# Foods and Food Supplements Which Are Clearly Healthy **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529 "2012-12-09T20:41:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/21 "2012-12-13T12:05:24Z")
> [@Fact\_of\_the\_Matter](#): > > I have seen curry mentioned here a few times now. What exactly is the curry you are talking about? I don’t know if it’s curry, exactly, or more specifically tumeric, ginger, and cinnamon. Curcumin - the active ingredient in turmeric, breaks up amiloyd beta - the abnormal protein build up that is seen in Alzheimers sufferers. Ginger and cinnamon do great things as well, and if I wasn’t going to bed, I’d tell you about them! ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/22 "2012-12-13T13:20:16Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I know but not everything works on all 5 of those. Ok, but as I indicated in the OP, I’m looking for examples like people who vegetable X are far less likely to develop dread condition Y and the relationship has been backed up by statistical analysis. > [@](#): > > As an example Curry helps prevent dementia and possibly heart disease or diabetes, but I don’t think it matters for cancer. Yes, that’s the sort of thing I am looking for. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![snuffleupagus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@snuffleupagus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snuffleupagus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/23 "2012-12-14T02:05:14Z")
I found [this](http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/snake-oil-supplements/) to be a really interesting diagram showing which supplements have scientific data to back them up. As you go up the Y axis, the supplements go from no proof to strong proof based on published research findings. Size of the circle is just popularity- how many google hits for the supplement. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/24 "2012-12-14T02:36:02Z")
> [@snuffleupagus](#): > > I found [this](http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/snake-oil-supplements/) to be a really interesting diagram showing which supplements have scientific data to back them up. As you go up the Y axis, the supplements go from no proof to strong proof based on published research findings. Size of the circle is just popularity- how many google hits for the supplement. Speaking as a physician, the only stuff there that I think has decent evidence supporting the claims made on that chart is for folic acid and fish oil (for secondary CAD prevention.) Vitamin D is absolutely necessary for calcium absorption and metabolism and a few other things, but recent studies cast much doubt about a lot of other health claims made for it, evidence for probiotics shows ‘maybe’ it’s helpful if taken early and often when someone is being given antibiotics (just not enough variety of bacterial species in it, frankly), and recent studies on cranberry juice show it may not be any better than placebo. Outside of that, it’s not a bad chart in that it does draw its ‘worth it’ line pretty high up, further than I would have hoped. My take on food and supplements as medicine: Use it as appropriate when it’s been demonstrated to be both safe and effective. Otherwise, Caveat Emptor. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/25 "2012-12-15T09:35:57Z")
> [@snuffleupagus](#): > > I found [this](http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/snake-oil-supplements/) to be a really interesting diagram showing which supplements have scientific data to back them up. As you go up the Y axis, the supplements go from no proof to strong proof based on published research findings. Size of the circle is just popularity- how many google hits for the supplement. Yes, that chart is pretty interesting, thank you for linking to it. One criticism I have of the chart is that to my mind there is a distinction between dread diseases themselves, and measurements which are related to the likelihood of dread diseases. If green tea reduces your chance of getting a heart attack, that’s great. If it reduces your cholesterol levels, that’s not as interesting to me. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/26 "2012-12-15T09:40:54Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Speaking as a physician, the only stuff there that I think has decent evidence supporting the claims made on that chart is for folic acid and fish oil (for secondary CAD prevention.) Vitamin D is absolutely necessary for calcium absorption and metabolism and a few other things, but recent studies cast much doubt about a lot of other health claims made for it, evidence for probiotics shows ‘maybe’ it’s helpful if taken early and often when someone is being given antibiotics (just not enough variety of bacterial species in it, frankly), and recent studies on cranberry juice show it may not be any better than placebo. > > Outside of that, it’s not a bad chart in that it does draw its ‘worth it’ line pretty high up, further than I would have hoped. > > My take on food and supplements as medicine: Use it as appropriate when it’s been demonstrated to be both safe and effective. Otherwise, Caveat Emptor. Thank you for your comment. As a layman, I have to say I’ve become pretty skeptical about all the pills people pop with the idea of increasing their lifespan. