By Marygrace Taylor for Prevention
Slow your roll!
That saying about enjoying all things in moderation? It doesn’t just apply to red wine, fresh bread or delicious desserts. It counts for clean foods too. Because whether you’re talking about nuts, fish, leafy greens or whole grains, there’s almost always an instance where you can have too much of a good thing. Here, five great-for-you foods that can be dangerous if you overdo it.
Brazil Nuts
These giant nuts are known for being the #1 source of selenium, an essential trace element that plays an essential role in reproduction and helping your body fight infection. In fact, just one Brazil nut can deliver up to 90mcg of selenium, which is almost twice as much selenium as you need in a day. And six to eight nuts packs a whopping 777 percent of your daily selenium needs.
Eating the occasional serving of Brazil nuts is fine, but having them every day could put you at risk for selenium toxicity — which has the potential to cause hair loss, gastrointestinal and neurological problems, lightheadedness and even heart attacks or kidney failure. “Keep it to one weekly serving, or just have one or two nuts a few times a week,” says dietician Jessica Cording.
READ MORE: 5 Foods You Won’t Believe Contain More Protein Than An Egg
Spinach, Beetroot And Swiss Chard
We don’t need to remind you that each of these veggies is a nutritional powerhouse. But they’re also high in naturally occurring compounds called oxalates. Oxalates actually work as prebiotics to feed the healthy bacteria in your gut. But if you’re prone to kidney stones, eating too many high-oxalate foods only makes things worse. “The kidneys are supposed to filter these compounds out. But in someone who is prone to kidney stones, the kidneys have a hard time doing so, which can lead to build-up and the formation of kidney stones,” says Cording.
In that case, it could be best to avoid foods that are high in oxalates altogether. Talk to your doctor to figure out what’s best for you. If you need to cut out high-oxalate foods, a dietician can help you find lower-oxalate alternatives, like cabbage or cauliflower.
READ MORE: 30 Healthy High-Fibre Foods That Make You Feel Full And Satisfied
Tinned Tuna
It’s cheap, convenient and packed with protein and those all-important omega-3s. But tinned tuna does contain some mercury, which can harm the nervous systems and brains of developing foetuses and young children. Higher amounts of mercury can be poisonous to adults, too (symptoms include numbness or tingling, vision problems and memory problems). But experts don’t know exactly how much mercury-laden tuna you’d need to eat to get sick.
White albacore tuna contains more mercury than light tuna, and the amount that you can eat depends on your weight. For instance, a 50kg person should stick to less than 110g of white albacore tuna or 250g of light tuna per week. But a 75kg person can have 140g of white albacore tuna or 400g of light tuna per week, according to calculations from Consumer Reports.
If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive, stick with established guidelines: enjoy up to 340g of lower mercury seafood per week, like prawns, salmon or light tuna. For higher mercury albacore tuna, limit yourself to no more than 170g per week.
READ MORE: 40 Foods That Will Help You Upgrade Your Diet
Red Meat, Oysters And Haricot Beans
All three are top sources of iron, which plays an essential role in delivering oxygen to your muscles. And while too little iron can leave you feeling weak and tired, getting too much can lead to liver failure.
Of course, plenty of people struggle to get enough of the mineral in their diets. So iron overload tends to be pretty rare, especially if your only source of iron is food, says Cording. But if you’re taking an iron supplement? It might be worth talking to a dietician. “It’s important to know what your needs are and get a handle on how to balance food sources and supplements,” says Cording.
READ MORE: 6 Foods That Fire Up Your Metabolism And Burn More Fat
Brown Rice
Sure, the complex carb is synonymous with health food. But rice is also good at absorbing arsenic that occurs naturally in soil and water. And brown rice tends to absorb more of the heavy metal than its refined counterparts.
Arsenic is a known human carcinogen, and currently, there’s no safety threshold for the amount of arsenic in food. But experts agree that you don’t need to cut brown rice out of your diet completely. Instead, make an effort to eat a variety of whole grains. “If you would normally have brown rice every day, try to alternate with something like quinoa or millet,” says Cording. Keep an eye out for packaged foods that contain rice or rice-based ingredients like brown rice syrup (which is often used to sweeten natural cereals) too. It’s better to eat those once in a while rather than every day.
This article was originally published on www.womenshealthmag.com
