Foods that Harm and Foods that Heal

“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” This advice is as true today as it was more than 2,000 years ago when Hippocrates, the famous Greek physician, coined the phrase. But exactly what foods should you be eating to keep the doctor away? The answer is more complex than you might think. How each food affects you depends on how much of it you eat, when you eat it, and what you eat it with. In addition, how the food is grown, stored, and cooked can make a big difference, as can medications you’re taking. For instance, cooking spinach helps your body to absorb the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which can prevent age-related macular degeneration. But cook it too long and it loses a lot of its immunity-boosting vitamin C. To help your body absorb the iron, calcium, and other minerals in spinach, it’s best to pair spinach with other foods rich in vitamin C. But be careful to wash spinach thoroughly to reduce the likelihood of E. coli contamination. And if you’re on a blood thinner such as heparin or warfarin, don’t eat too much, as it can interfere with the medication. Despite all of these variables, the basics of good nutrition don’t have to be hard to follow. This section will first give you an overview of the substances in our foods that are actually doing all the work—the carbohydrates that give us energy, the vitamins that keep your brain and body functioning, the antioxidants that fight disease, and much more. Here we’ll give you the real deal on what types of fat are good or bad for you, whether low-carb diets really work, and which vitamins and minerals you need more of. Next we tackle the controversial subject of food safety. We cut through all the white noise about whether or not pesticides, additives, and genetically modified foods are really harmful or not, and tell you when it’s really worth spending more on organic grapes or grass-fed beef. Finally, we sum up the latest science on nutrition to give you simple guidelines on what and how much to eat for vibrant good health, along with tips on the best ways to store foods to preserve freshness and avoid contamination and the best cooking methods to retain or even boost nutrients in your favorite foods.