined grains, which took precedence when the mills gained a foothold in technology back in the late 1800s. What happens is these carbs are quickly digested, shooting through our systems and raising blood sugar and insulin levels. In short: they are simply not good for us. In fact, they are one of the major

reasons why we have more heart disease, diabetes and obesity than ever in history. What’s more is that when a grain is refined, it loses a ton of nutritional content.

Whole wheat bread helps prevent the onset of such diseases as type II diabetes, heart disease, and atherosclerosis, as well as high cholesterol levels. Should this food be forbidden?

Nutritional profileThere are many types of whole grains. All of them will have varying concentrations of nutrients in them. What I can promise is that they will have hefty amounts of many important vitamins and minerals, while contributing some serious fiber to your diet. Not only is it healthy to eat whole grain bread, but it’s also downright unhealthy not to eat it.

Here’s what to expect when you stick with whole grain bread:

• Selenium: This is the most powerful antioxidant mineral out there. It is the subject of much research into supporting human health. So far, it has untold health benefit. Barley, for instance, nets you 52% of your daily selenium value.

• Manganese: This lesser-known but essential mineral is found

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in every whole grain. In high amounts. Try getting 75% of its daily value in rye, 70% in oats, and 50% in quinoa.

• Magnesium: This critical nutrient, especially for controlling calcium, is ubiquitous in whole grain. Just to change it up, you’ll find 26% in the millet grain.

• Vitamin B1: Thiamin plays a close role in energy creation, brain function, heart support.

• Vitamin B2: I’ve already mentioned the benefits of this nutrient, a.k.a. riboflavin. You’ll find 77% of your daily value in spelt bread.

• Vitamin B3: Here’s another critical B vitamin, a.k.a. niacin. It helps the body create energy and has a pivotal role in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. Get 25% of your daily value in spelt.

• Iron: Every red blood cell needs iron to transport oxygen throughout your body. Iron’s also needed to make new cells, amino acids, hormones, and neurotransmitters. Find 22% of your daily value in quinoa.

• Protein: Even protein! Find 15% of your daily value in oats.

• Tryptophan: This essential amino acid is found in every whole grain in sizable amounts—

usually in the 20% to 30% range.• Copper: Like tryptophan, copper

is found in profuse amounts in whole grains, in the 20% to 30% range.

Clinical studies prove itHere is a sampling of the studies supporting whole grain bread as a healthy food, rather than a food that should be banned from your life.

Rye helps lower insulin responseDiabetics might be better off trading in whole wheat for rye. According to a Finnish study, rye bread was able to create a lower insulin response, as well as lower GIP and C-peptide responses better than wheat bread. Although three different types of rye bread with differing fiber levels were tested, all ryes produced equal results. This led researchers to believe that there was more at work to control insulin levels than just fiber. After examining the composition of the rye bread, the researchers found the starches in these breads were less porous with a firmer structure. This means that when rye bread is eaten, the particles stay intact in larger sizes that take longer to digest, thus converting to sugars slower than those in wheat bread.12


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Whole grains help prevent heart diseaseHigh-fiber foods such as whole grains could help prevent cardiovascular disease. So says a major study into the diets of 10,000 adults who had no heart problems.13 Over two decades, there were 1,843 cases of heart disease and 3,762 cases of cardiovascular disease. People who ate the most fiber had a 12% lower risk of heart disease and an 11% lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those eating the least fiber. The bread and cereals food group is where most people get their fiber content, although legumes and some fruit are high in fiber as well.

Buckwheat fends off free radicalsBuckwheat, which turns breads and bagels dark brown but has a relatively light, bland flavor, has been linked with antioxidant activities in the body. A Japanese study showed that buckwheat kept linoleic acid and bad LDL cholesterol from oxidizing—an effect that supports cardiovascular health.14 Other studies have shown the same thing.

Oats may lower LDL cholesterol and prevents atherosclerosisAccording to a German study, oat

bran is able to reduce cholesterol levels independently. While oat bran was tested in a fat-reduced, calorie-restricted diet, researchers said that, even when accounting for these known health-helpers, oat bran still helped keep cholesterol down and make hearts healthier. In the study, 235 patients were put onto a calorie-restricted, fat-reduced diet. Of these, 99 people were also supplemented with 35 grams to 50 grams of oat bran. While both groups were able to lower cholesterol levels, the best results were seen in the group also eating oat bran.15

A study out of Tufts University decided to look at these two ingredients and see if they play a role in how plaque builds in our arteries. And sure enough, they found the proof: avenanthramides, found in oats alone, contribute to the prevention of atherosclerosis by stopping certain chemicals and increasing others deep inside your body.16

Final wordBread shouldn’t be forbidden, that’s the final word. I’ve proven it with everything up until now. Read food labels carefully; if in doubt, ask somebody at the store. Add whole grain bread and cut out refined bread, and also watch out for most

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baked goods and pastries, which are generally made with refined flour. Another great option: go for whole grain dough when buying pizzas.

