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.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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11 Health and Nutrition Myths Debunked in the 2010's

There are many reasons why myths and misconceptions occur. Scientific studies get misconstrued, misleading marketing ploys are created, and the result is a great number of confusing information about even the most serious and crucial of subjects - health and medicine. Luckily, a number of scientists and media outlets alike have made it their mission to clear some of the most dangerous and misleading health myths. To make a fresh and healthier start in the new decade, we shall discuss 11 of such myths in this article, all of which have been debunked during the 2010s.

1. Bottled Water Is Safer Than Tap Water

Staying hydrated is one of the best things you can do to maintain your health, but you have to remember that your body cannot distinguish between tap and bottled water, as both are equally hydrating. Of course, you have to make sure that the water in your tap is safe to use in cooking, and there is a wide range of filtering systems that assure that, even if your municipality isn't providing proper filtration.

However, the fact that the water you buy in bottles is somehow superior is a myth, with studies we covered in a previous article even suggesting that the opposite may actually be true since bottled water is often polluted with microplastics and harmful bacteria. Needless to say, bottled water also creates a great deal of plastic waste and is ridiculously overpriced, with an average American typically paying USD 1,400 annually on bottled water.

2. Using Antiperspirant Causes Cancer

There was a great deal of scaremongering in the past decade related to the use of antiperspirants, with some sources claiming that it can cause cancer, particularly breast cancer, despite the fact that there is no scientific evidence to prove that claim.

In fact, antiperspirants, unlike deodorants, are considered over-the-counter medications, at least in the United States, because they are designed to make your sweat glands stop producing sweat, and not simply masking odors. The FDA places strict regulations on what ingredients and quantities of such are permitted in antiperspirants, and many metals, such as mercury, a possible carcinogen, have been banned in the production of antiperspirants.

3. Carbs, Gluten or Fat Make You Gain Weight

It seems like the ingredient that is blamed for causing weight gain changes every year or so, with articles from the early 2010's claiming that fats and cholesterol are the source of all evil, but later in the decade, carbs and gluten have become the most demonized nutrients.

The truth is that neither of these ingredients is bad unless you have a condition that makes it bad for you, like Celiac-disease causing gluten intolerance. In fact, we need most of these nutrients in our diet to stay healthy, and it's the overconsumption of certain foods that can contribute to weight gain.

 

4. Brain Cells Can't Regrow

This myth maintains that every person is born with all of the brain cells they will ever have, and once some of them die, you will never be able to regrow them. This myth is fueled by early findings in patients with brain lesions and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, with patients not being able to regain memory, motor, and cognitive functions.

It wasn't until the past few years that this belief had slowly started to sound suspicious, as scientists started to note that several parts of our brains continue to grow and develop until our 20's, which would be impossible without the production of new brain cells - a process called neurogenesis. But the most convincing finding of new nerve cells being formed came in 2019 when scientists actually found that even the brains of elderly individuals and Alzheimer's patients continued growing new cells.

5. Activated Charcoal is the Key to Health and Beauty

This myth started in 2014 when actress Gwyneth Paltrow proclaimed that activated charcoal juices are a digestive cleanser. In just a few years, this snowballed into a trend, with grocery and coffee shops selling charcoal drinks, activated charcoal being added to desserts and even toothpaste. Supposedly, the charcoal was supposed to improve your skin, increase your energy levels, make your teeth whiter and improve digestion.

Unfortunately, charcoal can do none of that, although it can have detoxifying effects in people suffering from serious poisoning or drug overdose, which is exactly how it's used in medicine. Charcoal does that by binding with the poison molecules, making them impossible for your body to absorb.

The problem is that charcoal binds to all the nutrients in your stomach, not only the poison, which means that it will also deprive you of the vitamins and other nutrients you ate that day, rendering that juice useless. It's could even cause vitamin and nutrient deficiencies if consumed regularly. Apart from that, charcoal can also bind to the medications you take orally and decrease their effectiveness.

6. You Need a Detox

Speaking of detoxifying, another popular myth of the past decade claims that you have toxins building up in your body that require you to go on a detox diet, a juice cleanse or whatnot to get rid of them. With the exception of the very few people suffering from food or other types of poisoning, no one actually has toxins building up in the body, or else you'd be in the hospital, explained Edzard Ernst, emeritus professor of complementary medicine at Exeter University in a 2014 interview with the Guardian.

In fact, a number of our organs, such as the liver, skin, even lungs work day and night to keep your body toxin-free. Of course, this means that by keeping these organs healthy, you are essentially boosting your body's detoxifying abilities.

7. Sitting Is As Dangerous As Smoking

As catchy as this myth may sound, the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle can't possibly be compared in magnitude to the pervasive effects of smoking on the entire human body, and this is a scientific fact, as a whole international team of scientists compared and evaluated the effects of sitting and smoking on long-term health in 2018. 

The results were published in the American Journal of Public Health, and Canadian, American and Australian researchers were involved in the study. The research concluded that sitting for more than 8 hours a day increased the risk of chronic diseases (cardiovascular issues and some cancers) and premature death by 10-20%.

Smoking, on the other hand, increased the risk of premature death by 180%, and more than doubled the risks of developing cardiovascular issues and a number of cancers. Needless to say, the health risks of sitting pale in comparison to those of smoking.

8. Cracking Your Knuckles and Joints Causes Arthritis

Contrary to popular belief, knuckle cracking does not contribute to arthritis development. According to Harvard Health, the "popping" a cracked knuckle makes is caused by tiny nitrogen bubbles bursting in the fluid that helps lubricate your joints called the synovial fluid, and should not be cause for concern.

Note, however, that knuckle cracking should be painless, and if you experience pain while stretching or cracking any of your joints, it can point to inflammation. But even if the joint cracking is painless, medical professionals recommend not to overdo it, as it can potentially cause reduced grip strength.

9. We Only Use 10% of Our Brains

This myth is nearly as old as neuroscience itself, as the first mentions of the 10% brain myth date back to the 1890's. The concept was popularized in 1936, when American writer and broadcaster Lowell Thomas announced in Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People the following, "Professor William James of Harvard used to say that the average man develops only ten percent of his latent mental ability".

More than a decade later, the myth still persists, although neuroimaging studies, namely fMRI studies that have become increasingly widespread in the past decade, have time and time debunked this myth. As a matter of fact, the majority of our brain is active all the time, which is one of the major problems when researchers study the brain since it's often difficult to isolate the brain areas that are responsible for a specific behavior.

10. A Piece of Gum Takes 7 Years To Digest If You Swallow It

Chewing gum can be blamed for many things, such as a high sugar content or digestive issues, but what it cannot do is stay in your stomach for 7 years. The base of chewing gum is made of plant-based materials that are indigestible for humans, and like any other things you can't digest, chewing gum just passes through your body.

Ingesting chewing gum is harmless in the vast majority of cases, and it only becomes a health hazard when it's consumed while stuck with other inedible materials, like metal objects, hair, etc., so keep chewing gum away from children.

11. Your Body Loses 50% of Heat Through the Head

Your body doesn't lose 50% of its heat through your head, but it doesn't mean that you should stop wearing hats in the winter. This myth likely comes from military experiments in the 1950s, with a US Army Field Manual even listing a 40-50% range. However, this question has been revisited in the 21st century, with recent research from the BMJ listing a much lower percentage, only about 7% of body heat, which is roughly proportional to the area of the body exposed when you're not wearing a hat.

So, it turns out that our head is no more special than any other body part in terms of its ability to lose heat, we just happen to wear hats a lot less than any other item of clothing.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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