Suddenly, cholesterol is okay to consume. Well, “good” cholesterol that is. Annually, if not as often as daily, Americans are confronted with research findings of what is okay and what is not okay to consume. Diet this and diet that, eat this but don’t eat that; America’s food consumption is a confusing matter to tackle.
This week, the U.S. government has deduced that cholesterol-packed foods such as eggs and shrimp are actually less dangerous in over-consumption than foods simply heavy in saturated fats such as dairy and fatty meats.
While these findings seem to make sense, it is not the first time that the Food and Drug Administration has revoked claims about food. Everything from Sweet ‘N Low to gluten-free diets has had its ups and downs of whether it is “good for you”.
Luckily many of these findings are based on years of medical research and are usually accurate. But the confusing part to Americans can often be the thought of, “Well how long have we been eating this and now all of a sudden it’s bad for us?” Such research has profound effects on Americans in ways like huge changes to school lunches and dropping consumption of brand name foods.
As a rule of thumb, Americans are told to “eat healthy” but there has never been a clear-cut definition to that phrase. And with the topsy-turvy “science” to the Food and Drug Administration and Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, we can expect more claims in the future for foods that were once considered “good for you” and vice versa. The important thing for consumers to remember is that in order to stay healthy, one must be aware of what he or she is eating and consume with optimistic caution.
