If you’ve stopped eating some of your favorites to improve your health, it’s time to take another look.

Much like women’s fashions, foods go in and out of favor. What’s healthy one year may not be hip the next. If you’ve been avoiding these five delicious foods based on outmoded nutrition advice, it may be worth taking another look.

Egg Expectations
Some years ago, word had it that eggs were so high in cholesterol that you should avoid them for the health of your heart.

Since then, several studies have found no difference in heart disease risk between people who ate one egg a week and those who ate more than one egg a day. Other studies have shown that eating eggs regularly may actually improve your cholesterol and prevent blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks. Still, the American Heart Association suggests you watch your intake of cholesterol from other foods if you eat eggs every day.

Eggs contain about 6 g of protein and all nine essential amino acids. They’re an excellent source of lutein and zeaxanthin, which may reduce the risk for macular degeneration.

Go Nuts for Nutrition
It’s true that nuts are high in fat and relatively high in calories. Fat makes up about 80 percent of the roughly 250 calories in one-third cup of nuts.

Even so, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including nuts in your diet can lower your risk for heart disease, high cholesterol, and stroke death. If you have diabetes, nuts can lower your insulin needs and improve your weight control.

To control the calories in nuts, chop or slice them before you add them to foods. Measure out the portion you’re going to eat instead of grabbing them from a large bag or jar.

Choosing Chocolate
For those of us who are always looking for a good reason to eat chocolate comes yet another study investigating the positive effect of cocoa and chocolate on heart and circulatory health.

A study that followed 19,357 people ages 35 to 65 for about eight years found those who consumed the most chocolate—about 7.5 g a day—had lower blood pressure and a 39 percent lower risk for heart attack and stroke, compared to those who ate the least amount of chocolate.

Say Cheese
Like nuts, regular cheese is nutrient dense—that is, high in calories. But it’s also high in calcium—as much as 200 to 300 mg per 1-oz. serving. It can be a good source of protein and vitamin B, too. To mitigate the fat and calories in cheese:

• Limit the amount of whole-milk cheese you eat in favor of reduced-fat or fat-free cheese.
• Choose soft cheeses, such as cottage cheese, that are low-fat, part-skim, or “light.”

Praise for Pasta
Like many foods, pasta can be healthy or unhealthy—mostly depending on what you top it with. Pasta is a key ingredient of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet when topped with tomato sauce, fish, poultry, beans, or meat.

By itself, a 2-oz. serving of pasta contains no sodium, no cholesterol, 200 calories, 1 g of fat, and a healthy dose of iron and B vitamins. Whole-wheat varieties are fortified with omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. Some provide up to 25 percent of the recommended fiber intake for adults in a 1-cup portion.

No food is a magic bullet against disease. But when eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet, many foods—including these—may help foster a long, healthy life.

By Barbara Floria, senior feature writer for Vitality. For more information, visit the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org.

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