We’re fed with a glut of nutrition information (and misinformation) out there we could end up with mental indigestion. So, who’s really telling the truth?
Truth is, there’s one person — a personal trainer and medical student — who was so passionate about health and well-being he lifted weights and devoured every bit of information on diet and exercise. Sifting through tons and tons of scientific studies, Kris Gunnars of Authority Nutrition separates fact from fiction and debunks some mainstream nutrition myths (or some of the biggest nutrition lies) we’ve been led to believe all this time.
Myth 1: A low-fat, high-carb diet with lots of grains is the healthiest diet.
Fact: Decades ago, with the low-fat (high-carb) dietary guidelines (which veered away from meat, eggs, dairy products and instead favored grains, fruits and vegetables), people were made to think that saturated fat was a significant cause of heart disease. Truth is, many studies have been done, including the Women’s Health Initiative, the largest nutrition study in history, and the results clearly show that this diet does not reduce the risk of heart disease or cause weight loss.
Myth 2: Eating fat makes you fat and so, if you want to lose weight, you have to eat less fat.
Fact: Fat is the stuff that’s under our skin, making us look soft and puffy. Thus, eating fat would give us even more of it. Diets that are high in fat AND carbs can make you fat, but it’s not because of the fat. In fact, diets that are high in fat (but low in carbs) consistently lead to more weight loss than low-fat diets (even when the low-fat groups restrict calories).
Myth 3: Low-fat foods are healthy because they are lower in calories and saturated fat.
Fact: When the low-fat guidelines first came out, food manufacturers came up with all sorts of low-fat “health foods.” The problem is, these foods taste horrible when the fat is removed, so the food manufacturers added dollops of sugar instead.
The bottom line is low-fat foods tend to be very high in sugar, which is very unhealthy compared to the fat that’s naturally present in foods.
Myth 4: Saturated fat raises LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood, increasing one’s risk of heart attacks.
Fact: This belief is the cornerstone of modern dietary guidelines. However, recent massive review studies show that saturated fat is not linked to an increased risk of death from heart disease or stroke. The truth is that saturated fats raise HDL (the “good”) cholesterol and change the LDL particles from small to large LDL, which is linked to reduced risk. For most people, it’s perfectly safe — and downright healthy — to eat reasonable amounts of saturated fat.
Myth 5: Consuming red meat raises one’s risk of all sorts of diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
Fact: There’s a perennial red alert on red meat. But the largest studies show that unprocessed red meat is not linked to increased heart disease or type 2 diabetes. Likewise, the link to cancer is not as strong as we would have thought.
So, go ahead and eat meat, but make sure it’s unprocessed meat and don’t overcook it, because eating too much burnt meat may be harmful.
Myth 6: Avoid egg yolks as these are high in cholesterol, which triggers heart disease.
Fact: Whole eggs are among the most nutritious foods on earth and almost all the nutrients are found in the yolks. So heed this eggspert advice: Please don’t throw away those yolks!
Studies have shown that eggs raise the “good” cholesterol and don’t raise one’s risk of heart disease. Note, however, that some studies have found an increased heart attack risk in diabetics who eat eggs.
Myth 7: Restrict salt intake to lower blood pressure and reduce heart attacks and strokes.
Fact: Maybe we should take this salt myth with a grain of salt, as there’s been no solid scientific basis for it.
Although lowering salt can reduce blood pressure by 1-5 mm/Hg on average, it has no effect on heart attacks, strokes or death. An exception, of course, is if you have a medical condition such as salt-sensitive hypertension. But you don’t really have to endure boring, tasteless food as the public health warning that everyone should lower his/her salt intake is not based on evidence.
Myth 8: Eat many, small meals throughout the day to “stoke the metabolic flame.”
Fact: Grazing may sound amazing, but studies show that eating five to six or more meals throughout the day has the exact same effect on total calories burned as eating two or three square meals per day. Eating frequently may be good for those who are always hungry, but a new study shows that more frequent meals may even increase the accumulation of unhealthy belly and liver fat. Now, that’s belly bad!
Myth 9: Whole wheat is a health food and an essential part of a balanced diet.
Fact: Wheat has been a nutritious part of the diet for ages, but with genetic tampering, the new wheat is less nutritious. More, preliminary studies show that, compared to older wheat, modern wheat may increase cholesterol levels and inflammatory markers.
What about “whole grain”? The whole truth is these grains have usually been pulverized into very fine flour and thus have similar metabolic effects as refined grains.
Myth 10: Coffee is unhealthy and should be avoided.
Fact: Because of its caffeine (a stimulant which is also found in tea, chocolate, and soft drink), coffee has long been considered unhealthy, But studies actually show that coffee is loaded with antioxidants and coffee drinkers live longer and have a lower risk of depression (coffee drinkers, rejoice!) and diseases like type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.