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If the pandemic taught us anything, it was the importance of stocking your pantry with shelf-stable canned foods you can count on to help get a meal on the table, without a trip to the grocery store. But historically, canned foods have gotten a bad rap as second-rate options that come up short in nutrition and flavor 鈥� almost to the point where most people are slightly embarrassed to roll up to the check-out counter with a cart populated by foods stuffed into tins. This is a shame, because the truth is many canned foods are still nutrient-rich.

In fact, the canning process has less impact on nutrition than you may think.听听in the journal听Nutrients听found that people who ate a lot of canned foods had a higher intake of 17 essential nutrients compared to people who rarely ate canned foods. And in terms of flavor, items like canned corn, peaches and tomatoes are harvested at peak ripeness and packed shortly thereafter, so they actually can taste fresher than out-of-season fresh options.

Not all canned items are processed foods. It鈥檚 time to embrace canned foods and stop shunning them.听 With a seemingly never-ending shelf life, canned goods can encourage creativity and flexibility in the kitchen (and survival during a zombie invasion, naturally).

Get your can opener at the ready, because these are the canned foods you always want to keep in your pantry.

1. Canned Black Beans

These might be the healthiest 鈥渇ast food鈥� around. With a huge swath of essential vitamins and minerals including iron, folate, magnesium and phosphorus, consider听black beans听akin to a multi-vitamin in a can. No wonder people who eat more legumes generally have听. Canned black beans supply about听听in 1-cup serving. And听听from more than 30 studies published in听The BMJ听linked higher protein intake overall and plant protein specifically to lower all-cause mortality risk.

Swapping canned beans for some of the grains in your daily diet could be a smart move for better heart health, too. A听听in the听American Journal of Clinical Nutrition听discovered that when people consumed 1 cup of canned beans (including the black variety) daily for one month, their total and LDL (鈥渂ad鈥�) cholesterol decreased significantly more compared to when they consumed a cup of white rice instead. The extra intake of non-fermentable soluble fiber,听, is likely the main reason why eating more canned beans can help keep your lipid profile in the safe range. This soluble fiber can also improve blood sugar control and bowel movements. Each cup of canned black beans supplies 16 grams of total fiber, about half of your daily requirement.

But the benefits of this canned food don鈥檛 end there. Legumes with darker coats, such as black beans, also have听. This makes them capable of scavenging up those pesky free radicals that can damage cells and accelerate aging.

Worried about those loathed gassy after-effects of eating beans? Draining canned black beans in a colander and rising well will send a high proportion of the gas-producing compounds down the drain. It鈥檒l also听reduce the sodium听content. There are, however, now no-salt-added versions on the market you can buy if you want to keep your prep super simple.

Knowing the nutritional virtues of canned beans, it鈥檚 troubling to know that听听of Americans consume legumes daily. So, get out your can opener and use canned black beans in salads, soups, grain bowls, dips and tacos more often. Need some ideas? Try these recipes:

2. Canned Oysters

Oysters听are a delicacy you can enjoy without the hassle (and risk of landing in the emergency room) of shucking them 鈥撎齜ut only if you visit the canned seafood aisle of your local supermarket.

Though often overlooked for other tinned swimmers, oysters deliver a bevy of nutritional benefits. Each can contains听听for vitamin B12, copper and immune-boosting zinc. You also get a decent amount of selenium, a mineral听听of suffering from depressive symptoms.

And we bet you didn鈥檛 know that canned oysters are a richer source of iron than beef. That鈥檚 an important perk, considering听听颈苍听The Journal of Nutrition听discovered that the rate of iron deficiency among Americans has been on the rise over the last couple of decades. The researchers attribute this largely to a drop in dietary iron intake as more people move away from beef to chicken and the amount of iron in the food supply dropping as a result of chemical intensive, yield-focused agricultural practices. So, knowing good sources of iron (like convenient canned oysters) is important.

Why is iron so essential? This nutrient helps make hemoglobin, a component of red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, including the heart and working muscles. Coming up short can lead to feelings of fatigue and weakness, along with听.

Here鈥檚 a pro tip: Since some of the nutrients in oysters including vitamin C and B vitamins are water-soluble, they may leach out into the canning water. Don鈥檛 let them go to waste! Consume some or all of the water that the oysters canned with. You鈥檒l get some extra sodium as well, so just be sure to cut back your salt intake elsewhere in your diet.

You can scoop oysters straight from the can or toss them on salads and sandwiches. They can also be a stealth addition to soups, pasta dishes, and a pan of stir-fried vegetables.

