Basic Pasta
Regular pasta made with white flour sounds wholesome enough, but it brings with it all the baggage that any food made with refined grain does--it is digested quickly and causes a spike in blood sugar, and therefore, over time, can lead to an increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, and weight problems.

Verdict: Eat regular pasta in moderation, and cook it al dente (until it's just tender). If not boiled till it's really soft, the grain is broken down more slowly in the stomach, lessening the blood-sugar elevation.

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Whole Wheat Pasta
Afraid of whole wheat pasta? Don't be. The cardboardy-tasting penne of yesteryear has given way to some truly delicious noodles (I love the Bionaturae brand) that don't taste all that different from the white stuff. Whole wheat pasta will help protect you against a host of chronic diseases, and keep you and your kids full longer, thanks to the fiber and gentle effect on blood sugar.

Verdict: Best choice -- make this your default pasta.

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Canned Pasta Meals
While quick to prepare, pre-cooked spaghetti and ravioli that come in a can are swimming in salt, sugar, and, if non-organic, lots of additives like MSG. If you were preparing homemade pasta with sauce, would you add two teaspoons of sugar to each serving? How about more than a quarter teaspoon of salt?

Verdict: It's worth taking a few extra minutes to boil up some pasta and add your own sauce.

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Ramen Noodles
Ramen noodles are tempting because they're so cheap and so easy to prepare, which is probably why college kids are known to live on these noodle bricks. One package contains 76 percent of the sodium one should have for the entire day, as well as partially hydrogenated oils, MSG, and lots of things that are "hydrolyzed" and "autolyzed."

Verdict: Too much salt, too many additives, and nothing but empty calories.

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Boxed Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese--in many kids' eyes, the king of all noodles. There are some very real differences in the ingredient lists of boxed mac and cheese products, though, so be sure to read the labels. Perhaps you'd like to avoid having Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 be part of your child's dinner.

Verdict: If you need the convenience of boxed mac and cheese, go for the brands that contain the fewest ingredients and no artificial colors. But you can also consider just boiling up plain pasta and stirring in some grated cheddar and a bit of salt for a more wholesome alternative.

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Basic Infant Formula
Basic infant formulas are made with cow's milk, vegetable oils (for fat calories), vitamins, and minerals, and are usually iron-fortified. Melamine contamination is nothing to worry about if you're buying U.S.-made formula, though a recent study found that a protein in cow's milk formula may be linked to an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes later. However, there does not appear to be conclusive proof of this connection.
Verdict: If you absolutely can't breast-feed, domestically-produced infant formula is a fine alternative.

Formula With Added DHA/ARA
Manufacturers of infant formulas with added DHA and ARA (fatty acids extracted from algae and fungal sources) tout that these products are "closer than ever to breast milk," and help support your baby's brain and eye development. The Food and Drug Administration, however, states that the evidence for these claims is mixed, and that there is no proof yet of any long-term benefit from the added DHA/ARA.
Verdict: There's no harm in giving your baby this type of formula, and there may be real benefits from the additional fatty acids. You just need to be willing to pay a lot more for it.

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Powdered Formula
Using powdered formula is the cheapest way to nourish your baby if you're not breast-feeding. But unlike concentrate and ready-to-use, powdered formula is not sterile. Both the FDA and the World Health Organization have issued warnings about it, as powdered formula can potentially be contaminated with such harmful bacteria as Enterobacter sakazakii or Salmonella.
Verdict: Not the best choice. It's worth it to pay a few cents more per ounce for concentrate or ready-to-use formulas.

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Soy-Based Formula
There's a bit of controversy about soy formula, just as there is controversy about soy in general. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that soy formulas are just as good as milk-based formulas, but critics charge that the isoflavones in soy can induce such problems as hypothyroidism and Attention Deficit Disorder years later, as well as vitamin deficiencies and hormonal developmental issues.
Verdict: Use soy formula only if you're unable to breast-freed and your baby cannot tolerate conventional cow's milk-based formula.

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White Potatoes
Potatoes are nutritious -- or, more specifically, the fibrous skin and the layer directly beneath are. If you don't eat the skin, you're not getting most of the vitamins B6 and C, niacin, potassium, iron, magnesium, and pantothenic acid the potato contains. Instead, you're downing a lot of starch, which is quickly converted to glucose in the body and rapidly absorbed, causing an unhealthy spike in blood sugar.

Verdict: Since white potatoes affect our bodies the same way that sugar and refined white flour do, consume them in moderation. And be sure to eat the skin!