4. ShellfishHumans have been eating shelled fish for, well, let’s just say an awfully long time.

It’s clear when you look at the nutritional content of shellfish that they are health-promoting. Now, some people don’t eat shellfish because they are allergic to it. This may be true for one or two species, but it is difficult to be allergic to all shellfish. Other people, vegetarians and vegans, choose not to eat shellfish because they are alive and they do not eat meat. No argument here, that is fine. But for those people who elect to skip seafood in an effort to stay trim or keep cholesterol down, or who believe

that shrimp and scallops are bad for us, well, they just might be doing their bodies a disservice.

So let’s get to it: an inspection of my fourth forbidden food that just might save your life.

Forbidden?Many people believe shellfish are dirty, bacteria-containing creatures of the sea that aren’t good for our health. These are generally the people who avoid eating shellfish. But the real source of this food group’s forbidden label is much like the myth that is attached to eggs: cholesterol. People believe that shrimp, lobster, and other shelled creatures of the ocean are high in cholesterol and high in fat. But even though both of these ideas can be true, they are not always true. And, just as I explained in the eggs section, shellfish aren’t exactly what they seem.

Shedding the fat myth is easy. As you’ll see in the nutritional profile I’ve put together, most forms of shellfish are not high in fat at all. People commonly associate cholesterol with fat, and thus believe foods high in one are high in the other, too. And if a shellfish has fat content in it, it is predominantly unsaturated fats—meaning it is the healthy ones your body needs.


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This should come as no surprise, considering all the fish out there are well-known to be tremendous sources of omega-3 fatty acids—the primary reason that fish is considered healthy at all. Well, shellfish is the same more or less. Although shellfish are meatier and different than your average fish, the nutrients and fat content are similar.

And shellfish are very low in fat. Another piece of news is that they are not as high in cholesterol as we might believe. Scientists have created new measuring techniques to check out these levels, and have found that many molluscan shellfish have much less cholesterol than previously believed. These included clams, mussels, scallops, and oysters, all of which have more of what are called “noncholesterol sterols,” which actually exert a positive effect on our bodies. They actually stop cholesterol from being absorbed.

In any event, the cholesterol levels of most shellfish are similar to those of chicken. And you don’t see any diet regimens cutting chicken out, do you?

Nutritional profileI’m going to do this differently than the previous ones by breaking the category down into specific shellfish to address the so-called negative

health effects. This will prove they are not out of whack. Then I’ll go on to list the bounty of nutrients that come in shellfish.

ShrimpThis is the granddaddy of shellfish, not because of shrimp’s size (obviously!) but because of its popularity. Shrimp is tossed into so many dishes, often as a substitute for chicken or beef. Take a look at its nutritional profile, which is based on eating four ounces of shrimp:

• Calories: 30 to 100 (depends how you cook it); in any event, quite low

• Fat: 0.5 g, but none of this is saturated

• Cholesterol: 42.5 mg • Sodium: 41.5 mg

LobsterIt’s not recommended for everyday eating, but there’s certainly nothing forbidden about eating lobster every once in a while. It carries phenomenal potassium levels to match the high sodium content. These stats are for one medium lobster.

• Calories: 140 • Fat: 1.5 g; while one-third is

saturated, this is still low for the main piece of dinner

• Cholesterol: 143 mg • Sodium: 445 mg

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ClamsAlthough they’re not everybody’s cup of tea, clams have virtually nothing wrong with them. Here are the goods on 20 small clams:

• Calories: 74 • Fat: 1.0 g; they have no

saturated fat• Cholesterol: 34 mg; very low• Sodium: 56 mg; very low

MusselsShellfish don’t get much more shelled than mussels. If you’ll take a look below, they are not high in any-thing considered unhealthy. These figures are for a big bowl of mussels:

• Calories: 17 • Fat: 0.5 g; they have no

saturated fat• Cholesterol: 5.5 mg; nearly

nonexistent• Sodium: 57 mg

OystersThe figures below are representative of six Eastern (farmed) oysters or one medium-sized Pacific oyster:

• Calories: 45 • Fat: 1.0 g; about 0.5 g of

saturated fat• Cholesterol: 21 mg• Sodium: 53 mg in Pacific

oysters, 150 mg in Eastern farmed ones

ScallopsThis popular shellfish is downright healthy. There is no logical reason scallops should be considered forbidden. Check it out:

• Calories: 26 • Fat: None• Cholesterol: 10 mg• Sodium: 48 mg

For comparison: chickenHere are the goods on dark-meat chicken, one cup’s worth (140 g), which is roasted. In brackets is the information for the same type of meat, but cooked and stewed instead.

