Smith Says 2/17 | Columnists | Summerville Journal Scene

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Smith Says 2/17

Published Tuesday, February 16, 2010 3:00 PM

By Julie R. Smith
Summerville Journal Scene ®

Smith Says

This morning I had black coffee and tomato paste for breakfast. I’m not crazy yet, but it’s coming.

What I’m trying to do is follow the latest recommendations for healthy eating. Let’s see if I’m up to date:

* Tomato products can help prevent cancer! Cooked products—salsa, spaghetti sauce, paste, sauce, puree—contain more antioxidants than good old fresh Romas or Beefeaters. Then again, tomatoes are also acidic and can cause toe-curling heartburn.

* Some years back, the food police decided eggs would kill you dead. They recommended no more than three eggs per week. As a result, Egg Beaters was born. Millions of people ate them, believing they were cheating death by avoiding the evil egg. Now it turns out you’d have to eat something like 30 eggs a week to raise your cholesterol, so eggs are OK again. (FYI, I never stopped eating my deviled eggs. Never.)

* Coffee contains antioxidants that fight free radicals! But too much makes you crazy as a cat on a hot tin roof. In the 70s, “Marcus Welby, M.D.” (Alan Young) counseled a jittery joe drinker in a TV commercial: “Why so nervous, Jim? Why, you’re drinking too much coffee. Do what I do--drink decaffeinated Sanka!” Today no-one under 50 has ever heard of Sanka. Don’t believe me? Try asking for it in a restaurant.

* Vitamin A is vital for healthy eyes, skin, etc. But too much Vitamin A can riddle your liver with tumors.

* Speaking of liver, generations of children had to gag it down because it was full of iron and would make us tall and strong. When I was a kid, we had liver and onions weekly. (My father, who grew up slicing warm, fresh beef livers in his father’s store, quietly substituted toast and Sanka on Liver Night.) But now we know organ meats are bad because they’re chock-full of hormones and waste products.

* Drinking moderately will make you live longer! As long as it’s red wine without sulfates, which will give you migraines.

* You should chug eight glasses of water a day for optimum health… but this bit of wisdom has no scientific data to back it up. In fact, the most recent studies show that most healthy adults who don’t run marathons in the Mojave can simply drink when they're thirsty. Imagine that! And it doesn’t have to be water: Coffee, juice, even watermelon, all help keep you hydrated.

* Granola bars are health food! Nope; turns out granola bars are candy bars in feel-good packaging.

* Sardines will kill you. Okay, I got that from my dad, the anti-liver guy. He once told me he wouldn’t eat a can of sardines at gunpoint. That’s some serious food aversion. Anyway, today we know that sardines, mackerel, tuna and other Omega 3-rich fish are good for your cholesterol—once or twice a week. The threat of high mercury levels makes them unsafe to eat more often. Got that?

* Excess salt increases your blood pressure. This one’s been around since the 40s. Now scientists say there’s no reason for a person with normal blood pressure to restrict their salt intake. However, people who have hypertension should be sparse with the salt.

Last but not least…

*Jello is awful, nasty glop that will quiver in your guts til the day you die. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Julie R. Smith, who eats a lot of kumquats, can be reached at widdleswife@aol.com.

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