3. Canned Pumpkin

Fall shouldn鈥檛 be the only time you have canned pumpkin in your pantry. Think of it as a reliable source of a payload of beta-carotene year-round. Our bodies are able to convert beta-carotene into vitamin A, which is needed to听. And听听in the听European Journal of Nutrition听found that people with higher levels of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, tested for a younger biological age as indicated by longer telomeres 鈥� DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes that shorten as cells replicate and age.

But canned pumpkin isn鈥檛 a one-hit-wonder; it鈥檚 also a good source of听.听in the听Journal of the American Heart Association听discovered that people who ate more foods high in vitamin K, especially vitamin K1 found in vegetables, had a lower risk for cardiovascular diseases related to atherosclerosis, especially peripheral artery disease, compared with those who ate fewer foods rich in vitamin K.

Note: Make sure to steer clear of canned pumpkin pie mix, which is loaded with added sugar. Plain ol鈥� pumpkin is all you want in your canned varieties.

You can sneak canned pumpkin puree into chili, dips (pumpkin hummus is superb!), curries, pancakes and waffles, and even oatmeal. Try it in creamy sauces for pasta and cooked meats. It

also makes a great substitute for a good chunk of the oil or butter in baking, including muffins and quick breads. Freeze some canned pumpkin in an ice cube tray or silicone mini muffin mould to throw into smoothies for added nutrients and cozy sweetness.

4. Canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce

It鈥檚 time to turn up the heat on your cooking 鈥撎齛nd the best way to do that is a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

If you鈥檙e not familiar with these, here鈥檚 a primer. Chipotles in adobo are smoked and dried jalape帽os, which are rehydrated and canned in a sweet and tangy pur茅e of tomato, vinegar, and garlic. The final result? Canned food that packs wicked, smoky heat with very few calories.

Eating canned chipotle peppers and other chili peppers regularly may be associated with a reduction in the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer-related mortality, according to听听of four observational studies published in the听American Journal of Preventive Cardiology.听The benefit of chili peppers is attributed to the chemical compound capsaicin, with potential cardio-protective and anti-tumorigenic effects. It may also have听听on our microbiome that could translate into better health.

There鈥檚 some听听that suggests spiking your food with a chili punch can听听and desire to keep eating. This, in theory, could make it easier to keep your overall calorie intake in check. Capsaicin may also听, but whether or not this effect is enough to result in noticeable weight loss is still up in the air.

How can you use canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce? This is a do-it-all canned good. These peppers will liven up soups, a pot of chili, sauces, glazes, marinades, beans and then some. We鈥檙e talking top-level pantry stuff here. You can also blend the peppers with the sauce for a puree that hurts so good. Or, mix some of this chipotle puree with yogurt and say hello to your new favorite taco, burger or grilled fish topping. You can even blend it into guacamole.

Once you鈥檝e blended the peppers and sauce, you can freeze the puree in an ice cube tray and stash the fiery cubes in a zip-top bag in the freezer for use when needed. And you should know that an opened can will keep for months in the fridge.

5. Canned Crushed Tomatoes

It鈥檚 a total misconception that for vegetables to be healthy, they must be fresh and live in your crisper. Just take canned crushed tomatoes as an example!

Canned tomatoes, including the deeply tomato-flavored crushed variety, are laced with the plant compound lycopene. This is a member of the carotenoid family that may help in the battle against听听as we age.听听in the听Journal of the National Cancer Institute听also suggests that greater intakes of lycopene can lower the risk for developing breast cancer. Acting as a potent antioxidant, lycopene can help vanquish the free radicals in our bodies, which can damage DNA and initiate cancers and worsen brain functioning.

And when it comes to the lycopene found in tomatoes, it鈥檚 worth noting that the processing that goes into producing canned tomatoes听. In other words, it makes the compound more accessible so we can better reap its health rewards.

听is another nutritional benefit of canned tomatoes; it鈥檚 a nutrient听听improved blood pressure numbers. Plus, vitamin C enhances our听听from plant-based foods such as beans 鈥� and it鈥檚 necessary to make sure the immune system is operating properly. And who isn鈥檛 pondering immunity these days?

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As long as it鈥檚 not deep-fried, fish small and large are loaded with nutrients that support your health and training efforts. But picking out a swimmer for dinner is no simple task. These days we wonder: 鈥榃as it farmed or wild-caught? Should I go with fresh or frozen?鈥� And fears of contaminants make many shy away from eating enough fish. Despite the scary headlines, however, there is no need to spurn wild and farmed seafood in favor of another ho-hum meal of chicken breast. The key is to wade through the murky waters and become better informed to make the best choices for you and the planet. Follow these tips and welcome more ocean life into your kitchen and navigate the seafood counter.

