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Rethinking Nutrition: Foods We Got Wrong—and What We Know Now

Nutrition is an ever-evolving and often surprising field. What we eat—and what we believe about food—is constantly being reshaped by emerging research, shifting cultural trends, and the long-overdue unraveling of outdated, industry-driven myths. Foods once celebrated as nutritional powerhouses are now being reexamined, while those previously misunderstood or unfairly criticized are now making a comeback thanks to advances in scientific research methods and a deeper understanding of whole-body health.

In this newsletter, we’re breaking down some of the most surprising reversals in nutrition—from margarine to butter, fat-free snacks to whole eggs—and explaining why these shifts matter for your health, your children, and your grocery list.

Foods Once Considered Healthy—Now Proven Harmful - Fruit Juice

Foods Once Considered Healthy—
Now Proven Harmful

Margarine: The Faux Health Spread

For decades, margarine was the poster child for “heart-healthy” eating. It was low in saturated fat and marketed as a safer, cost-efficient alternative to butter. But most margarines were (and some still are) made from hydrogenated vegetable oils—a process that creates trans fats, now known to be among the most dangerous fats you can consume.

Trans fats have been linked to heart disease, inflammation, and elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol, while lowering HDL (good) cholesterol. Today, the FDA has banned artificial trans fats in food, and margarine’s health halo has all but disappeared.

Diet Soda: Zero Calories, Real Consequences

Diet sodas became wildly popular as the no-calorie, sugar-free solution to cravings—but recent studies show that artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose can disrupt gut bacteria, confuse insulin signaling, and even contribute to weight gain and glucose intolerance over time.

What’s worse? These sweeteners may trigger the brain’s reward centers without delivering actual calories, leading to more hunger and cravings later. The result: a metabolic mismatch that does your body more harm than good.

Vegetable Oils: The Processed Fat Trap

Oils like canola, soybean, corn, and safflower were once heralded for being low in saturated fat. But we now know they are also high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, which, when consumed in excess, promote chronic inflammation.

These oils are also prone to oxidation—especially during high-heat cooking—forming harmful compounds that damage cells and contribute to disease. They’re now recognized as a major factor in the rise of metabolic disorders. Learn more about metabolic health here.

Fat-Free and Low-Fat Foods: A Nutritional Mirage

The 1990s low-fat craze led to the creation of “diet” products that were stripped of fat—but pumped full of refined sugars, starches, and artificial flavors to make them taste good. While they promised weight loss, they often spiked blood sugar and left people feeling hungry sooner.

We now understand that healthy fats are essential for satiety, hormone production, brain function, and nutrient absorption. Fat-free cookies and yogurts? Not the healthier choice for your body.

Fruit Juice: Nature’s Sugar Bomb

Juice sounds healthy—after all, it’s made from fruit, right? But when you strip away the fiber, what’s left is often a concentrated sugar load. A single glass of orange juice can have the same sugar-loaded glycemic effect as soda.

Frequent juice consumption, especially in children, is linked to obesity, tooth decay, and insulin resistance. Whole fruit is now the preferred option, with its fiber and phytonutrients intact.

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Newsletter

Foods Once Feared—
Now Praised for Their Benefits

Eggs: Cholesterol Myth Busted

Eggs were vilified for years due to their high cholesterol content. People were told to toss the yolks and stick to egg whites.

But modern science has shown that for most people, dietary cholesterol has little effect on blood cholesterol.

Eggs—especially pasture-raised—are nutritional powerhouses packed with choline, B vitamins, vitamin D, and healthy fats. They’re great for brain development, energy, and satiety.

Butter: Making a Comeback

Alongside eggs, butter was criticized in favor of margarine. But research has revealed that saturated fats from whole foods (like grass-fed butter) do not inherently cause heart disease. In fact, grass-fed butter contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and vitamin K2, both of which support cardiovascular and bone health.

Moderate use of high-quality butter is now considered not only acceptable, but even beneficial.

