When it comes to having a healthy diet, nutritionists usually know everything. After all, they go to school to learn about the body and which foods are best to eat. When we think about nutritionists, we might think of glowing younger people who are eating a salad for lunch and grilled chicken and veggies for dinner. Sure eating nutrient-rich foods is a good idea, but that doesn’t mean all other foods are bad. Some believe that food is not good or bad and that makes sense. You’re not a bad person because you eat pizza for dinner and you’re not a good person if you eat a salad for lunch. In reality, foods should stop being classified as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ because it only confuses people. Unfortunately, because many people think this way, they may be missing out on healthy diets such as the keto diet. The ketogenic diet is a high fat, low carb diet. Now, you might be asking yourself how eating foods that are high in fat be healthy for you? If you can get past the idea that foods are not related to a person’s morality, then you may want to give a low carb, high fat diet a try. It’s true that the keto diet, a high-fat diet, has many health benefits, and many of these benefits get covered in the Body Reboot book. Now it’s time to debunk what some believe to be unhealthy foods.

Fat Spreads

Of course, fat is what you need plenty of on a low carb, high-fat diet, but many aren’t sure about the saturated fat in margarine, for example. Well, it turns out that Independent says that we shouldn’t worry because Independent argues that eating margarine is actually better than “fake” butter.

Fat spreads such as margarine and butter have had a confusing nutritional history.

Margarine, which is made of vegetable fat, has been used in most developed countries since the mid 19th Century to replace butter.

The new spread was made popular by being cheaper than butter and sales were driven by advice from health professionals, who recommended eating less saturated fat to prevent heart diseases.  

Eggs

The List reminds us just how healthy eggs are and one of the reasons why is because they help fight inflammation and can help you lose weight! They’re also a keto staple if you’re on the low carb diet. The List says it’s not a good idea to cook your eggs in butter, but if you’re on the keto diet more butter the better!

Notice we said eggs, not egg whites. Yes, you can eat the yolks! A whole egg contains 6 grams of protein and only 70 calories. The egg yolk itself is a rich source of choline, which is an anti-inflammatory nutrient. It not only protects from neurological disease, but also helps produce those happy chemicals like serotonin and dopamine.

If you've been sticking with a little granola or fruit in the morning with the hopes of dropping a few pounds, don't be afraid to add some eggs to your plate. In fact, a study in the International Journal of Obesity found that dieters who ate eggs for breakfast lost a whopping 65 percent more weight than those who had a bagel with the equal amount of calories!

Eggs are healthy, but omelets loaded with cheese and cooked in butter are not. Spray a pan with extra virgin olive oil and throw some veggies in your scramble. Start with some diced onion, bell peppers, and spinach.

Dairy

Speaking of fat spreads and eggs, Independent states that most dairy is a healthy addition to any diet, especially if you’re on a low carb diet. However, it’s best to avoid eating yogurt because it typically has added sugar and can have a lot of carbohydrates.

Once a staple food in many people's diets, milk, butter, yogurt and cheese are no longer consumed to the same extent because of conflicting health messages.

While dairy products contain high protein and calcium, which the body needs, they need to be chosen with care as some products contain high amounts of saturated fat per portion.

But although it is best to avoid a diet high in saturated fat, it is not a bad thing to regularly consume dairy products as long as this is part of reasonable calorie and fat intakes.

Men’s Health tells us that milk is something that is healthy to drink and although some kinds of milk have more carbs than others, there’s no denying that milk has great nutrients:

“Back in the 90s when the FDA approved the use of rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) in cows to increase milk production, the fear of milk being a tainted beverage that could cause cancer became very real,” says Shaw.

Over time, it’s become evident that the amount of cows actually treated with rBGH is slim, and most milk containers wear the label “made from cows not treated with rBGH.” The American Cancer Society also adds that even if rBGH were absorbed from drinking milk, it’s not active in humans, so any negative health effects wouldn’t be expected.

If you can tolerate lactose, cow’s milk is actually a really healthy addition to your diet. “It provides over nine essential vitamins and minerals, as well as 8 g of high quality protein,” says Shaw. (Find out whether you should be drinking whole or skim milk here.)

As an added bonus, research has found that people who drink chocolate milk after a tough workout suffer less exercise-induced muscle damage than those who drink sports drinks or water, potentially due to the protein in the milk reducing muscle damage.

Coffee

Instead of beating yourself up over drinking too much coffee, you can feel better knowing that it’s alright to drink coffee. It’s loaded with antioxidants and can help prevent type 2 diabetes! See what else The List says about coffee:

Many of us beat ourselves up for feeling dependent on caffeine, but maybe it's time to stop. In moderation, coffee can absolutely be part of a healthy diet. Not only is it loaded with antioxidants, but it's been linked to a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes.

Now notice we said coffee, not a double caramel macchiato with whipped cream. Opt for black coffee with a little non-fat or nut milk. Skip the sugary creamers. They never taste as good as the name sounds anyways.

Avoid the jitters by limiting yourself to one cup each morning. After that, switch to water to hydrate. You could always add in a cup of tea for that afternoon slump.

Chocolate

If you’re going to eat an entire bag of peanut m&m’s then yes, chocolate isn’t healthy. However, if you eat dark chocolate in moderation, you can enjoy its many benefits. Global News says that as long as it has at least 50 percent cacao, then it’s okay to eat. Discover why else chocolate and dark chocolate, in particular, is a great snack to eat in moderation.

No doubt, the fact that chocolate has been taken off the naughty list is music that has been resonating in people’s ears for some time now. But Foy says it doesn’t just apply to dark chocolate.

“Even milk chocolate is good as long as it has at least 50 percent cacao.”

She says one of the main reasons people crave chocolate is because it’s high in magnesium — the fourth most abundant mineral in the body that is most often depleted because of stress. Magnesium contributes to hundreds of biochemical reactions in the body, including creating energy, forming protein and regulating the nervous system. It’s also credited with lowering blood sugar, fighting depression and reducing insulin resistance. In this case, the darker the chocolate (at least 70 percent) the better it is.

Bacon

Who doesn’t love bacon?! Eating a ton of bacon may not be a good decision, but if you’re on a high fat, low carb diet I wouldn’t worry about it. An RD on Health says that bacon is a delicious way to jazz up salad or vegetables and we couldn’t agree more.

If you love bacon, this will make you jump for joy: Rachel Begun, RD, a food and nutrition consultant in Boulder, Colo. eats bacon. “It's got such a salty, smoky flavor that you can use small amounts to jazz up veggies—in fact, a little bacon can make you love veggies more,” she says.

The key here? Small amounts. Bacon can be loaded with salt and saturated fat, which is why you want to use it more like a garnish than a main event. Sprinkle crumbled bacon atop a side dish of Brussels sprouts or a veggie-filled salad.

Now that you better understand what foods that many say are taboo are in reality great meal options, you should think about other fallacies you may believe. For example, many people may consider a high-fat diet terrible, but a ketogenic diet can actually improve your health. To learn more about the ketogenic diet and how to improve your health one day at a time, check out our book.  At the time of writing this post, we're giving away free copies of the Body Reboot book. Cover the cost of shipping, and we’ll send you a FREE book. Go over to this page to see if there are any remaining copies.

Sources: The List, Independent, Global News, Health, Men’s Health