Eat More Seafood, Less Meat

Despite some scary headlines, we can and should still be eating seafood. But most Americans aren鈥檛 reaching for fish for dinner often enough. Though consumption of fresh and frozen seafood听, the typical American diet contains only about half the recommended level of seafood consumption suggested by the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans鈥攖wo four-ounce servings each week. This is a shortfall that can have health consequences if you鈥檙e stuffing in sausage instead of salmon. One recent study in the journal听听involving more than 400,000 men and women found that substituting some of the calories in a diet from red and processed meat with seafood, especially fatty fish, can slash the risk for heart disease by about 20%. Similarly,听听involving the review of 123 previously published studies found an inverse association between fish intake and cardiovascular disease while red and processed meat was linked to a higher risk for heart woes. Lower intakes of saturated fat and higher consumption of nutrients like omega-3 fats, selenium, and vitamin D are likely a big reason why this dietary swap is a ticker-friendly one. That is as long as you鈥檙e not opting for fish and chips too often. What鈥檚 more, there is听听to suggest that fish protein may have a greater effect on satiety and overall energy intake compared to beef protein鈥攇ood news if you鈥檙e trying to limit winter weight gain during periods of lower volume training.

Reel-in Omegas

Research shows that fish can be fatty in a good way. Sufficient intakes of the marine sourced omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been linked to everything from听听to improved听听to overall healthier aging. And there appear to be specific benefits of the mega-healthy fats for athletes. Research suggests that higher intakes can lessen exercise-induced听听补苍诲听, which advances the idea that omega-3 fatty acids can play a positive role in workout recovery. Further,听听discovered that people with higher levels of omega-3 fats experienced faster heart rate recovery in response to intense exercise. Why the overarching benefits? Omega-3 fats sneak their way into our cell membranes and, in doing so, improve how chemical reactions occur.

But few people are likely reaping these rewards. A report published in the听听determined that the average intake of EPA and DHA in the general population is less than half that recommended by organizations including the National Institutes of Health. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics听听consuming enough fish each week to provide an average of 500 milligrams of the omega-3s EPA and DHA a day, but clearly, most people are taking in a minnow鈥檚 worth. The best way to fix this deficiency is to trade in your fish sticks for so-called fatty fish more often. These species include salmon, sardines, anchovy, barramundi, mackerel, sablefish (black cod), herring, smelt, anchovies, rainbow trout, and arctic char. A few brands like Wild Planet offer options for higher omega-3 canned tuna. Yes, you can pop an omega-3 pill daily but just keep in mind that research is very inconsistent concerning the health benefits of听听so it鈥檚 still best to seek out these fats from their original source.

Start Flexing Your Mussels

It鈥檚 time to break up America鈥檚 love affair with dodgy imported shrimp for a more sustainable (and nutritious!) shellfish. Many folks consider mussels a restaurant dish鈥攕omething to order off the menu rather than prepare in their own kitchens. But they鈥檙e very budget-friendly and all you need to turn them into a knockout meal are a handful of ingredients and a good pan with a tight-fitting lid to steam them in your liquid of choice. Nutritionally, the poor man鈥檚 oyster delivers a nutritional bonanza including heart-healthy omega-3 fats, muscle-building protein, the antioxidant selenium, and record-breaking amounts of vitamin B12. They鈥檙e also a standout sustainable star, a great option for those looking to make better seafood choices. When suspended in waterways farmed mussels require no supplemental feed, they filter water to actually make it cleaner and don鈥檛 need the chemical stew often administered to farmed shrimp to keep diseases at bay because they are perfectly happy living in cramped quarters.

Stay Informed about Seafood

You鈥檙e not alone if a trip to the fishmonger leaves you scratching your head and wanting to jump ship. Will you purchase Atlantic salmon or Sockeye? Should tilapia or cod be for dinner tonight? The most sustainable catch of the day is not always obvious. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 a good idea to read up beforehand to learn what your best eco options are. The听听program and听听can help you net species such as Pacific cod, U.S. farmed catfish, domestic shrimp, and wild salmon that are not being fished to within an inch of their existence or farmed in a way that is especially harsh on the environment. Sadly, this is not a 100% guarantee you鈥檙e getting what you are paying for as seafood mislabelling occurs too frequently, including paying cod prices for tilapia and labeling听听as being wild when in fact it鈥檚 farmed. This is a good argument for seeking out a reliable fishmonger that is in touch with where their product is coming from. You can also rest easy when you buy sustainable seafood directly from fishermen through direct-to-consumer operations like Drifters听,听听补苍诲听. And seek out brands like听听which has several good frozen and smoked fish choices, that clearly outline their fishing methods on their website and don鈥檛 appear to be greenwashing. When possible, spend your dollars at retailers including Whole Foods and restaurants that have set higher standards for the seafood they sell. The听 has a growing list of restaurants committed to populating their menus with seafood from sustainably-managed fisheries.

