Are you tired of deciphering the information about food and nutrition on the internet and media?
Science is an ever-growing field, with new studies regularly claiming certain foods' health benefits or risks. Sometimes, new research contradicts earlier, making it hard to determine which research to consider!
This post helps clarify misconceptions about some foods to help you make healthy dietary choices.
You want to eat healthy to help your body heal and stay fit. However, some information collected from the internet can be very confusing.
I went through this phase when I was looking for a way to heal, and as a nutrition coach, I get asked questions about food, health, and nutrition all the time.
I love food science and spend hours researching food and how it impacts our health. There're some myths about food and nutrition, and it would be great if I offered you another perspective.
This post is based on research and should only be informative.
Here are 11 myths about food debunked.
1. Carbs are bad
Mostly, this myth is speculated by those in the weight loss industry. Carbohydrates (carbs) are sugar naturally contained in plants, and consuming the right carbohydrates is essential for energy. Most people look at specific food as just carbs.
Of course, white bread, white rice, processed pasta, and french fries, among others, are empty carbohydrates and not good energy sources because they are primarily high in simple sugar and are devoid of healthy nutrients.
Eating the same foods in their natural form (whole grain or potatoes with their skin) will give you nutrients like minerals, vitamins, fiber, and phytonutrients.
Many people don't know that part of these carbs, like insoluble fiber, will not even be digested by the body and, therefore, do not count as energy food (carb), so the higher the fiber content, the better.
2. Fresh vegetables are more nutritious than frozen.
The truth of this myth is that it depends.
While freezing fruits and vegetables is an excellent way of preserving foods, it demands these food be pre-treated by blanching or pre-boiling, which can deplete some nutrients, especially water-soluble vitamins Bs and C.
During freezing, the ice breaks the cell walls of vegetables & fruits, leading to loss of nutrients when these foods are thawed.
Cooking some frozen vegetables and fruits may lead to more loss of nutrients as these foods may demand extra cooking time, or you might drain the excess liquid.
Fresh vegetables are rich in nutrients if consumed fast. Keep in mind that these nutrients start slowly degrading once harvested. Therefore, produce that is transported in a truck for days, then has more days in your grocery or market, will have lost most of its nutrients.
However, frozen fruits & vegetables are healthier than cooked foods with added sugar, fat, preservatives, food coloring, etc.
3. Skipping breakfast helps you lose weight.
There's some truth in this.
If you are looking for a quick-fix solution, skipping breakfast can help you lose weight ONLY if you do not snack or eat more during the day.
Losing weight isn't determined by eating or not eating breakfast! It's the number of calories (and I must say HEALTHY CALORIES) you consume in a given day that matters.
The best approach would be to understand why you've gained weight in the first place!
Skipping breakfast can affect you if you are busy or your job demands more energy.
4. Fats are bad for you.
Fat got a bad reputation after the world war. With the abundance of food came the rise of health issues like heart disease attributed to fat consumption.
The irony is that even after people went on a fat-free diet, heart disease is still the first cause of mortality worldwide.
While some scientific evidence shows that some fats can cause health issues, the truth is that not all fats are bad.
Your body needs fat to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, regulate body temperature, protect vital organs, make hormones, and for cell membranes.
High consumption of trans fat, saturated and hydrogenated fats will cause health issues while consuming monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in moderation will promote health and reduce the risks of some diseases.
5. Soy-based foods are harmful to your health.
Let's start by stating that all soy isn't equal, e.g., GMO, conventionally grown soy, and highly processed soy products!
Soybeans and soybeans' less processed products like tempeh, nato, and tofu, when consumed in a healthy diet, can be beneficial and promote health.
Soy contains a high concentration of isoflavones, a type of plant estrogen (phytoestrogen) that is similar in function to human estrogen but with different effects.
While high levels of human estrogen are related to inflammation and increased risk of breast cancer, plant estrogen has been studied for its protection against cancer.
6. You should avoid all processed foods.
Processing food is changing its whole initial state to something else. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the loss or removal of nutrients.
Not all processed foods are created equal. Turning your veggies & fruits into a smoothie is one way of processing, but it's healthy for you, just as it is with nut butter or plant milk.
