Food Myths – What you need to know
Sugar Causes Diabetes
The most common nutrition myth is probably that sugar causes diabetes. If you have diabetes, you do
need to watch your sugar and carbohydrate intake to properly manage your blood sugar level. However, if
you do not have diabetes, sugar intake will not cause you to develop the disease. The main risk factors for
Type 2 diabetes are a diet high in calories, being overweight, and an inactive lifestyle.
All Fats are bad
It's a long-held nutrition myth that all fats are bad, but we all need fat. Fats aid nutrient absorption and
nerve transmission, and they help to maintain cell membrane integrity. However, when consumed in
excessive amounts, fats contribute to weight gain, heart disease and certain types of cancers.
Not all fats are created equal. Some fats can actually help promote good health, while others increase the
risk for heart disease. The key is to replace bad fats (saturated fats and trans fats) with good fats
(monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats).
Avoid carbohydrate to lose weight
The key message that many low-carb diets convey is that carbohydrates promote insulin production, which
in turn results in weight gain. Therefore by reducing carbohydrate intake, you can lose weight.
Unfortunately, this is just another nutrition myth.
Many low-carb diets actually do not provide sufficient carbohydrates to your body for daily maintenance.
Therefore your body will begin to burn stored carbohydrates (glycogen) for energy. When your body
starts burning glycogen, water is released. Therefore the drastic initial drop of weight at the beginning of a
low-carb diet is mostly the water that you lose as a result of burning glycogen.
The truth is that low-carb diets are also often calorie-restricted! Followers only eat an average of 1000 -
1400 calories daily, compared to an average intake of 1800 - 2200 calories for most people. To lose one
pound a week, you only need to eat 500 fewer calories per day in your normal diet. Therefore, it doesn't
matter if you eat a high- or low-carb diet, you will lose weight if you decrease your caloric intake to less
than needed to maintain your weight.
Avoid nuts as they are fattening
It's a nutrition myth that nuts should be avoided. In fact, nuts are high in monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats (the good fats) as well as plant sterols, all of which have been shown to lower LDL
cholesterol.
In 2003, the FDA approved a health claim for seven kinds of nuts stating that "scientific evidence suggests
but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces (45 grams) per day of most nuts as part of a diet low in
saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease." Instead of simply adding nuts to your
diet, the best approach is to eat them in replacement of foods high in saturated fats.
Skipping meals can help lose weight
Many people think that by skipping a meal, they will be eating less food and therefore lose weight. People
who think skipping meals means weight loss do not understand how our bodies work.
If you skip a meal, your body will think that you are in starvation mode and therefore slow down the
metabolism to compensate. You then tend to overeat at the next meal. Often, skipping a meal and then
eating too much at the next one means that you have a higher total caloric intake than if you just ate more
frequently throughout the day. A better approach is to eat smaller frequent healthy meals and snacks to
keep your blood sugar balanced.
Red meat is bad for health
Some studies have linked red meat with increased risk of heart disease, partly due to the saturated fat
content. In fact, even chicken can contain as much saturated fat as lean cuts of beef or pork. For
instance, a serving of sirloin beef or pork tenderloin has less saturated fats than the same serving size of
chicken thigh with skin. It is true that poultry like chicken and turkey is naturally lower in saturated fats.
But it is only true IF you do not eat the skin.
The myth is that red meat is altogether bad for your health. Instead of excluding red meats, choose leaner
cuts of beef and pork. For beef, choose eye of round, top round roast, top sirloin and flank; for pork,
choose tenderloin and loin chops.