Troll for Canned Fish

For a convenient and cost-effective way to sneak more seafood into your training diet, it鈥檚 a good idea to steer your cart towards the canned fish aisle. Some of the most nutrient-dense and sustainable seafood options, including mackerel, sardines, and salmon, are available in the canned format. For instance, canned sardines from brands like听听are a fantastic source of hard-to-get vitamin D, while canned pink and sockeye salmon is almost always sourced from sustainable wild stocks in Alaska. Eat the softened bones and you鈥檒l take in an extra shot of bone-benefiting calcium. Some smaller-scale brands like听听are dedicated to using ocean-friendly fishing practices such as packing their tins with poll-and-line caught tuna that tastes nothing like chicken of the sea. And as a bonus, the extra bit of sodium can help replenish you after a sweaty workout.

Cast Your Line for Safer Eats

Sadly, fish can be tainted with toxins like mercury and dioxins because the waterways they swim in are. So the seafood counter is a potential source of these contaminants and high exposure rates might be associated with neurological problems as well as increased risk for health conditions like听听补苍诲听. While it鈥檚 believed that the health benefits of eating fish generally outweigh the risk from mercury and other toxins, it鈥檚 still a good idea to limit your exposure by making wiser choices. Since larger, longer-living predatory fish tend to have higher concentrations of mercury (the metal bioaccumulates up the food chain), you should consider cutting bait on shark, swordfish, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, tilefish, and tuna (Bluefin and Bigeye). Cooking fish has no impact on mercury levels. Species like Atlantic herring and Pacific sardines with shorter lifespans and less bodyweight don鈥檛 accumulate much in the way of toxins to help you better stay in your safe mercury zone. Salmon, rainbow trout, halibut, clams, and mussels are examples of other species that carry a lower contaminant risk. Canned 鈥渨hite tuna鈥� is sourced from larger albacore tuna so can soak up more mercury from its environment than the smaller skipjack tuna primarily used in light tuna. The brand听actually tests for mercury levels in all of their tuna to bring you a safer product. Eating a variety of seafood as opposed to noshing on just one or two species can also be a good way to limit exposure. In the United States, shrimp, tuna, and salmon make up over half of all the seafood consumed. So it鈥檚 time to show rockfish and arctic char some love.听

Don’t Toss Back Farmed Seafood

Because of historically bad players like salmon and shrimp, you would think that wild caught would always be the way to go, but that鈥檚 not the case. More now than ever there is a new school of fish farmers who are raising better, safer seafood for our dinner plates. Case in point: rainbow trout, striped bass, and catfish farming in the U.S. are strictly regulated and farming methods such as the use of land-based tanks cause fewer environmental woes such as pollution of surrounding waterways. Arctic char, tilapia, and clams are other good performing farmed species. Salmon raised in open-net pens is still mostly a red flag, but seafood watchdogs like those listed above can help you identify more sustainable farmed options. As a general rule of thumb, you want to purchase farmed fish from North America rather than overseas where regulations might be lax. But there can be some exceptions including sustainable听听in Vietnamese waters.听

Don’t Give Frozen the Cold Shoulder

When it comes to seafood there is no reason to be fresh obsessed. State-of-the-art flash-freezing technology employed shortly after fish has been hauled on board results in little if any loss of quality or nutrition. Frozen fish such as wild salmon can also be more economical and lets you buy it in advance and then use it when desired. You should know that a large amount of the 鈥渇resh鈥� fish displayed on ice has been previously frozen for shipping purposes and to aid in killing off parasites. These are then thawed for display. Yet this fish is often more expensive than what you鈥檇 find in the freezer section and who wants to pay a defrosting fee?

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Nutrition studies are like a dubious party guest who says a thing to you one moment and then turns around and says the complete opposite to someone else. Chocolate, red wine, , red meat, you name it and there seems to be a food or drink that has been both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in research papers. One moment it鈥檚 extending our lives and the next it鈥檚 a health villain. But not much has created quite as much stir and oscillation between good and bad as the humble egg.

On an economic and nutritional level, eggs seem like a clear winner. They’re inexpensive 鈥� a dozen eggs are certainly a much cheaper protein than wild salmon or beef tenderloin 鈥� and they’re rich in some of the nutrients that runners need most. But what about all that cholesterol in those yolks that may ? And it鈥檚 hard to ignore the multitude of studies that question their genuine healthfulness, or the dietary听guidelines that recommend limiting your egg consumption or forgoing them altogether.

