77. Don’t blindly trust those plastic popup timers on poultry. They work fairly well, but
doublecheck the results. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. The
temperature should reach 185°, and the leg should move easily. Juices should run clear from
breast meat. Most labels also suggest that you time your bird: multiply the weight (in pounds) by
20 minutes—or more for a stuffed bird. Cook it that long even if the popper pops earlier or
never pops at all.
78. Don’t believe rumors about the artificial sweetener aspartame, claiming that it causes
everything from multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and brain tumors to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
disease, headaches, and blindness. Aspartame has been more intensively studied than almost any
other food additive. The FDA, American Medical Association, and World Health Organization
have concluded that it is safe. Aspartame’s only proven danger is for people with
phenylketonuria, an uncommon genetic disorder—the labels warn about this.
79. Weigh your bagel. Many freshbaked bagels now weigh six or seven ounces and pack 500
calories or more. Plain bagels, like any plain bread, have 70 to 80 calories per ounce.
80. Eat canned salmon—it’s an easy way to get lots of hearthealthy omega3 fatty acids and, if
you eat the soft bones, calcium. But if you want wild salmon, check the label. Until recently, nearly all canned salmon was wildcaught, which has fewer contaminants than farmed. But more
companies are now using farmed. Alaskan salmon is usually wild, and the label will say “wild.”
If it’s called “Atlantic salmon,” it is farmed.
81. Limit your intake of vitamin A, since it can weaken your bones. A study found that
consuming more than 6,600 IU of vitamin A from food or supplements increased the risk of
fractures. The main problem is supplements: don’t take a separate A pill, and check how much is
in your multivitamin. And check the labels on highly fortified breakfast cereals. Beta carotene,
which the body converts to vitamin A, is safe for your bones.
82. To keep dried peas and beans from causing flatulence, discard the soaking water, and
don’t consume the cooking water. This eliminates more than half of the indigestible
carbohydrates that cause gas.
83. Don’t stuff a turkey hours before cooking it. Stuff the bird only when you’re ready to put
it in the oven. If you refrigerate a large stuffed turkey for later cooking, the stuffing may not chill
fast enough. Because any stuffing (bread or rice) is starchy, it provides an environment bacteria
can thrive in. Cooking the stuffing separately is easier and safer. And don’t let the bird sit around
after dinner. Always remove the stuffing from the cavity and refrigerate separately.
84. Don’t assume that a wine cooler is “light.” It isn’t: a 12ounce bottle has more alcohol than
a 12ounce can of beer, 5ounce glass of wine, or ounce of liquor. It also contains 150 to 300
calories.
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