• Calories: 287 (269)• Fat: 13.6 g, with 3.7 saturated

(12.6, with 3.4 saturated)• Cholesterol: 123 mg• Sodium: 104 mgInformation for one chicken

breast with skin is a little lower than all of these figures, but not significantly so.

Now, for the good stuffA sampling of seafood will net you good levels of the following essential nutrients. Daily values will vary among shellfish, with shrimp and scallops leading the way as the healthiest of all.

• Tryptophan• Selenium• Vitamin D


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• Omega-3 fatty acids• Protein• Vitamin B3• Vitamin B12• Phosphorus• Zinc• Magnesium• Potassium

Clinical studies prove itHere are the studies proving that shellfish should not be banned from your diet, but instead should be included in moderate amounts.

Shrimp does not increase cholesterol levelsResearchers added shrimp to a low-fat diet and tried to see if the additional cholesterol changed people’s overall levels. They found that the shellfish diet—which contained a huge 300 g per day of shrimp—actually did not worsen the ratio to total cholesterol to HDL (good) cholesterol, nor did it affect the LDL (bad) to HDL ratio. Amazingly, shrimp actually lowered triglyceride levels by 13%. They concluded that “moderate shrimp consumption” in people who have normal cholesterol levels will not negatively affect them. They even say shrimp can be “included in heart healthy nutritional guidelines.”17

Overall, shellfish improve cholesterol levelsIn one study, 18 men with normal cholesterol levels were fed six species of shellfish that had the same amount of protein as animal foods. It turned out that oysters, clams, mussels, and crabs were effective in lowering LDL and total cholesterol levels. Squid and shrimp did not affect the cholesterol levels, even though they are higher in cholesterol. The men absorbed less cholesterol when eating oysters, clams, and mussels. Researchers believe that people who wish to improve their cholesterol can actually eat oysters, clams, crabs, and mussels as a step toward that goal.18

Final wordFar from being a negative aspect of your diet, shellfish can actually be quite helpful. It’s funny really, because the main reason they are considered forbidden is because of their high cholesterol content. But, as we can see, cholesterol isn’t that big a deal with these guys. And, as several studies have attested, shellfish could actually improve your cholesterol profile rather than make it worse.

Another important aspect of shellfish is sauces. Restaurants such as Red Lobster and Legal Sea Foods

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often dip their offerings in sauces that will dramatically alter calorie and cholesterol counts. So, as much as possible, try to avoid rich sauces, and instead squeeze some lemon and use spices on your shellfish. Also try to broil or steam your shellfish instead of frying.

And enjoy!

5. BeefThe last installment of forbidden foods is a little different than the others. It is the one thing—red meat, beef—that causes most of the commotion within nutrition circles. Can beef, the source of so much saturated fat in our collective diets, really be better for us than we believe?

Yes, and I’ll show you why. The cattle industry feeds their animals either grain or grass. Therein lies the choice for every consumer: take one or take the other. In a nutshell, just to get started, the difference lies in fat content. Grass-fed cattle have far more omega-3 fatty acids than do grain-fed cattle.

Studies have found huge differences. For instance, grain-fed cattle have been found to have a ratio of 21:1, whereas grass-fed cattle are 4:1. Different studies find different things, different numbers, but the

main conclusions are the same: the critical ratio is much closer when people eat meat that is grass-fed. Grass-fed cattle also have about 10% of its fat as saturated, whereas grain-fed cattle can be as high as 50%.

Basically, cows manufacture omega-3 fatty acids from the grass in their stomachs. And with the evidence out there about the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, it’s clear that beef from cows fed grass need not be considered so forbidden. It is, like fish, an important source of the unsaturated fats we need for proper health.