I can sympathize with those of you who feel jerked around. First eggs are bad, then good, then bad again. Observational studies and randomized trials have frustratingly findings on the association of egg consumption with human health, particularly for heart disease, still the number one killer in America in non-pandemic times.

So, should you chicken out on eating eggs? Let鈥檚 take a deep dive into the flip-flop world of egg research to see if we can figure out if you should be running towards or away from the egg aisle.

The Defense

Anyway you scramble it, eggs are . Hard-charging athletes should appreciate their first-rate protein 鈥� 6 to 7 grams in a large egg. The high-quality protein in eggs provides all of the essential amino acids to build and maintain muscle mass. The quality of egg protein is so high that scientists as the standard for evaluating the protein quality of other foods. found that males who consumed 18 grams of protein from whole eggs after a bout of resistance training had an uptick in their muscle protein synthesis rates which suggests a positive adaptation to training. Other nutritional highlights include vitamin B12, vitamin D, bone-benefiting phosphorus and selenium, a nutrient to improved mood. According to , egg consumers are more likely to meet daily requirements for several micronutrients without negatively impacting blood cholesterol numbers.听

Eggs are also one of the few reliable sources of choline, a frequently under-consumed nutrient for optimal brain functioning. Yes, some would say smart people eat eggs. Worth noting is that eating eggs can even increase our levels of important antioxidants like lutein that plays a role in maintaining eye health. Just keep in mind that most of this nutrition payload is located within the controversial yolks, so sizzle up an egg white omelet and you鈥檒l largely miss out.听

Of course, many people are worried about what impact a breakfast egg habit will have on their ticker. A few recent research papers may help put those concerns at ease. in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition involving about 177,000 individuals from dozens of countries of various income levels found that higher egg intake levels (鈮�7 eggs a week compared with <1 egg/wk intake) was not associated with worsening blood cholesterol or a higher risk for heart disease and premature death. A large prospective of more than half a million people from China reported that an average intake of 1 egg day was associated with an 11% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. And a听 of randomized trials and observational studies published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that an average daily intake of one egg did not raise the chances of developing heart disease or type 2 diabetes in healthy people or heart problems in those with diabetes as long as they were practicing healthy lifestyle habits like eating an overall nutritious diet. What鈥檚 more, the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (37,851 subjects) and the Nurses鈥� Health Study (80,082 subjects) consuming up to 1 egg daily did not increase the risk of coronary artery disease or stroke in healthy people. of available research echoes these results. Finally, twice-weekly egg consumption was shown to not increase the amount of plaque in the arteries of adults of an average age of 57.听

The main reason people have been warned about eggs is that they鈥檙e loaded with cholesterol.

One large egg contains roughly 200 milligrams of cholesterol, which is a lot compared to most other foods. But these study results suggest that we can consume this source of cholesterol in reasonable amounts without suffering heart woes. There is enough doubt about the role dietary cholesterol has on blood cholesterol levels and heart health that the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and American College of Cardiology have removed it as a substance of significant concern. In fact, that egg consumption (鈥渂ad鈥�) cholesterol in our system to a less harmful form and cholesterol to reverse transport cholesterol in our bodies which in theory would be heart-protective. It could come down to the nutrients and antioxidants present in eggs helping to counteract any deleterious effects of their cholesterol. Also, dietary phospholipids found within as a potential source of bioactive lipids that may have widespread effects on pathways related to inflammation and cholesterol metabolism.听

The Charges

Cue the controversy.

published in PLOS Medicine that garnered a fair amount of media attention linked egg consumption and dietary cholesterol to a higher risk of death from all causes including cardiovascular disease and cancer. The study used a food frequency questionnaire to gauge egg consumption patterns of 521,120 U.S. adults, average age of 62 years, and then evaluated how this intake relates to mortality throughout a 16-year follow-up. Since egg white intake was not linked to higher death rates from disease the researchers said it was likely the cholesterol found in eggs that accounted for a significant part of the higher mortality risks. So much for letting dietary cholesterol off the hook.听

of prospective cohort studies involving 106,000 people reported that people who consumed the most eggs (an average of 1 or more a day) had about a 25% higher risk of heart failure than those who ate the least amount of eggs. from 6 prospective US cohorts showed a modest increase (2% in absolute risk) in all-cause mortality for each additional half an egg per day. And that examined the association between various food groups and the risk for heart disease and stroke determined there was a small positive association for egg consumption and heart failure (in contrast, higher intakes of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, seafood and nuts were determined to be beneficial to heart health.) After assessing egg consumption every 2 to 4 years in more than 200,000 adults scientists in this investigation found that for each additional egg consumed daily there was a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in U.S. adults but for unknown reasons not people in Europe or Asia.听

Many researchers have recommended restricting egg yolks because of their lofty cholesterol content, but perhaps there is another mechanism at play here concerning our health. Egg yolks contain lecithin and choline, two chemicals that are converted by some of the bacteria in our colon into a chemical called TriMethylAmine (TMA). TMA is then absorbed into our bloodstream and travels to the liver where it is converted to TriMethylAmine Oxide (TMAO). Too much TMAO may negatively impact health in a few different ways including increasing artery plaque formation and damaging DNA in our cells. But how many eggs you would need to eat to raise TMAO to potentially dangerous levels is unknown.听

So… what is the final verdict on eggs?

