OConnor Siobhan - 100 healthiest foods and how to eat them

HEALTHIEST
FOODS
& HOW TO EAT THEM

Parts of this book were previously published on Time.com and in Cooking Light. Its Time to Mix It Up By Siobhan OConnor and Alexandra Sifferlin THERES A BIT OF A FIB BAKED INTO the title of this book. Not that the list youre holding is full of foods like french fries and Double Stuf Oreos. But ranking individual foods according to how healthy they are is more of an art than a science. Still, even if we cant prove that the 100 foods on this list are, without a doubt, healthier than, say, pricey aa berries (which did not make the list, by the way), we can promise that all 100 can improve your dietand ultimately your health. But while these foods are all astonishingly nutritious, they arent especially exotic.

Theyre not the kind of things that make their way from far-flung corners of the jungle onto superfoods you need to eat right now lists. Theyre not the kind of foods exalted for their magical powers, either. Instead, TIMEs editors, along with nutrition experts, carefully vetted a very long list of foods. Then we narrowed it down, focusing on foods that are relatively easy to find at the supermarket, that are not overly expensive or trendy and, perhaps most important, that are pleasurable to eat. To that end, we included not just facts about the different foods and why theyre nutritional powerhouses but also straightforward descriptions of how our editors and experts like to eat them. We went with 100 because we wanted to provide you with lots of optionsbut we also wanted to make the point that there are simply so many wonderful foods out there to choose from.

Because while most of us know the basics of how to eat wellyou cant go wrong with vegetables; daily burgers are an objectively bad ideasometimes trying to decide what to eat three times a day, seven days a week can feel like a chore. Indeed, for many of us, the search for the healthiest way to eat has long been fraught. For one thing, nutrition science is known to induce whiplash. For decades you heard that fat is the ultimate diet saboteur, responsible for nearly everything that can go wrong in the human body. The next thing you know, its heralded as a critical part of a healthy diet that not only wont make you fat but is good for you and may even play a role in keeping you slender. Then, just as you finally (and with great effort) developed a taste for egg-white omelets, you learned that the yolk isnt just OKits the very thing that makes eggs a healthy food choice in the first place.

Making matters more confusing is that nutrition experts are often loath to change their tune when the diet advice theyve been dishing no longer lines up with the latest science. But the new truth is, when it comes to healthy eating, we could all stand to mix it up a little bit, eat a little more of everything but not too much of anything, and, ultimately, fuss a little less about what we eat. WE COULD ALL STAND TO FUSS A LITTLE LESS ABOUT WHAT WE EAT. You dont need to take it from just us. Science says so too. In 2014, several nutrition researchers got together to answer an age-old question: What diet is the best for your health? They pulled together robust studies on some of the most popular diets, including Mediterranean, paleo, vegan and low-fat.

They concluded that the best way to eat is to simply consume real food. That means theres no diet that trumps another, regardless of what TV commercials and magazine headlines will tell you. Because thats one thing the science is clear onif you want to improve your diet and your health, you need to eat whole foods as much as you can. Cook them at home whenever you can. And except for the occasional indulgence, you should keep heavily processed and heavily sugared foods out of your shopping basket. If you eat this way most of the time, those occasional indulgences wont tempt you anymoreor at least not quite as much.

Scientists at Tufts University recently found that eating healthier food for six months can recondition the brain to crave healthier options. And other research has shown that when you eat less fat or less salt or, especially, less sugar, you need a whole lot less of it to feel satisfied. Like all good habits, these ones tend to build upon themselves and multiply. To get you started, we included from the editors of our sister brand Cooking Light, which always makes nutritious eating feel enjoyable. We also canvassed editors and experts for unfussy cooking suggestions that, we hope, will serve as jumping-off pointsrather than to-the-letter instructionsfor your own experimenting in the kitchen. Thats because eating for pleasure and having fun in the process are so often left out of dietary adviceyet are so central to any healthy habits lasting for the long haul.

A very strong predictor of whether a diet will be successful is how hungry people feel while theyre following it. Feeling deprived all the time isnt a great motivator. So while were certainly recommending lots of berries and deep-green vegetables in this book, were by no means trying to persuade you to eat like a rabbit. Thats why pork loin, fish, popcorn, high-fat oils and even alcohol make the list. Eating well shouldnt be complicated, and it shouldnt be stressful. So on your next trip to the supermarket, maybe mix it up a little and try something new from this list.

And if youre intimidated by gingers twisted appendages or dont even know where to start with kohlrabi, dont sweat it. Just grab something else. Maybe grab something you know. Prepare it as simply as you like, in your own kitchen, and then eat. Simple as that. OConnor is editorial director for health at TIME.

Sifferlin is a health writer for TIME and the author of the 100 food entries. Almonds How to eat them These earthy nuts can be enjoyed in endless ways, from grabbing a handful on the go to adding slices to oatmeal or smoothies. Why theyre good for you Rich in monounsaturated fats, almonds have been shown to help keep cholesterol levels within a healthy range. They are also effective prebiotics, which means they feed the helpful probiotics in the gut and support a robust immune system. Almonds, like all nuts, are good sources of the antioxidant vitamin E, which may play a role in slowing cognitive decline with age. Nutrition Like all nuts, almonds pack protein and fiber, but they also pack fat.

Moderation is key when youre snacking on them. Anchovies How to eat them Eat them on toast, or make your own Caesar dressing by chopping up four or five anchovies and mixing them with a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese and a dollop of Dijon mustard. Why theyre good for you These bite-size fish show up in many signature dishes from Italy, Thailand, Spain and Korea. Theyre high in protein as well as B vitamins, calcium, iron and omega-3 fatty acids. And since theyre so low on the food chain, theyre also low in mercury.

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