Truth About Health & Nutrition Claims

January 18, 2012

Interview with Robert Davis, author of the bookCoffee is Good for You: From Vitamin C and Organic Foods to Low-Carb and Detox Diets, the Truth about Diet and Nutrition Claims

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Mike Carruthers:
Keeping up with all the nutrition claims and what’s good and bad for you can be a challenge. For instance is coffee good for you?

Robert Davis:
There is good evidence that coffee may in fact have some benefits. Coffee drinking is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, certain cancers, stroke, diabetes.
 

Robert Davis, author of the book Coffee is Good for You, has examined the research on what is and is not healthy. For example a lot of products now claim they are gluten free, but does that mean they are healthy?

There’s a small number of people who have a condition called celiac disease which means they cannot consume foods with gluten so it’s very important they eat gluten free foods. But for the vast majority of us gluten is not a problem. So if you see foods that say gluten free that doesn’t mean the food is healthier.

I’m sure you’ve heard that you should never re-use a plastic water bottle because of the chemicals in the plastic that could cause cancer.

That is not true. And so if you want to re-use your water bottle that’s perfectly fine and better for the environment. Just make sure you wash it out the bigger concern there is germs in the bottle so you’re going to make sure you wash it thoroughly as opposed to some risk of cancer.

And there is a concern about meat that is well done.

There is good research showing that eating meat that’s well done is linked to higher risk of certain cancers. The good news there though is if you put it in the microwave for a minute or so before you put it on the grill that can help reduce the risk - if you marinate meat that can help greatly reduce the risk.

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here