All right, so all of this still doesn’t answer the key question. Are eggs good or bad for you, once and for all?

The unsatisfying answer is that nobody really knows for sure whether or not eating eggs is safe or not. The only foolproof way we would get a definitive answer is if we isolated a bunch of people for several years and fed them the same diets with the exception of eggs and then tracked their health progress. For obvious reasons, this is not feasible.

So we are left looking at epidemiological observational studies which cannot ascertain a cause and effect when it comes to eggs and disease outcomes like diabetes and heart disease. Perhaps people who eat a lot of eggs typically practice some less desirable lifestyle habits like eating few vegetables and exercising less. It is certainly possible that the health effects of eggs could depend on the background diet. And is the cholesterol from eggs more or less harmful than cholesterol from other sources like red meat? Eggs account for only 25% of the cholesterol in the typical diet. So if dietary cholesterol is still a concern for your personal health but you don鈥檛 eat meat or dairy, perhaps then you can eat more eggs without worry. Many studies rely on food frequency questionnaires to assess egg consumption patterns and these surveys are notorious for some degree of measurement error. What we are essentially left with is a vague conclusion that a food like eggs can bring about a person鈥檚 untimely demise, or, alternatively, help with longevity.听

The reason for the different results from different studies is not known. Possible factors include the play of chance, methodological differences or selection biases that led to the inclusion of some studies but not others in the analyses. Who funds a certain study can, sadly, also impact the results. Demographics may also play a role 鈥� differing dietary and lifestyle habits may make U.S. adults more prone to adverse health outcomes from eating eggs than people in Europe or China. If a research review included more older people with or at risk for certain chronic diseases it may produce a less desirable outcome for eggs than a review study that focused on a younger, healthier demographic. The effects of egg consumption may also vary across populations with varying diet quality (such as a low- or high-carbohydrate diet). There’s always going to be individual variations (hello, genetics), so it’s hard to make a sweeping statement.听

You also have to look at egg consumption not in isolation but as part of the whole diet. If you eat a well-balanced diet full of healthy stuff like vegetables and whole grains then it鈥檚 reasonable to assume that any risk of cracking open an egg is reduced. But serve up cheese omelet’s with a side of greasy sausage too often and the health risks may shoot up. Remember, nobody eats one food in isolation. It鈥檚 likely that the right amount of eggs for you is dependent on the rest of your diet.听

And if you are eating eggs what are you eating less of? One could argue that a hard-boiled egg for breakfast is a better choice than a bowl of sugary cereal or pancakes doused in syrup. (Sugar and other refined carbohydrates may put people at higher risk for heart attacks, diabetes and premature death than eating cholesterol and TMAO from eggs and meat.) Or that a frittata is a better protein choice for dinner than a greasy burger. But a fried egg may not be as heart-healthy as a bowl of unsweetened steel-cut oats topped with berries. , 30 overweight or obese women consumed a breakfast of either eggs or white flour bagels with both meals containing the same amount of calories. The women in the egg group felt more full and ate fewer calories for the rest of the day and for the next 36 hours.听

What鈥檚 more, how people in a study typically prepare their eggs may play a role in health outcomes. When cooked or processed in direct contact with high-heats the cholesterol within eggs can , and oxidized cholesterol might contribute to heart disease progression. So consuming more hard-boiled or poached eggs may be more ticker-friendly than if eggs are frequently consumed fried or baked. With these latter methods, you also have to consider the excess calories in using oils or butter.

Still, we can glean a few tidbits from the available research. If you are a healthy runner without heart problems or diabetes you can likely consume an average of an egg a day with little worry, and maybe even more if you eat mainly a whole-foods based diet. The nutrients and protein that the orbs provide can help meet the heightened nutrition needs of training. (Remember, there are several nutrients in the egg yolk that you鈥檙e not going to find if you just have egg whites.) This is not to suggest that it鈥檚 a good idea to be eating half a dozen eggs every day no matter how many miles you are logging. For those with diagnosed heart problems or diabetes, or at high-risk for these conditions, the available evidence suggests it might be wise to trim intake to a couple of eggs a week or less.听

What can be said for certain is that, if possible, you want to scramble up eggs that were dropped from free-roaming hens. A from pasture-fed chickens and those confined to the indoors and fed grains by investigators at Pennsylvania State University found the former were much higher in important nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and vitamin A. Egg carton labels like 鈥榗age-free鈥� and 鈥榝ree-range鈥� are nebulous so to make sure you are getting what you pay for you鈥檒l need to research a brand such as or your local farmer to figure out if their eggs do indeed come from birds who get to peck away at grubs in the great outdoors.

