Foods long considered to be tasty but taboo, may, it seems, have their healthy sides after all. Last month we heard that new research has cleared eggs of serial involvement in disease. Where it was once thought that their high-cholesterol content meant they should only be eaten in moderation, it is now thought they have little effect on levels of cholesterol in our bodies. Meanwhile, red wine and chocolate have both been shown to have health benefits. Even dietary demons such as red meat, beer, butter and cheese, may have some health benefits.

Red wine and oily foods were among the first foods to undergo a makeover. The health benefits of wine, especially red, came to the fore when researchers were looking for explanations for the so-called French paradox – why the French have a much lower risk of heart disease, despite eating similar amounts of saturated fats. The answer, it was suggested, was that the wine the French drank with their meals had a protective effect on the heart. Resveratrol, a compound found in grapes, is thought to be largely responsible for this, and has since been linked to a range of other health benefits, such as reducing the risk of cancer and dementia.

Oily food were also once not recommended, but consumption of some, especially in oily fish, is now encouraged. More recently, there has also been a sea change in health attitudes to chocolate, with research showing that it can have beneficial effects for a wide range of problems, from depression to high blood pressure.

Herbert London, president of Hudson Institute, professor emeritus of New York University and author of a report on changing attitudes to foods, laments missing out on the foods he would have liked to eat. "There was a time not so long ago when most of the foods I enjoyed were bad for me. My physician said don't consume more than two eggs a week, stay away from chocolate and don't eat oily dishes," he says. "For years my doctor and parents deprived me of a restorative substance because they believed in the myth of chocolate's evil. Yet it turns out I was right and they were wrong."

Red meat

Red meat has long been linked

to heart disease, cancer and other

health problems, but some research

suggests that leaner cuts can have health benefits. According to the American Dietetic Association, the

world's largest organisation of food and nutrition professionals, lean meats are a key source of essential nutrients. "Red meats are great sources of iron, zinc, protein, vitamins B6 and B12 and niacin," it says.

Wine

Once regarded as a quick and cheap way

to get happy, wine is rapidly approaching health-
food status. According to a Michigan University report,

moderate consumption may lower the risk of coronary

artery disease and heart attack, reduce the risk of stroke,

stimulate appetite, promote regular bowel movement,

and reduce the risk of gall-bladder surgery in women. Moderate consumption may be associated with longevity, raised good cholesterol, more effective immune systems and a lower risk of cancer. Tannins and antioxidants are thought to be responsible

for beneficial effects. Harvard University researchers found that women who drink red wine have lower risk of an early start

to the perimenopause (the two to eight years leading up

to the menopause itself). One theory is that it is a

non-alcoholic compound in red wine – resveratrol,

a phytoestrogen – that may effect the

timing of menopause.

chocolate

Once regarded as universally bad, chocolate,

at least the dark version, has undergone something

of a makeover. Dark chocolate – with 70% cocoa or
more – reduces bad cholesterol, lowers risk of blood clots,

increases blood flow in arteries, may lower high-blood pressure,

and may improve mood and pleasure by boosting serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain, according to the University of Michigan. Dr Chiaki Sanbongi at the St Marianna University school of medicine in Japan has shown that the antioxidant cacao liquor polyphenol or CLP, a major ingredient of chocolate, has a beneficial effect on the immune system. At the University of Helsinki, Dr Katri Räikkönen found that expectant mothers who ate chocolate daily were more positive and less stressed about their babies' behaviour six months later.

eggs

Health advice used to be to eat no more than

three a week. There were theories that too many eggs

raised the risk of heart disease, but research in the

British Nutrition Foundation's Nutrition Bulletin shows that cholesterol in eggs has only a small and clinically insignificant effect on blood cholesterol. Other research has shown that eggs have positive effects on health. Michigan University researchers found that whole eggs offer almost every essential vitamin and mineral needed by humans, except vitamin C. The yolk contain vitamins A, D, E and K. Eggs have been linked to a lower risk of

age-related macular degeneration. In a clinical trial at Rutgers University in America, women in the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy are being given a daily egg in the belief that it

will boost foetal development. Eggs provide iodine and choline,

and an iodine deficiency during pregnancy can cause

miscarriage, stillbirth and mental impairment, while

choline is important for the development of brain

tissue. Eggs may also lower the risk

of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

coffee

Drinking coffee may protect younger women

from breast cancer. Pre-menopausal women who

drank more than four cups a day had a 40% drop
in their risk of the cancer, say researchers from the

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, New York. The findings, which contradict some other studies, suggest that the protective effects of polyphenols, which work as strong antioxidants cleaning out toxic free radicals, may be greater than any damaging effect from caffeine. One study found that bladder cancer was about half as likely to occur in smokers who regularly drank coffee as in smokers who did not. Researchers also found that people who drink the most coffee have the lowest risk of contracting type two diabetes. Another study has shown that men who drink three cups

of coffee a day have the smallest mental

decline as they got older.

cheese

This can be better than calcium supplements

for bone development in young girls, researchers say.

They set 200 healthy girls to eat cheese; calcium;

vitamin D plus calcium; or a placebo. After the trial, scans

were taken. The researchers, from the Finland's University of Jyvaskyla, found the cheese group had bigger changes in the tibia bone than all the other girls, and had a higher whole-body bone-mineral density than placebo. Research at Harvard University shows that cheese has high calcium levels, but it varies by type; an ounce of cream cheese has 23mg of calcium, but the same quantity of cheddar has 204mg. An ounce of Swiss cheese has 272mg, and

half a cup of semi-skimmed ricotta has 337mg.

beer

Despite its reputation, evidence is showing

that beer can have health benefits. Moderate

amounts have been linked to a protective effect in cancer,

heart disease and osteoporosis, as well as increasing

good cholesterol, boosting immune defences, and preventing

blood-clotting. German researchers in Heidelberg say a

key factor is that beer is high in antioxidants; about 80% of

its antioxidants are from barley and 20% from hops,

and they work individually and together against

cancer to stop it developing and growing. Evidence has

accumulated in the past decade pointing to the cancer-

preventing potential of beer constituents, including the

flavonoids xanthohumol and isoxanthohumol. The

Council of Scientific Research in Madrid found that

the level of a number of immune system cells increases

significantly after 30 days, particularly in women.

Researchers at Tufts University in the US say that

silicate found in beer seems to

reduce bone loss.

potatoes

The low-carb diet may have left the potato out in the cold, but it has significant health benefits. A medium-size potato, with skin, contains only 100 calories and is a good source of vitamin C, potassium and fibre. They also contain phytochemicals – nutrients that protect against cancer and heart disease.