Healthy Foods that Become Unhealthy When You Overindulge

“All things in moderation” certainly applies to food – even healthy food. While it’s very hard to overindulge on fruits and vegetables, there are certain foods and drinks that, while being very healthy, quickly turn fattening or even dangerous when you consume larger quantities.

Red Wine

Red wine doesn’t just help you unwind; a glass of vino also provides protective antioxidants. But wine quickly becomes much less healthy when you exceed the recommended daily amount. Women should stick to one glass per day and men to two, with one alcohol free day a week, to maintain the heart-healthy benefits – drink more than that, and you can increase your risk for several health problems, including high blood pressure and some cancers.

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate that contains at least 70% cacao is just about the healthiest way you can satisfy your sweet tooth because of the flavonoids (a type of antioxidant) it provides. Flavonoids can lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol, giving your heart health a boost. But chocolate is very high in calories and contains a lot of sugar, so limit your consumption to just a little.

Avocado

Avocados are extremely healthy for you, as they contain lots of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat as well as fibre. You should definitely eat avocados, but watch your portion size – just half of one avocado contains about 120 calories, so it’s easy to see how too much avocado in one day can quickly blow your calorie budget.

Beef

Lean, grass-fed beef, in particular, provides lots of protein and iron, as well as omega 3s and vitamin E. However, just because it’s lean and grass-fed doesn’t mean you can eat all you want. It still has high amounts of fat and calories, and eating a lot of red meat could increase your risk of colon cancer. So stick to two to three times a week for optimal benefits.

Regardless of how healthy food is, keep in mind that eating too much of just about any food is bound to have some negative consequences. So go ahead and enjoy your favourite foods – just enjoy them in moderation.