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/27 "2012-12-15T20:54:36Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > After the Paleolithic (killing things with rocks) came the Mesolithic (killing things with rocks that you’ve knapped into another shape, like, say, an axe), which was followed by the Neolithic (killing things with metal). Hijack & nitpicking a joke reply, yei! But: the Paleolithic involved killing things with rocks that were knapped into another shape (Upper Paleo: also tipping spears with knapped rock and using atlatls). Then came the Mesolithic, when bow & arrow conquered the world, and fishing, trapping and gathering were developed into crucial arts. Last came the Neolithic, when killing was NOT done with metal but with polished and knapped stone, on farm animals and crops. Milk, milk products, bread etc. were all included in Agrarian staple diets before metal became anything else than a material for shiny trinkets. From a nutritional point of view, it was only the beginning of the Neolithic that things changed for the worse, as fish, seafood, fruit, nuts and veggies were not really Paleolithic but Mesolithic foods (becoming such at roughly the same time as agriculture took it’s first steps, after the latest Ice Age.) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/28 "2012-12-15T21:09:10Z")
Garlic. Absolutely garlic. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/29 "2012-12-15T21:13:58Z")
Curcumin from turmeric. I’d just like to underscore that it’s turmeric, with the letter _r_ occurring twice, as the 3rd and 6th letters. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/30 "2012-12-16T04:43:14Z")
> [@snuffleupagus](#): > > I found [this](http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/snake-oil-supplements/) to be a really interesting diagram showing which supplements have scientific data to back them up. That chart is good for showing the dizzying array of “superfoods” and supplements which are touted as beneficial or even essential to your health, and how few really have solid evidence of benefit. As previously noted, U.S. sources of red yeast rice no longer have the “natural” statin that lowers cholesterol, and foreign sources are so inconsistent in standardization and purity that it is unwise to consume them. Much better quality control for the prescription meds. And while I like real licorice (not the flavored pseudo-licorice candy), I know not to eat substantial quantities of it (it can cause low serum potassium and dangerous hypertension if you overdo it, as some might in treating a chronic cough). While I use some of the foods/products on that list from time to time, my New Year’s resolution is to bring vegetables (i.e. carrots, snap peas) into work to munch on instead of less healthful snacks, to eat less overall (again, more plants) and if my resolve really stiffens, exercise. :eek: And yes, I love garlic. It might even be good for me. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/31 "2012-12-17T02:22:11Z")
Oh, I know one, for real: Water. Good water. “Cool clear water” Kind of goes without saying, but I thought why not say it. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/32 "2012-12-17T15:11:02Z")
Thank you for your posts Johanna. Would you mind posting cites and links regarding Garlic & Curcumin? TIA ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/33 "2012-12-17T15:22:04Z")
I think most of these ‘healthy’ diets take the argument off a cliff. If you eliminate fast food, sugared drinks and as much processed grocery food as you can from your diet, you’re going to be in a very small group of people whose diet is unlikely to contribute to health problems. Unless you have a specific allergy or negative reaction to alcohol, caffeine, etc. there is little in the remaining list you can’t consume in all good health. (Moderation in all things, of course, is a sensible part of this.) I think any diet proponent who gets hysterical about one wholly natural and traditional food set over another is just a media whore. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/34 "2012-12-17T15:55:30Z")
I don’t have any cites and links. I just like eating those things. I had always been eating them anyway because I like them, and to have all these good things said about them is just icing on the garlic cake. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/35 "2012-12-17T20:57:27Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Speaking as a physician, the only stuff there that I think has decent evidence supporting the claims made on that chart is for folic acid and fish oil (for secondary CAD prevention.) Vitamin D is absolutely necessary for calcium absorption and metabolism and a few other things So, a varied diet low in saturated fats with ample amounts of green vegetables and a dash of cod liver oil supplement to make up for the lack of 3-4 fat fish dinners per week still seems like a good bet. It doesn’t seem as if the straight dope on nutrition has changed much the last five decades 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/36 "2012-12-18T06:34:49Z")
