8 Common Health Myths You've Been Misled With All Your Life
If you're on the look-out for what to eat and what to avoid, you've probably been given some advice from colleagues, friends and family members that sounds reliable. If you're taking it super seriously, you might have even looked up diet tips on blogs or online forums. We've all been lent some genius expertise, which by all means, sound pretty obvious and credible. Well...after you read the following facts (backed up by scientific research) you'll realize just how gullible you might have been to believe these common food myths.
1. "Eating fatty food makes you fat."
This is a wide-spread misconception, which
leads dieting individuals to substitute their seemingly fatty intake
with portions of greens. In reality, consuming fatty food does not mean
you will become fat, or that the fat will be trapped in your body.
Balance is the key. Even though some fats are considered 'worse' than
others, excess intake of any kind of food in general may lead to weight
gain, including carbohydrates and protein. Here's what Dr. Carly Stewart
(medical expert at Money Crashers) states about the matter:
Fat in
moderation is a necessary part of any healthy and balanced diet. Putting
on more weight in the form of fat is a result of energy imbalance. You
will gain weight if you take in more calories than you burn. Fat is a
concentrated source of calories, but it is not necessary to eliminate
fat from your diet completely.
Bottom line: Fat won't make you fat, unless you eat too much of it. So
go ahead and fill your plate with varied foods, and put your mind at
rest. All you need to do is maintain a healthy balance.
2. Eating carbs makes you fat
Ok, we've debunked the 'fat makes you fat'
myth. But what about carbohydrates? Are these tempting donuts, for
instance, to blame for our flabby stomachs?
First of all, carbohydrates aren't only sugar, they also come in forms
of starch and fiber. This means that when people say they'll eliminate
carbs from their diet, they're also including fruits, vegetables, milk,
nuts, grains, seeds and legumes, all of which are super vital for our
body. So, what's the right thing to do? This is what Dr. Stewart
recommends:
"It is a good idea to limit the number of
carbs you eat in the form of sugar because sugar is low in nutritional
value and high in calories. However, if you eliminate carbs completely,
you will miss out on healthy food such as whole grain breads and wheat
pastas. You will only gain weight if you consume more calories than you
burn."
Bottom line: Eliminating carbs entirely
from your diet is wrong. They will only make you fat if you have a poor
diet or lack of exercise. Some carbs are less healthy than others, such
as sugary and processed foods, but this does not mean you should remove
them from your diet. Again, keeping a reasonable balance is a must,
alongside regular exercise.
3. Gluten free food is healthier
Being gluten-intolerant means you may need
to cut down on your intake of quite a number of produce, including
bread, pasta, cereal, beer, pastries, etc. Of course, there are
gluten-free alternatives to these, which lately have not only been used
by people who suffer from this intolerance , but also by people who
believe this myth. Just as some people find they feel better when eating
gluten-free products, these products are not always a healthy option
since they are often made with refined starches. Here's what Dr. Stewart
suggests:
"Gluten-free foods are only healthier for you if you
are allergic to gluten. If you aren't, eating a gluten-free diet
restricts the amount of fiber, vitamins, and minerals you are able to
consume. A variety of foods that are high in whole grains (such as foods
containing wheat, rye, or barley) also contain gluten, and these foods
are an essential part of a healthy diet. Most people have no trouble
digesting gluten."
Bottom line: Only unless you are sensitive or allergic to gluten,
there's absolutely nothing wrong in consuming it. Don't miss out on
nutrients you are able to tolerate just because you were carried away
with one of the gluten myths. Go ahead and enjoy your beer, without
needing to worry - and as always, don't forget: balance.
4. Everyone needs to defecate daily
You might have grown concerned when hearing
people say that they're able to defecate twice a day, and asked
yourself - how is that even possible? If you're not as efficient as
them, does that mean you have something wrong? Well, these people have
been honest enough with you and yes, many might need more frequent use
of the toilet than others. But this doesn't mean there's something wrong
with your body. According to Dr. Stewart, everyone has different
schedules:
"No single bowel movement schedule is right for
everyone. However, staying hydrated, eating foods high in fiber, and
being active will help ensure that your schedule is regular and you do
not become backed up."