Forbidden?Red meat gets a lot of bad press. It doesn’t take an extensive search to find out why it’s considered forbidden, why people are always chiming off about how we should be curtailing the red meat in our diets. There is no question that it is the


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source of animal fats, or better known as saturated fats. These substances, on the whole, are the worst thing for your body. Add to this the studies and articles that come out describing a “link” between red meat and various cancers—particularly of the stomach and colon.

The thing is, you must choose your meat carefully. Lean meat will not have the level of saturated fats as regular meat will. And studies into red meat often include processed meats—which should be considered unhealthy by everyone reading this. If you choose your beef wisely, and stick with the grass-fed kind, you don’t have to feel frightened by all the bad press.

Nutritional profileChoosing lean, grass-fed products is the wisest choice, nutritionally speaking. Through the various nutrients in meat, you could reduce your risk for many diseases, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. The following are figures aimed at a four-ounce piece of lean beef tenderloin that has been broiled:

• Omega-3 Fatty Acid: This brand is one of two essential fatty acids needed for optimal health. The other is omega-6. The dif-ference is that we all get tons of

omega-6, but are largely deficient in omega-3, because it’s harder to get. In fact, it’s possibly that only 40% of all North Americans get enough omega-3 fatty acid a day. Two out of 10 people have blood levels so minute that they can’t even be detected. Eating lean grass-fed beef is one good way to return this vital nutri-ent to your system. Diets with enough of this substance help prevent heart attacks and a slew of blood-related problems. Some omega-3 fatty acids include ALA, EPA and DHA. The former two help prevent heart disease, and the DHA helps keep depression, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and attention deficit disorder at bay.

• Conjugated Linoleic Acid: Grass-fed beef is an excellent source of this type of good fat, known simply as CLA. Pasture-raised cattle have up to six times as much CLA as grain-fed ones. What does CLA do for us? Other than being required for optimal health, it is known to promote muscle strength and increase the amount of fat that your body burns.

• Tryptophan: This amino acid helps regulate your body’s central cycles of melatonin and serotonin production. You get a whopping

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112% in your daily diet.

• Protein: It’s no secret that red meat provides a lot of protein. (That’s usually the first question asked of vegetarians: “Where do you get your protein?”) You’ll get 64% of your daily value here.

• Vitamin B12: This critical, but under-recognized nutrient ensures your red blood cells are manufactured properly, your ner-vous system functions correctly, and your heart withstands the threat of a dangerous amino acid. You get half your daily value in a grass-fed piece of beef.

• Zinc: Zinc is immensely important to disease-resistance over the long term. You get 40% of your daily value of zinc in grass-fed beef.

• Selenium: Lean grass-fed beef nets you nearly 40% of this pow-erful antioxidant mineral.

• Vitamin B6: Your red blood cells need it. Your body needs it in order to digest proteins. Your immune system needs it. So does your nervous system. Want healthy blood sugar levels? Then you’ll need it for that, too. Find 25% of your daily value here.

• Iron: This mineral is critical for getting oxygen throughout the body. Find 22% of your daily

value here.

• Vitamins B3 and B2: In grass-fed beef, you get around 20% of your daily value for these two all-important nutrients that help guard your health.

Clinical studies prove itWant some more evidence that beef can be taken off the food blacklist? Check out these results.

Fat proportion much better in grass-fed cattleResearchers experimented with the diets of 50 steer. They tested varying levels of grazed grass and something called “concentrate,” which is the grain formula. Among the findings included cows on grain having an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 20:1. That is very high. They also found that, if the amount of concentrate decreased and the amount of grass increased, it caused a drop in the concentration of saturated fats. They conclude that the fatty acid concentration in beef can be improved from a “human health perspective” by having cows eat more grass.19

Eating meat does not hurt bone densitySome experts believe that eating a lot of animal protein actually


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sucks calcium from the bones, thus compromising their strength. This leads to osteoporosis. A study looked into this matter and found that women aged 52 to 69 absorbed calcium just as well whether they kept a high-meat diet or substituted soy-based food. They found no protein-based effects on bone composition.20

Grass-fed beef “good source” of omega-3Australian researchers say that, because grass-fed cows have significantly more omega-3 fatty acids than grain-fed animals, such beef has the ability to enhance your health. They tested cattle raised on grass, cattle raised on grass but then switched to grain for a short time, and cattle switched to grain for a long period of time. The latter is, unfortunately, what goes on most in the U.S. The grass-fed cows had much higher omega-3 levels than both the other groups that switched to grain. This beef had enough EPA and DHA to qualify as a “significant” source of these fats, which are more commonly linked to eating fish. The grass-fed meat also had less total fat and saturated fat.21

