Dietician Outlines Three 'Bad' Foods That are Actually Healthy

Attitudes about diet are ever changing, and what was once considered healthy might eventually be found to pose a problem, or vice versa. Case in point, a “wellness culture BS busting dietitian” is highlighting three foods that have a bad reputation, but as it turns out, are pretty healthy for you.

The insights come from Abbey Sharp, who serves up “science and sass” on her popular TikTok account, which boasts over 840,000 followers. In her latest video posted this week, Sharp detailed three “bad foods” that she actually thinks people should eat.

First up were potatoes, which have been particularly demonized in recent years in the era of low-carb diets. “Potatoes do not inherently make you gain weight,” she explained, noting that they’re actually a great source of slow digesting carbs with blood sugar-regulating residence starch fiber. Not to mention, they’re also a great source of nutrients such as potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6.

Potatoes are actually quite filling as well, as she pointed out that the root vegetables actually topped a satiety ranking of common foods. For comparison, that’s seven times more filling than say, a croissant.

@abbeyskitchen

Diet culture loves to demonize these foods but they can actually be pretty good for you! Which one of these surprised you? #healthyeating #dietitiansoftiktok #potatotiktok

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The next food Sharp tackled was egg yolks, which have likewise always gotten a bad rap.

“For too long I feel that diet culture has painted egg yolks, specifically, as these fatty cholesterol bombs that will harden your arteries overnight,” she continued. “But we now know that dietary cholesterol doesn’t actually impact our blood cholesterol all that much.”

Plus, Sharp argued that egg yolks are also a great source of key nutrients such as vitamin D, choline, as well as containing half of the protein of the entire egg. “So definitely do not skimp on the yolks,” she advised.

Finally, the last item on Sharp’s list? Full fat dairy—or specifically, fermented dairy like yogurt—which she says is full of unique compounds like conjugated linoleic acid, butyrate, and gangliosides, that may actually offer a protective effect on heart health.

“Recent research has also found no association with full-fat dairy and cardiovascular disease while other research has found that full-fat dairy may actually reduce the risk of obesity and weight gain,” she added.

“So yeah, I feel like we have a lot of unlearning to do,” Sharp concluded the video, asking her followers which item on the list surprised them most. So next time you’re out at breakfast, don’t pay extra for an egg white omelet; and while you’re at it, get a side of potatoes or a yogurt parfait, as well.