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Dinner is over and you鈥檙e getting ready to turn in for the night 鈥� but your stomach is wide awake. To eat a bedtime snack or not to eat a bedtime snack? That is the question you might be pondering as you stand there, in front of the fridge. There’s a lot of confusion and misinformation about eating after dinner.听

Common dietary wisdom may tell you to avoid the temptation for nighttime eating altogether. We鈥檝e been told that snacking after dusk can lead to unwanted weight gain, derail quality sleep and drive down health. But if you鈥檙e genuinely hungry late in the evening, should your only option be to tough it out until morning, even if you鈥檝e been working out like crazy? And if it is, in fact, okay, what are the best things to eat at that time?听

Read on to find out why you may not need to stay out of the kitchen once the darkness has taken hold if you鈥檙e smart about dealing with your snack attacks.听

Late-Night Snacking Pros and Cons

You may have heard that eating after dinner isn’t good for you, while others say it has nothing to do with when you eat but overall that matters concerning health and performance. Like most nutrition debates there are good arguments to be made supporting both camps. Timing, quality of food and quantity of food all affect whether late-night nibbles can work for or against you.听

One theory on why late-day snacking can contribute to weight gain is that the calories consumed earlier in the day are on a metabolic level than the calories consumed after sunset. So, according to this idea, 300 calories at 10 a.m. are not the same as 300 calories at 10 p.m. So far research is mixed on the impact that late day eating has on body weight. For instance, found that noshing after 8 p.m. can increase the chances of packing on unwanted poundage, but determined that people who ate closer to bedtime consumed more total daily calories, yet did not have a higher body mass index. But, certainly, if your nighttime snacking habit is contributing to caloric excess it won鈥檛 do your ideal race weight any favors.听

Beyond body weight, there is some research including suggesting that consuming more calories late in the day could adversely affect metabolic health including blood glucose control and fatty acid oxidation. in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition involving 3362 adult men and women found that people who eat a larger percentage of their calories later in the day including post-dinner were more likely to be heavier, have higher levels of blood triglycerides (a risk factor for heart problems) and lower insulin sensitivity than those who took in a higher proportion of their calories earlier in the day. involving healthy volunteers found peak blood sugar levels were about 18% higher and fat burning rates about 10% lower in people after they ate at 10 p.m., shortly before bedtime, compared with getting their nutrition at 6 p.m.听

It doesn鈥檛 help that what we typically reach for at night is nutritionally suspect. found that late-night eaters in the analysis consumed 40% of their daily calories after 6 p.m. Not only that, but the quality of those calories was typically worse than the calories consumed by people who ate more of their food earlier in the day, with snacks being higher in sugar and fat and lower in fiber and protein. In some ways, it鈥檚 not the act of snacking that is the sin, but the form of the snack that can come back to bite you.听

While this research makes a solid case for shuttering the kitchen after dinner and taking a pause before digging into the candy drawer, no one wants to go to bed hungry. And athletes with heightened calorie and nutrient needs can benefit from a strategic night nosh. It鈥檚 important to note that most late-night eating studies have been conducted on the general population with conditions like obesity and not active runners. When nighttime eating is combined with frequent exercise training, any adverse effects are more likely to dissolve.

If athletes aren鈥檛 snacking closer to bedtime, they might be missing out on . Many hard-charging endurance athletes have a certain dietary calorie requirement and the top priority should be getting what is needed spread throughout the day which can include after sunset while engrossed in Netflix. The extra calories and protein from a snack can contribute to the continuation of muscle recovery and building from an earlier training session. Many runners may say they feel more recovered after the late day snacks, especially those who train or have competitions later in the day. For an endurance athlete gearing up for an early morning workout, a healthy snack at bedtime can help bolster carbohydrate stores for the next day. And if you had a smaller or earlier dinner you may need a pre-bedtime snack to keep the hunger monster at bay. Trying to go to bed with a growling tummy can interfere with falling asleep and getting a quality night of shut-eye is vital for athletic gains. If you eat dinner around 7:00 p.m., and don鈥檛 eat breakfast until 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. the next day, that can be a long time without food for an active person who is burning up heaps of calories.