Red meat & cancer: Not what you think A new study looked at the red meat/cancer link and uncovered that beef

is not the cause of rectal cancer incidents. American researchers took 2,157 men and women and found that, for women, it didn’t matter how the meat was cooked, there was no cancer link. For men, those who ate red meat that was cooked to “well done” had a significantly higher risk of getting rectal cancer. Scientists involved believe that heat is the real culprit: when meat is cooked at higher temperatures for longer, it forms substances that raise the cancer risk22

Final wordI’ve outlined why certain lean beef is better than other types, proving why it doesn’t have to be considered anti-health. That said, it is wise to avoid eating red meat every day. This includes, processed meat. Eat your beef, but make it grass-fed and make it lean. If you do this, then your body reaps the windfall of nutrients available. And when you do have a beef dinner, include a large portion of vegetables on your plate for a fully-balanced meal.

Final Final word.Foods don’t have to be forbidden, as long as they are eaten in moderation. It is wise to try to include one or two days a week in which you stick to a vegetarian diet.

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As always, variation is the key to health. This entire special report has been about the fact that your varying diet doesn’t need to exclude certain

elements considered forbidden by so many nutritionists. Remember, if you eat in moderation, it’s all good. Enjoy!

Sources:1. Howell et al., Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1997; 65: 1,747-64.1.2. Ballesteros, M., et al., “Dietary cholesterol does not increase biomarkers for chronic disease in a pediatric population from northern Mexico,” Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2004; 80: 855-861.3. Hu, F., et al., “A Prospective Study of Egg Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Men and Women,” JAMA, Apr. 1999; 281: 1,387-1,394.4. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin October 2003.5. Chung, H., et al., “Lutein Bioavailability Is Higher from Lutein-Enriched Eggs than from Supplements and Spinach in Men,” J.Nutr. 2004; 134: 1,887-1,893.6. Fraser, G., et al., “A possible protective effect of nut consumption on risk of coronary heart disease,” Archives of Internal Medicine July 1992; 152: 1,416-1,424.7. Hu, F., et al., “Frequent nut consumption and risk of coronary heart disease in women,” British Medical Journal Nov. 14, 1998; 317: 1,341-5.8. Circulation Sept. 10, 2002; 106(11): 1,327-32.9. Lamarche, B., et al., “Combined effects of a dietary portfolio of plant sterols, vegetable protein, viscous fibre and almonds on LDL particle size,” British Journal of Nutrition October 2004; 92(4): 657-663(7).10. Wien, M.A., et al., “Almonds vs complex carbohydrates in a weight reduction program,” International Journal of Obesity November 2003; 27(11): 1,365-1,372.11. Talcott, S., et al., “Polyphenolic content and sensory properties of normal and high oleic acid peanuts,” Food Chemistry May 2005; 379-388.12. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition November 2003; 78(5): 957-964.13. Arch. Intern. Med. 2003; 163: 1,897-1,904.14. Biol. Pharm Bull. Mar. 2001; 24(3): 209-13.15. Ann. Nutr. Metab. 2003; 47(6): 306-11.16. Nie, L., et al., “Avenanthramide, a polyphenol from oats, inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and enhances nitric oxide production,” Atherosclerosis Aug. 31, 2005 [Epub ahead of print].17. De Oliveira e Silva, E.R., et al., “Effects of shrimp consumption on plasma lipoproteins,” Am. J. Clinical Nutrition Nov. 1996; 64: 712-717.18. Childs, M.T., et al., “Effects of shellfish consumption on lipoproteins in normolipidemic men,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51:1,020-1,027.19. French, P., et al., “Fatty acid composition, including conjugated linoleic acid, of intramuscular fat from steers offered grazed grass, grass silage, or concentrate-based diets,” Journal of Animal Sciences 2000 78: 2,849-2,855.20. Kerstetter, J., et al., “The Impact of Dietary Protein on Calcium Absorption and Kinetic Measures of Bone Turnover in Women,” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 2005; 90: 181-189.21. Mann, N.J., et al., “Feeding regimes affect fatty acid composition in Australian beef cattle,” Asia Pac. J. Clin. Nutr. 2003; 12 Suppl, S38.22. Murtaugh, M., et al., “Meat Consumption Patterns and Preparation, Genetic Variants of Metabolic Enzymes, and Their Association with Rectal Cancer in Men and Women,” Journal of Nutrition April 2004; 134: 776-784.

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