Bottom line: As long as your stool is
healthy, you needn't worry about how frequent you poop. This frequency
might even depend on your food and water intake. Unless you're feeling
any discomfort or are seriously constipated, you can put your mind at
rest.
5. The Microwave kills nutrients in foods
Most of us might be familiar with this
myth, and with the microwave being so widely-used nowadays, it has also
become quite a worry to families, especially because they've been told
microwaves can kill nutrients in food. People might not have been
completely wrong on this, but there's certainly nothing to worry about.
Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (medical editor at Examine.com) elaborates on this:
"Microwaving
can kill some nutrients (sulforaphane from broccoli, for example) but
this does not extend to all nutrients. Unfortunately, we need to look at
this stuff on a case by case basis to see which foods you should
microwave and which you cannot since there is no rhyme or reason to
which compounds are damaged or inactivated. In general, microwaving is
not a serious concern".
Bottom line: There's no major reason to abandon your microwave. You
might be more concerned about your microwave not heating meals evenly or
not keeping your food in the desired texture, rather than it killing
nutrients. After all, heating up broccoli in any way will cause it to
lose its sulforaphane.
6. You lose a pound of fat for every 3500 calorie you burn
When dieting, some individuals tend to get
very obsessed about their calorie intake and the exact amount of
exercise they engage in, in parallel. This idea might have elements of
truth, but the reality is that although we have various devices that can
measure our calorie burn, none of these are precise. In fact,
Dr.Nadolsky says:
"Unfortunately we do not have perfect equations right
now, so while a pound of fat does have about 3,500kcal in it we tend to
lose a pound of fat when our diets give us somewhere between a 2,000 and
5,000 caloric deficit."
Apart from that, although he partly agrees with the statement, he
emphasizes that this loss is not necessarily fat. We lose a substantial
amount of water and other forms of tissue when we exercise.
Bottom line: Do not rely on calorie
counting to track your weight loss. It might give you a rough estimate,
but it's not worth the time you spend to calculate and predict your loss
by use of untrustworthy formulas. They might eventually lead you to
disappointment.
7. Spot training helps you burn fat in desired areas
Everyone has stubborn areas in their body
that gain weight more easily than others, such as the stomach, legs or
arms. People who have always wanted to target those areas in weight loss
have tried 'spot training', but the fact that it's not effective might
not be well received by these individuals. The reality is explained by
Dr. Stewart:
"Doing sit-ups
(or another type of spot training) will strengthen the abdominal
muscles, but will not burn fat specific to that area. Fat is burned or
lost throughout the body on a more even basis, and is accomplished
through aerobic or cardiovascular exercise. The pattern of fat gain or
loss has more to do with each person’s unique body than it does with the
type of aerobic exercise performed."
Bottom line: Spot training won't help you eliminate fat from specific
areas. However, this should in no way stop you from doing it. Muscle
building makes you fit and it is still beneficial to burn fat in any
part of your body.
8. The scale is a very good way to see your fat loss
So you've lost a pound or 2, and you're
feeling satisfied. Your desired results are finally showing numeric
proof on the scale - you're definitely burning enough fat! Wait - are
you sure it's fat you're losing? The truth is, our body is made of much
more than just fat. We all know it consists of a large quantity of water
for starters, together with other materials, which can also be lost
after exercise. Dr. Stewart explains further:
"The scale
treats both fat and muscle the same way – a pound of fat is the same as a
pound of muscle. If you're strengthening your muscles during your
exercise regimen, you might actually see a small amount of weight gain
rather than weight loss, which is not a bad thing. A better way to track
the progress of diet and exercise is to monitor how you feel and how
you look. Your local fitness center may also be able to help with
measuring your percent body fat."
Bottom line: Using the scale is not the best way to track the progress
of your diet. It may mislead you in both positive and negative ways -
you may be interpreting muscle gain as fat gain, or water loss as fat
loss. But either way, you will probably realize when you'd been burning
your fat by the way you see yourself and feel.