However, highly processed foods like bakery goods like cakes, biscuits, bread, pizza, pasta, instant oatmeal, white flour, white rice, etc., are not health-promoting foods.
Processed foods are mainly added preservatives, some of which, if consumed regularly, can cause adverse health side effects. Here is a list of chemicals added to processed foods:
- Sweeteners (High corn syrup, sugar, artificial sweeteners; such as aspartame saccharine and sodium cyclamate)
- Food coloring
- Flavor enhancers (monosodium glutamate)
- Preservatives (sodium, oils, nitrites, sulfites or benzoates, nitrates, BHA, BHT, sodium benzoate, benzoic acid)
7. Multigrain and whole grains are the same.
Some people get confused by the term multigrain. Multigrain are several grains, whole or processed, that have been mixed.
For some people, whole grain may refer to a grain that has not been cut into pieces like we can find cut rice grains or steel-cut oats.
Whole grain means that the grains haven't gone through any other process apart from the removal of the outer husk that is indigestible.
Whole grains contain all their nutrients, but processed grains have almost no nutrients and are high in carbs.
8. Eggs are the most healthy foods.
Everyone on the internet is promoting eggs! Some people, even famous doctors, say they eat a dozen eggs per week!
So many scientific studies have pointed out the danger of consuming more than one egg a day, and it isn't just about cholesterol.
I've written an ebook about eggs and reasons you should reduce their consumption, get yourself a copy here.
9. A gluten-free diet is only for celiac disease.
Gluten is a protein found in grains like wheat, barley, and rye. There's a misconception that some people can't digest gluten!
The fact is, no human being has the enzyme necessary to digest gluten completely! However, people with gluten sensitivity or celiac disease get inflamed when they consume gluten.
People with inflammatory diseases, auto-immune disorders, and gastrointestinal problems like leaky gut, IBS, etc., can find relief on a gluten-free diet because gliadin, a protein molecule in gluten, increases zonulin.
Zonulin is a protein that regulates the small intestinal wall (barrier). Increased zonulin is related to gut permeability (leaky gut) which leads to food particles getting into the bloodstream, hence the inflammation due to an immune reaction.
Gluten is now related to many other diseases, even in some neurodegenerative disorders.
For healthy people, the increase of zonulin is tightly controlled, and its level goes to normal within a short period. However, the frequency of consuming gluten products may cause harm in the long term if you've genetic predispositions to certain diseases.
10. You can eat anything you want at any time.
We primarily eat food to get energy. Therefore, you can eat food at any time when you are hungry. However, eating anything at any time can have undesired outcomes.
Eating high calory food before bedtime will affect how you sleep, which can affect how you feel the following day, altering your thoughts and moods.
When the evening falls, your body's hormones change, melatonin (sleeping hormone) increases while cortisol decreases. High melatonin affects glucose control due to the reduction in insulin.
Taking breakfast (mainly highly processed) immediately after waking up can shoot your insulin level high because when you wake up, your cortisol level is high, and cortisol inhibits digestion, which can result in weight gain.
Continuously eating will affect your blood glucose as well as your gut microbiome.
Are you fighting an inflammatory disease like diabetes or RA, and do you want to lose weight forever? Consider joining the FOODHEAL WELLNESS PROGRAM.
11. You can't get enough proteins from plants.
This is ONLY true for those who don't know where the animals get their proteins from!
We humans have a variety of plants to get nutrients, including proteins. However, the biggest animals on the land and those we eat for meat (pastured animals in this case) entirely depend on plants' leaves and grass for food. Cattle, for instance, have mainly only grass for food.
If we look at the ocean & sea, there isn't much diversity of plants there, but the fish we consume, consume small fish and crustaceans, which, in turn, only have plants (microalgae and algae) for food.
Regular consumption of whole grains, beans, legumes, vegetables, and nuts will give you the amount of protein you need for the day.
Interestingly, most people think that green vegetables don't contain proteins. All plants have proteins (20 amino acids); the only difference is that some have a higher amount while others have just moderate amounts.
Quinoa, amaranth, and soy are plants with 9 essential amino acids if you really want to maximize your protein intake.
This information will help you make healthy choices for yourself and your family.
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