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French Fries and Potato Chips
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, by age 15-18 months, French fries become the most common vegetable American kids eat. No wonder so many children are battling obesity: while an ounce of potatoes has just 30 calories, if they're fried in oil as fries or chips then you're looking at 150 calories per ounce. The nutritional value of the potatoes is greatly diminished when processed and fried, and the vegetable oils used to cook them in become damaged from high heat, leading to inflammation in the body--the precursor to most chronic diseases.

Verdict: Make French fries and potato chips an occasional treat rather than your go-to "vegetable."

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Instant Mashed Potatoes
Two leading brands of instant mashed potatoes list partially hydrogenated oils (unhealthy trans-fats) as one of their first ingredients, and both are absolutely loaded with chemical additives, preservatives, and artificial colors.

Verdict: Don't have time to make real mashed potatoes tonight? Then wait to make them some night or weekend that you do. These boxes of chemicals do not warrant space on your pantry shelves.

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Sweet Potatoes
Unrelated to white potatoes, sweet potatoes, a Native American plant, are among the best vegetables you can eat. They're packed with nutrients -- calcium, potassium, vitamins A and C, copper -- and plenty of fiber. They don't raise blood sugar levels nearly as much as white potatoes. And eating naturally sweet veggies like sweet potatoes helps to keep sugar cravings in check.

Verdict: Don't eat sweet potatoes only at Thanksgiving! Make them a regular part of your diet -- just choose a recipe that doesn't involve marshmallows.

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Spinach
Spinach is loaded with vitamins A, C, E, and K, carotenoids, folic acid, potassium, magnesium, and iron--in short, it's a nutrient-dense food containing many of the phytochemicals that help prevent chronic disease. But like its relatives chard and beet greens, spinach is very high in oxalic acid, which leeches calcium and iron from the body.
Verdict: Consume spinach in moderation--eating a spinach salad every day is not the best idea. While cooking spinach with fat-containing foods like cheese, seeds, eggs, or oil will help counteract the effects of the oxalic acid, it's best to alternate between spinach and some low-oxalate greens, like kale and collards.

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Lettuce
While many types of lettuce are full of vitamins and minerals, the most commonly consumed lettuce in the U.S. is iceberg, which offers little more than water and a small amount of fiber. For comparison, romaine lettuce, the staple of Caesar salads, contains six times more Vitamin C.
Verdict: Eat the darker lettuce varieties. And watch what kind of dressing you put on your salad--creamy dressings are often loaded with fat, sugar, and additives, and will turn your healthy salad into something with the caloric profile of a fast-food meal.

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Cabbage
Cabbage is one of the world's most widely grown vegetables. A member of the cruciferous vegetable family, cabbage contains sulforaphane, which helps guard against the development of cancerous tumors. And when fermented to make sauerkraut, cabbage does everything from helping to foster clear skin to promoting the growth of healthy flora in the digestive tract.
Verdict: An underappreciated nutritional powerhouse. And sauerkraut is truly a health food if bought fresh and unpasteurized (pasteurization kills the beneficial bacterial cultures) or made from scratch.

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Wild Greens
Edible wild greens--including such common weeds as dandelion, lamb's quarters, chickweed, and amaranth--are often more nutritious than the cultivated greens available in your supermarket. If you take a class or go on a nature walk with a knowledgeable guide who can help you ID these plants, you've got yourself a way to add some exotic flavors, for free, into your diet.
Verdict: Put away that weed-whacker! If you're up for a little experimentation, wild greens are worth checking out.

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Your Basic Egg
Eggs are one of those very controversial foods--some experts say they raise cholesterol levels and therefore the risk of heart disease, while others counter that the cholesterol in the yolk does not necessarily raise your cholesterol levels and that the vitamins B12 and D, riboflavin, and folate in eggs can lower your risk for heart disease. As for salmonella, tighter government regulations are helping to reduce contamination of eggs, but if you're worried, cooking your eggs thoroughly will kill off any harmful microbes.
Verdict: Recent research has shown that up to one egg a day does not increase heart disease risk in healthy individuals--so scramble away. For people who have heart disease or diabetes, three egg yolks per week should be your limit.

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Eggs With Extra Omega-3s
Eggs that contain extra omega-3s--fats which have been shown to help prevent heart disease, stroke, and other chronic conditions--are laid by chickens that have been fed a diet rich in fish oil and/or flaxseeds, two foods high in the essential fatty acids. Of course, you can take fish oil and eat flaxseeds yourself and cut out the chicken middleman.
Verdict: If you don't mind paying a lot more for your eggs, there's certainly no harm in eating these.