Coconut Oil: The Fat That Fuels

Once lumped in with unhealthy saturated fats, coconut oil has undergone a rebrand. It contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are quickly used for energy, support brain function, and may even boost metabolism.

It also has antimicrobial properties and is a popular choice in both cooking and natural body care. While moderation is key, coconut oil is now viewed as a functional fat—especially in whole-food forms.

Coffee: From Guilty Pleasure to Brain Booster

Coffee used to be seen as a jittery, dehydrating vice. Today, high-quality research links moderate coffee consumption with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, liver disease, and more.

Its antioxidant content, combined with its ability to enhance cognitive performance and mood, makes coffee a daily staple for millions—and a surprising ally in longevity.

Red Meat (Unprocessed, Pasture-raised, Grass-fed and finished): Quality Over Quantity

Red meat has long been associated with heart disease and cancer. But newer research distinguishes between highly processed meats (like hot dogs, bacon, and deli meats) and unprocessed, grass-fed and grass-finished (not exposed to GMO-corn), which can be a nutrient-rich source of protein, iron, B12, and essential amino acids.

When consumed in moderation and sourced responsibly, red meat can absolutely be part of a healthy diet—especially for those who need nutrient density without excess carbohydrates.

Foods Once Feared—Now Praised for Their Benefits - Butter & Good Fats

What changed our views on so many foods?

  1. Better Science: Early nutritional studies were often observational and lacked long-term data. Modern research includes biomarkers, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses.
  2. The Fat-Phobia Era Is Over: We now understand that not all fats are bad, and many are essential to our whole-body system.
  3. Sugar and Processing Took Center Stage: Once overlooked, sugar and ultra-processed foods are now recognized as key drivers of inflammation and modern disease.
  4. Gut Health Awareness: The rise of microbiome science has reframed how we look at additives, emulsifiers, and synthetic ingredients.

Why is this information beneficial to our health?

  • Be skeptical of food fads—especially those driven by marketing rather than science.
  • Prioritize whole foods, especially those with minimal processing and ingredients you can pronounce.
  • Look at the bigger picture: context, quality, and sourcing matter as much as the food itself.

Final Thoughts

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by changing nutrition headlines. But here’s a rule of thumb: real, whole food always wins in the end. The closer a food is to its natural form, the less likely it is to betray your body’s trust.

Yes, we’ve been misled before—about fat, about sugar and substitute sweeteners, about calories. But the hidden truths about our food supply always rises above and reveals itself.

And the more we learn, the more empowered we become to nourish ourselves and our families with clarity and confidence to better achieve optimal wellness and longevity.

References:

  1. Mozaffarian, D., et al. (2006).
    Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease.
    New England Journal of Medicine, 354(15), 1601–1613.
  2. Suez, J., et al. (2014).
    Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota.
    Nature, 514(7521), 181–186.
  3. Ramsden, C. E., et al. (2013).
    Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death: evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis.
    BMJ, 346, e8707.
  4. Lustig, R. H., et al. (2012).
    Public health: The toxic truth about sugar.
    Nature, 482(7383), 27–29.
  5. Basu, S., et al. (2013).
    Relationship of sugar to population-level diabetes prevalence: An econometric analysis of repeated cross-sectional data.
    PLOS ONE, 8(2), e57873.
  6. Berger, S., et al. (2015).
    Dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
    American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 102(2), 276–294.
  7. De Souza, R. J., et al. (2015).
    Saturated and trans fats and risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analysis.
    BMJ, 351, h3978.
  8. Eyres, L., et al. (2016).
    Coconut oil consumption and cardiovascular risk factors in humans.
    Nutrition Reviews, 74(4), 267–280.
  9. Poole, R., et al. (2017).
    Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes.
    BMJ, 359, j5024.
  10. O’Connor, L. E., et al. (2017).
    Unprocessed red meat in diets with or without dairy foods: effects on cardiovascular risk factors.
    American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 105(1), 42–51.