> [@Norse](#): > > So, a varied diet low in saturated fats with ample amounts of green vegetables and a dash of cod liver oil supplement to make up for the lack of 3-4 fat fish dinners per week still seems like a good bet. > > It doesn’t seem as if the straight dope on nutrition has changed much the last five decades 😛 Even saturated fats aren’t as bad as popularly thought based on newer research; for example, palmitic acid (you know, palm oil, which is supposed to be really bad for you), actually has [anti-atherosclerotic properties in moderation](http://www.livestrong.com/article/521518-palmitic-acid-health-benefits/) and has no adverse effects on cholesterol unless it is eaten by itself (which rarely if ever occurs in a normal diet): > [@](#): > > Palmitic acid has been thought for many years to raise cholesterol levels if consumed, although a 2002 Canadian study published in the “Asian Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition” examined the effects of high consumption of palmitic acid in healthy volunteers and concluded it does not raise cholesterol if it is combined with linoleic acid. However, when palmitic acid was combined with lots of trans-fatty acids, “bad” LDL cholesterol levels rose and “good” HDL cholesterol decreased. The last part is a big “duh”; of course artificial\* trans fats will make it appear as if other fats consumed with them are bad (even more surprising, another saturated fat, [lauric acid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauric_acid#Potential_medicinal_properties), is even more powerful than fish oil/omega-3s in improving cholesterol profiles). Also, even when saturated fat does raise LDL cholesterol, it mainly increases the number of harmless [large LDL particles](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35058896/ns/health-heart_health/t/bad-cholesterol-its-not-what-you-think/#.UNAN06zs8eM)- while refined carbohydrates increase the number of dangerous small LDL particles: > [@](#): > > LDL comes in four basic forms: a big, fluffy form known as large LDL, and three increasingly dense forms known as medium, small, and very small LDL. A diet high in saturated fat mainly boosts the numbers of large-LDL particles, while a low-fat diet high in carbohydrates propagates the smaller forms. The big, fluffy particles are largely benign, while the small, dense versions keep lipid-science researchers awake at night. (note [this graph](http://www.graphoftheweek.org/2012/06/body-weight-in-united-states-part-3.html), which shows calorie intake from various food sources; the increases have all occurred in grains and added fats (including lots of trans fats) and sugars) \*There are natural trans fats in foods like beef and dairy (cow’s milk) but it is actually beneficial, [leading to calls for changes in the way trans fats are labeled](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110907124359.htm). ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/37 "2012-12-18T09:45:16Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I don’t have any cites and links. I just like eating those things. I had always been eating them anyway because I like them, and to have all these good things said about them is just icing on the garlic cake. 🙂 Ok, but this thread is about “foods and food supplements known with a good deal of certainty to promote healthiness and reduce the risk of heart problems, stroke, cancer, etc.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/38 "2012-12-18T10:13:48Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Even saturated fats aren’t as bad as popularly thought based on newer research; for example, palmitic acid (you know, palm oil, which is supposed to be really bad for you), actually has [anti-atherosclerotic properties in moderation](http://www.livestrong.com/article/521518-palmitic-acid-health-benefits/) “In moderation” is the key expression here. Note I didn’t say “no saturated fat”. I said “low in saturated fats”. The reason for limiting saturated fats is pretty simple: Fat = calories. Too many caloris = unhealthy. Limiting fat limits calories. Limiting calories while making room for healthy fish fats = low amounts of saturated fats. We’ve basically known how to feed ourselves in a healthy manner the last half century, if not more. The problem isn’t the quality of dietary advice. The problem is adhering to good dietary advice, something that seems to be more and more difficult for more and more people as time goes by (sorry, no cite. Just my personal impression). \ ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/39 "2012-12-18T12:34:47Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > The main reason I’ve seen for excluding it from Paleo is because they are trying to recreate the diet that was followed at the time that we stopped evolving, and back then, we didn’t drink milk. They’ll then trot out half a dozen “it can cause this, and it also seems to be linked to that,” but I wasn’t able to find any specific studies cited. What on earth is the attraction of going back to the diet we were eating when average life expectancy was shorter than the run of an average US sitcom? ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2012, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529/40 "2012-12-18T12:43:10Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > What on earth is the attraction of going back to the diet we were eating when average life expectancy was shorter than the run of an average US sitcom? Well, at least everyone was thin back then 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-and-food-supplements-which-are-clearly-healthy/643529.md?page=3)