Everything in moderation, especially coffee

DO you get fed up hearing about what food you should and shouldn’t eat? One minute a food is OK to eat, and the next thing it’s not.

Take coffee for example, we’ve been told many times that it’s bad for us. The truth is that it’s both good and bad. One cup of coffee will excrete about 40 mg of calcium from the bones which is bad. But, calcium in the arteries can cause a build-up of plaque which contributes to arterial disease. So when the cup of coffee excretes calcium build up from the arteries it’s good.

Coffee is not good for our adrenal glands. It causes an increased production of cortisol, the stress hormone, which can contribute to weight gain, especially around the middle. Yet many people buy caffeine supplements to help boost metabolism, burn fat and also to increase energy. Overall, I think it’s best to keep coffee to a minimum.

For years we were told that butter was bad for us, but I believe that processed spreads are far worse. They contain hydrogenated oils. These oils go through a process that changes the natural structure of the oil. I much prefer to use real butter in moderation; I know exactly what’s in it and where it came from. It provides both saturated and unsaturated fat, but doesn’t contain any hydrogenated or trans fats, which are the really bad ones.

One minute chocolate is bad and the next it’s the biggest craze ever. Currently every health food snack recipe is using cacao. Of course they are talking about pure cacao without the sugar. But dark chocolate with a little sugar is ok too. Pure cacao is said to lift the mood, it’s rich in anti-oxidants, is high in magnesium and contains B Vitamins. I think we can relax and enjoy a couple of squares of dark chocolate.

White bread gets terrible press; it’s often over processed and causes digestive problems for lots of people. On the other hand brown bread has too much roughage for some, and is not the ideal bread for them. In a few years we will probably be told to eat white bread because it’s good for us, who knows.

I think if we have everything in moderation and a good variety we won’t go too far wrong.