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Quinn on Nutrition: Food disputes to keep in context

In the dictionary, the word “context” refers to “the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea…in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.”

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In the dictionary, the word "context" refers to "the circumstances that form the setting for an event,  statement, or idea…in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed." For example, we can better understand the statement, "The crowd is going wild" if we know whether the crowd is at a football game or a riot. Likewise, we can assess nutrition questions more fully when we know the background. Here are some to consider:

Are there benefits to drinking buttered coffee? Black coffee with added butter — also known as "bulletproof coffee" — has become popular in some nutrition circles for its purported ability to boost brain function and control weight. Indeed, populations of people around the world enjoy similar types of brews, according to an article on this topic in the January 2015 issue of Food and Nutrition magazine. From Nepal to Ethiopia to Tibet, coffee and tea are frequently prepared with various mixtures of butter, salt, sugar or honey. Often consumed throughout the day, these beverages provide energy (calories from fat and sugar) and fluid.

"But before the rest of the world starts adding pats of butter to their morning java, it's important to remember the context," states this article. Butter produced from a wild yak is different compositionally from that of a dairy cow. And butter coffee drinkers who aren't trekking the Himalayas may simply be adding excess calories to their diets.

Are fertile eggs more nutritious than non-fertile eggs? Hens don't necessarily need a rooster in their lives to produce eggs. When they do, however, their eggs are "fertile" and contain both male and female genetic material, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). "Infertile" eggs are produced without the help of roosters; they contain only female genetic material. A baby chick can therefore grow from an incubated fertile egg but not from an infertile egg.

Nutritionally, there is no evidence that one type of egg is superior to the other. The only difference might be that fertile eggs spoil sooner than infertile eggs, say experts.

Is uncured bacon better than cured? The answer is confusing, says the AND. First, although uncured bacon is not cured with nitrites and nitrates, it is still cured, usually with salt. Second, nitrites or nitrates might be harmful; or they might be helpful. Nitrites and nitrates protect bacon from Clostridium botulinum, a deadly bacteria that causes botulism. Yet some animal studies indicate these compounds increase the risk for cancer. On the other hand, new evidence shows that dietary nitrite and nitrate convert in the body to nitric oxide, a beneficial substance that dilates blood vessels and helps lower blood pressure.

Keep it in context, suggests the AND. Most (about 80 percent) of dietary nitrates consumed by the average American is in vegetables, not bacon. "So unless one regularly eats copious amounts of bacon, choosing a nitrate- and nitrite-free product would have little effect."

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(Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. Email her at bquinn@chomp.org .)

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©2015 The Monterey County Herald

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