Good News — 5 ‘Bad’ Foods That Are Good for You

How many times over the past several years have we read about food that were supposed to be good for us actually being bad for us? Well, this ought to even up the score a bit. Here are 5 foods that everyone thought were bad for us that are actually good for us.

1.  Coffee.  My doctor constantly nags me about how much coffee I drink. Just wait until I tell him that coffee improves memory, reaction time, mood, and general cognitive function.  It also boosts your metabolism, and can protect you from Type II diabetes and Alzheimer's.

2.  Whole milk.  I just switched to skim milk from whole milk and now I find that,somehow, skim milk makes you crave junk food.

3.  Salt. Turn out it's not so much the salt from the salt shaker that you might add to season your food. it's all those processed foods that have sodium contents great than the oceans. Still, moderation on the salt shaker is a good idea.

4.  Chocolate.  Okay, this isn't carte blanche to eat a Snickers bar three times a day, but pure chocolate is healthy for you.  It helps with heart disease and lowers blood pressure.

5.  Popcorn.  NOT movie popcorn. The stuff we all love in movie theatres is loaded up with all kinds of fat and calories, but the kind we air-pop at home is loaded with more anti-oxidants than fruits and vegetables.  It's also a great source of fiber.