Often the reason there are so many conflicting opinions and ideas about healthy eating is because there are so many different information sources that most people believe what they read without doing much or any fact checking. In a previous blog post, The Internet is Lying to YOU!, I talked about credible sources of information regarding diet and the types of sources that you should avoid.
Myth #1: Avoid carbohydrates at all cost
It is often believed that eating carbs is the reason that people gain weight and that they are unhealthy for you. In reality carbohydrates is what our body uses for fuel most readily. And more importantly our brains only use glucose as a source of fuel and carbohydrates can be synthesized into glucose. However, eating healthy carbs is very important and most Americans eat enriched grains for their source of carbs instead of whole grains.
Myth #2: Toss the egg yolk!!!
There is a common misconception that they egg yolk is significantly less healthy and than the egg white. But the only reason to ditch the yolk is if you are trying to create a energy deficiency because 90% of the nutrients in eggs comes from the yolk.
Myth #3: You need to eat a lot of protein!!
In a society that idolizes huge athletes with bulging muscles this is often mistaken for truth but in reality Americans have no problem consuming the recommend amount of protein and actually typical consume more than recommended. So ease up on the chicken at every mean.
Myth #4: Vegetarians need to eat more kale for protein.
Kale is considered one of the most nutrient dense foods on the earth. The only problem is that protein isn’t one of those nutrients. While kale boasts many other nutritional benefits it only has about 3 grams of protein in a serving.
Myth #5: Eating lots of calories will make you obese.
I believe this one is just a misunderstanding of gain and losing of weight. Yes, eating a lot of calories will cause you to gain weight if you do not create a energy deficit with exercise. This is why some people are able to eat crazy amount of food and not lose weight. They have high basal metabolic rates and lose lots of active calories via exercise and in turn actually expend more calories than they took in.
Myth #6: Fruit has sugar so it must be bad for you.
This is one of the weirdest things I have ever heard someone tell me is that I shouldn’t eat fruit because it has too much sugar. While fruit is high in sugar it is high in natural sugars and fibers that haven’t been processed and are complex thus are not easily broken down by the body. Because of this we have to expend lots of energy to break down the complex sugars into simple sugars this can help create a energy deficit.
Myth #7: You can’t lose weight without exercising.
While eating healthy diets and exercise are one of the more ideal forms of weight loss it is completely possible to lose weight without exercising. Again this has to do with energy deficits and is more difficult to do if you have a low basal metabolic rate because you would have to consume very low amounts of calories to be in deficit.
Myth #8: Vegetarian and Vegan diets are automatically healthy
Of course with every type of diet there is a double edged sword and vegetarianism and veganism are no different. The types of food consumed are very critical in following a vegetarian and vegan diet and if not done so correctly can make it unhealthy. Also those who follow these types of diets maybe at increased risk of stroke, harms to brain health, and in some cases depression.
Of course you have to look at these myths at face value because in most cases veganism and vegetarianism boast excellent results for health but that doesn’t meant that all of them are healthy. Also, deciding to eat the yolk versus not eating the yolk depends on the rest of your dietary needs and whether or not you are trying to lose weight. Just remember to do some research before you make some bold claims to your friends about their diet.