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Organic/Free-Range Eggs
Organic eggs come from hens that eat organic feed, are allowed access to the outdoors, and are inspected to ensure that these rules are followed. Truly free-range, pasture-raised hens are allowed to run around on a field and eat grass, clover, and bugs.
Verdict: Best choice. A Penn State study has shown that pasture-raised hens lay eggs with much higher levels of omega-3s and vitamins A and E. In addition, organic eggs are less likely to contain residues of antibiotics and other foreign compounds.

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Egg Beaters/Egg Whites
With all the worry about the cholesterol content of eggs over the years, a slew of egg-white-only products was inevitable. These products tend to contain the whites, some coloring and vegetable gums, and a long list of supplementary vitamins and minerals, added in to replace the nutrients that got lost with the removal of the yolks.
Verdict: These products are fine if you're super worried about cholesterol and don't mind the additives. But for most people, nothing beats a real, naturally nutritious egg.

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Bacon
Aah, bacon. What's not to love? Well, sadly, there are serious issues with this popular breakfast food and burger-topper. Bacon is one of the dreaded "processed meats" we're told to avoid as it significantly raises the risk of colon cancer, largely due to the nitrates used to preserve its color and hinder microbial growth. Nitrates themselves are harmless, but they convert to a cancer-causing compound when digested.
Verdict: Buy nitrate-free bacon. It's worth tracking down--it can often be found at farmers markets and natural-food stores. While nitrate-free bacon will look more brown than red, it tastes great.

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Ham
There are many varieties of ham: fresh, cured, or cured/smoked. While fresh ham, which is the color of a fresh pork roast, is uncured, most cured hams contain nitrates, and so pose all the problems commercial bacon does.
Verdict: Choose fresh ham, or high-quality dry-cured country ham or prosciutto, which don't contain nitrates. Like nitrate-treated bacon, deli/sandwich ham should be eaten only on a rare occasion, if you must consume it at all.

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Sausage
Some sausages contain nitrates, some don't. But all fall in the processed meat category, and all tend to be packed with saturated fats and meat byproducts (organs, scraps). Two breakfast pork sausages contain more calories (140) and fat (12 grams) than three strips of bacon (120 calories, 9 grams fat).
Verdict: Sausages are the worst choice of all the processed pork products. That mystery-meat component is a bit of a turnoff too, no?

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Pork Chops/Tenderloin
While they are technically classified as red meats (despite the pork industry's "the other white meat" ad campaign), pork chops and pork tenderloin are much lower in fat than many other meats. Tenderloin, for instance, is as lean as boneless, skinless chicken breast, and contains thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, zinc, iron, and choline. And hooray! These meats are not processed.
Verdict: If you're going to eat pork, tenderloin and chops are the way to go.

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White Bread

White bread is made with refined wheat flour, which means almost all the nutrients and fiber have been stripped away from the grain. Because of the lack of fiber, white bread is digested very quickly, leading to a fast rise in blood sugar. As blood sugar levels rise, our bodies release more insulin, the hormone that signals cells to absorb blood sugar for energy or storage. Over time, heavy demand on our insulin-making cells wears them out, and insulin production slows or stops. This can eventually cause type 2 diabetes. In addition, elevated insulin levels leads to greater fat storage in our bodies. Bonus: A couple hours after eating refined carbs like white bread we experience a steep drop in blood sugar, and so can feel fatigued and/or voraciously hungry.

Verdict: White bread should not be your everyday sandwich bread.

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Whole Grain Bread

Whole grains are a good source of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and fiber, and, depending on the grain, even protein. As whole wheat and whole grain flours are made from the intact grains, we digest whole grain breads more slowly and feel full longer, and don't experience a blood-sugar freakout.

Verdict: Best choice.

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Breads "Made With Whole Grain"

When the USDA began recommending we eat more whole grains in 2005, the number of food products claiming to be "made with whole grains" more than doubled. Bread "made with whole grain" pretty much always means it contains some whole grain--and a lot of white flour.

Verdict: Not as healthy as 100 percent whole grain bread, but if you're struggling with the move from white to whole wheat, these are good transition breads.

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Bagels

Bagels are in a category all their own. Why? Because they're large. Very large. So large that one bagel equals five slices of bread, or two and a half English muffins. You're looking at 400-500 calories for one of these chewy dough balls, and that's before you've even begun spreading on a few hundred more via cream cheese or butter. And if it's a white flour bagel, you'll likely need a nap soon after eating it due to the inevitable blood sugar crash.


Verdict: Think of bagels as an occasional brunch treat. If you're eating them every day for breakfast, try swapping in some whole grain toast, oatmeal, eggs -- basically anything other than sugary cereals, donuts, pastries, or muffins -- a few days a week.

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