5 “bad” foods you should be eating

I agree with much of this, but to say that a person should be eating chocolate because of "research in Switzerland" really isn't convincing. One study suggesting a reduction in cortisol levels measured in saliva is not sufficient for the author of this column to support consumption of chocolate for healthful purposes. Honestly, how can you reconcile the sugar, fat, and calories for stress reduction? Do some yoga! Play a game! Laugh!

Same goes for anything that has "anti-oxidants". Much of the research is in vitro (cells) or in animal models and not human research. Yes, fruits and vegetables are associated with better health, but individual ingredients (e.g., beta-carotene) have not been shown to, for instance, reduce cancer risk in epidemiologic studies.

— Anonymous

I bought into beef and peanut butter. I was told to cut out beef, my wife and I use beef as a type of congatulatory meal, maybe four or five times a year. Peanut butter also was said to be bad, "only eat old-fashioned peanut butter" (the peanut butter with oil on top) and precious little of that. I love peanut butter and am fine with the beef situation. We will continue to eat steak as a treat, my wife could eat it every night if I cooked it for her. I'm happy to know that peanut butter is good for me, in moderation of course.

— Anonymous

Avocados were thought to be high calorie, high fat at one time, but I didn't buy that for long!

— Anonymous

I agree with you on four of the five foods, beef being the exception. Beef cattle are shot full of hormones and antibiotics. It doesn't matter how lean the cut they are still present in the beef and they are NOT healthy! Unless beef is certified organic these hormones and chemicals are in there. The FDA does not require these items to be listed on the package because technically they were added to the cow while it was still alive and not to the beef itself. It would be the same as if I knowingly fed my cow arsenic and gave you a glass of her milk. Did I poison you? The government says no. You would probably beg to differ! When you chose to eat beef, saturated fat is probably the least of your worries!

— Anonymous

farmer's wife... have you done your research?

The reason the majority of milk farmers (aka factory farms) give their cows antibiotics is because the cows, who are raised in such unnatural, disease-inducing environments, would mostly die without them. They're not just giving antibiotics to otherwise healthy cows who became sick through natural processes.

And like the other commenter said, if it's in the cow, it's in the milk.

— Anonymous