Besides, negative outcomes associated with night snacking if nutrient-dense, lower-calorie foods are chosen instead of the typical fare like pastries and salty chips that wedge their way too often in our diets at this time of day. Certainly, a pre-bedtime supply of essential nutrients can promote positive physiological changes for health and performance.听

Night-Time Snacking Guidelines

As demonstrated above, consuming late evening calories may increase susceptibility to weight gain and other cardiometabolic conditions, but mostly if making poor food choices and for someone who is not being active enough. As long as you focus on eating high nutrient foods and are fairly active during the daytime, it鈥檚 absolutely fine to eat at night. Here鈥檚 how to make after-sunset snacking work better for you.听

1. Assess your snacking needs

The first step towards a healthier relationship with post-sunset snacking is to figure out why you are reaching for one. If you’re in the midst of high-volume training or completed a herculean workout on a particular day and are truly hungry after dinner then go ahead and eat something. After all, there might be only so much you can eat at dinner and the hunger pangs can be a way of your body telling you that you need more nutrition. If you鈥檙e currently waking up in the middle of the night feeling famished or feeling extra depleted the next day, you may want to start incorporating a healthy bedtime snack routine. But if you鈥檙e stuffing in more calories when couch-bound at night simply because you are bored or for emotional reasons such as stress or pandemic-induced anxiety it鈥檚 important to assess what is triggering your foray into the kitchen and create a game plan for managing it. For instance, engaging in other activities, such as taking a walk or listening to an audiobook, can help manage cravings associated with boredom or stress. Brewing up herbal tea may alleviate the dehydration that can mask itself as hunger.听

The need to snack at night might also be a sign you are coming up short elsewhere in your diet. Eating enough protein and fiber throughout the day helps keep blood sugar stable leading to fewer cravings at night. Eating more protein during the day a lessened desire to snack later in the evening.

2. Be mindful

Take inventory of your late-night snacks to determine if they could be pushing you over your calorie limit for the day and holding you back from reaching your fitness and health goals. A lot of people underestimate how many calories, sugar and fat are in their snacks. It鈥檚 important to know what you are eating so you can decide if improvements need to be made. For instance, perhaps the calories in your night snack are the same on training and non-training days, which may not be ideal. If you’re smart about night snacking, you shouldn鈥檛 suffer the deleterious effects of this practice.

3.听Have a plan of attack

Do a mental inventory of what you’ve eaten throughout the day and see what you may need more of and work that into your snack. So if you鈥檝e pounded the pavement or lifted weights you may benefit from sneaking more protein into your night snack for muscle repair. Maybe you forgot to include some whole-grain carbs at dinner to assist with post-training glycogen replenishment, and so something like toast before bedtime would be beneficial.

4. Keep it simple

You can avoid many of the negative outcomes of eating after 8 p.m. by choosing better-for-you options. Choose whole-food-based snacks with paired down ingredient lists such as a plain Greek yogurt , whole-grain crackers with natural peanut butter, bell pepper strips with hummus or fruit with a handful of nuts. Going for some sort of combination of protein, fiber and healthy fat will slow digestion and the rise of blood sugar, which will keep you feeling full. For most people, not having vice foods in the kitchen is the best method to making better snacking choices. (No, you can鈥檛 outrun a lousy diet.) And, remember, it鈥檚 a snack not a meal. So unless you are running daily marathons, it鈥檚 best to cap your late-night snack at around 250 calories.

5. Know when to push back

It’s possible that for at least some individuals, eating after dinner and too close to bedtime could reduce sleep quality or cause the body to store fat excessively. So if you are making nutritious snack choices and are seeing health drawbacks, it might be a sign that your body functions better if calories are consumed earlier on and you don鈥檛 slink into the kitchen at night.

Wee Eats

Next time your stomach growls before bed, try one of these healthy and satisfying snacks to take the edge off your hunger.

This smoothie-like bowl tastes so richly decadent it鈥檚 hard to believe that cauliflower, broccoli and beans are the leading ingredients or that there are only 2 grams of added sugar in a container.听

This no-sugar-added blend of dried, skin-on persimmons, peach and apple can satisfy your sweet cravings and need for more nutrients at once.听

This crunch bunch featuring sprouted buckwheat, pumpkin seeds, cacao and reishi mushroom powder is a late-day nutritional home run.听

Crispy avocado, who knew? This freeze-dried avocado is a savory way to up your intake of satiating healthy fat and fiber.听

As far as cookies go, this one with plenty of protein and prebiotic fiber for better gut health will ward off hunger and guilt pangs if you leave behind only crumbs.听

A good alternative to chocolate bars, this nutty bar will give you an extra shot of late-day muscle-building protein.

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