Diet Myths Debunked
The myth: Eating healthy is too expensive.
Eating healthy doesn't have to be expensive, but it can be if you're buying energy drinks, canned beverages, packaged or fast foods simultaneously. Try buying things such as nuts, seeds and beans in bulk. Opt for fiber-rich grains such as barley and quinoa. Instead of planning meals around meat, choose less expensive proteins, including beans, eggs, skinless chicken thighs and canned salmon. When buying fresh produce, get what’s local and in season. Don't be afraid to buy canned or frozen fruits or vegetables, they are just as nutritious as fresh!
The myth: Egg Yolks Are Bad for You
Dietary cholesterol is one of the least impactful ways to raise cholesterol, your body regulates this on its own! Cholesterol is a healthy part of a balanced diet and plays an important role in hormone production. What's important is the type of cholesterol you are consuming. Egg yolks are loaded with HDL which is the good cholesterol and actually counteracts the effects of bad cholesterol.
The myth: Eating fat makes you fat
This myth stems from the fat fear that was common in the 70's/80's. Fat is essential for the absorption of fat soluble vitamins and should NEVER be completely eliminated from the diet. It also plays an important role in satiety (feelings of fullness) and I recommend you try to include at least 1-2 tbsp. in every meal. Opting for healthy fats is the key: You should include moderate amounts of healthy fats—olives, nuts, avocados, olive oil—in your diet every day.
The myth: Carbs make you fat.
Cutting any nutrient out of the diet can produce weight loss. Whether it is carbs. fats, protein, etc. There is no magic key. Despite this, not all carbohydrates are created equal. A chocolate cupcake and a banana both contain carbs, but one also has necessary nutrients and healthy fiber which increases feelings of fullness and decreases the impact on blood sugar. Try to choose carb-rich foods that are minimally processed and high in fiber, such as whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.
The myth: If you want to lose weight, go on a diet or detox.
Our kidneys and liver are responsible for removing the toxins that are in our bodies so unless you have problems with these organs, there is no need to detox or cleanse them.
Most regiments used for a typical detox dehydrate the body and can cause bowel issues like diarrhea so the weight loss you see within a few days is typically just from the loss of water. Instead of a detox, jumpstart progress on a new diet by increasing the amount of water you are drinking and vegetables you are eating.
The myth: Eating Before Bed Makes You Overweight
There is no magic hour after which you should fast before bed. What you want to avoid is over eating for the day and eating junk food, period—we just happen to eat more junk food in the evenings. If you’re feeling hungry before bed, don’t starve yourself—have a small protein-packed snack (like a protein shake) in the evenings, which could potentially increase your metabolism overall.
The myth: Diet Soda is better than regular soda
While low in real sugar diet soda replaces the sugar with fake sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose. These sweeteners are 500+ times sweeter than sugar and alter our perception of sweetness. This causes increased cravings for sweet foods and is confusing for the brain/body. They are a step in the right direction but it is recommended you limit all added sugars fake or real. The most natural alternative I might recommend is Stevia.
The myth: Organic food means healthy automatically
"Organic" means produced without the use of conventional pesticides. While it is recommended that you opt to purchase certain fruits and vegetables organic, it doesn't mean that something is automatically "healthy".
The myth: Vegetables oils are “heart-healthy”.
Vegetable oils have long been touted as “heart healthy” oils that are said to help lower
cholesterol and support overall health. Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest myths in the nutrition community. The term vegetable oil is used for oils that have been extracted from seeds including canola oil, corn oil, soy oil, rapeseed oil and safflower oil. In fact, the term “vegetable oil” is often used as a blanket term for these oils and therefore when you buy “vegetable oil” at the grocery store you are often buying a combination of these seed oils based on what they have available. The first and most obvious problem with vegetable oils is simply that these oils are not fit for human consumption. The process of creating vegetable oils involves chemical extraction, degumming, refining, bleaching, deodorizing and hydrogenation in the case of margarine and spreads. Given their high level of processing, vegetable oils are incredibly fragile and can easily be
damaged by exposure to light, heat, and air, making them a poor choice as cooking
oils. One of the primary health concerns of vegetable oils is their high content of
polyunsaturated fatty acids, also known as PUFAs. Polyunsaturated fats are highly
unstable and oxidize very easily. Omega-6s are the PUFAs found in vegetable oils,
and although they are essential to human health, in excess are dangerous and
inflammatory to the body. When cooking I recommend you opt to use olive oil or avocado oil instead of vegetable oils.