There is a lot of misinformation in the nutrition field that are sometimes even dangerous, what nutrition myths we need to be careful of?
That fresh fruits are the equivalent of a candy bar or anything else with added sugars…. I literally had a family member tell me I’d become diabetic if I kept eating three servings of fresh fruits every day; meanwhile, they were drinking Snapples left and right thinking it’s okay because it’s a “juice.”
Also that you can have a ridiculous amount of protein in one serving and let it be enough for the entire day.
Another one is that a very specific protein shake/powder/product will get you ripped and it’s absolutely vital to muscle growth.
That sugar, fats, oils, carbs, gluten, and so on are inherently bad for you and unhealthy. Sure, they can be bad if you are sensitive to them or eat way to much of them. But they aren’t inherently bad. You aren’t a bad person or unhealthy for occasionally eating a candy bar or buying bread that has gluten in it.
That pizza, ice cream donuts are carbs.
While there is a some truth, it’s incredibly misleading since a huge portion of the calories come from fat
“Carb” has become a term to describe any high calorie, low fiber food that happens to contain carbohydrates.
That eggs are bad for you.
I literally tried so hard to get my 88 year old grandpa to eat eggs. He was convinced they are horrible for you. I tried to reason that they contain everything needed to build life.
What finally convinced him was pointing out a blurb in his Consumer Report magazine. They said previous marketing and advice was misleading 🙄
He eats one egg a day now…
baseline Nutritional research in general is based off of a lot of faulty research because of the limitations of the studies. In general I think a lot of the diet stuff is harmless, but the carnivore diet stuff is a bit concerning because they’re not promoting this to young energetic 20 year olds who can out work out a bad diet. They’re selling this to diabetics and obese people who are at an already big risk of getting heart disease, strokes, etc. Telling people to eat obscene amounts of saturated fat and little to no fiber is a recipe to early death for people who are already metabolically unhealthy. On the flip side the extreme fruitarians are basically the carnivore diet zealots of the vegan community.
That anything labelled “organic” is automatically better for you.
I watched a reel the other day where a woman was discussing how to grow more sweet potatoes at home. She requested you only buy a 100% organic sweet potato to get the full benefits.
….Is there such a thing as an inorganic sweet potato? I feel “organic” has become a catch-all term for “fresh, non-GMO, non-chemically treated fruit/vegetable”, when in actual fact, each and every one of us eat fruits and vegetables that look absolutely nothing like their progenitors because human beings were able to breed them to be more flavourful and nutritious.
That if a food is -insert marketing trend buzzword- it’s a healthy food.
I had a well-meaning roommate buy me a vegan muffin every morning for weeks.
“It’s gluten free! And VEGAN!” he would proudly say.
But I was an omnivore who followed Atkins….
The idea that complete proteins are worth worrying about for anyone eating a sane diet.
The idea has been debunked almost as long as it’s been around. The author responsible retracted her words and has been apologising for the myth ever since.
But because it makes sense, people and even scientists have latched on to the idea and never let go.
To be clear to anyone who isn’t aware, there is such thing as complete proteins — that part is true.
What isn’t true is that it’s important. You get enough of every amino acid unless you really try not to.
Among the foods that would not provide enough of all amino acids if you ate only that food are nuts, fruits, and some extremely processed junk foods.
That any amount of alcohol is okay as long as you drink in moderation. No amount of alcohol is okay as it is pure toxic to the body.
Here is an article to any no believers by the world health organization titled: No level of alcohol is safe for our consumption.
Here’s the article:
And a snippet of the article:
4 January 2023 News release
The risks and harms associated with drinking alcohol have been systematically evaluated over the years and are well documented. The World Health Organization has now published a statement in The Lancet Public Health: when it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no safe amount that does not affect health.
It is the alcohol that causes harm, not the beverageAlcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago – this is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco. Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer, including the most common cancer types, such as bowel cancer and female breast cancer. Ethanol (alcohol) causes cancer through biological mechanisms as the compound breaks down in the body, which means that any beverage containing alcohol, regardless of its price and quality, poses a risk of developing cancer.
The seed oil/omega 6 thing that’s going on right now.
Flaxseed oil has a better omega ratio than any other land based source at 0.3:1. Canola is 2.2:1, that is better than any land animal fat source other than dairy. Soybean oil is 7.8:1 which is about the same as pork.
The smooth brains who keep propagating this nonsense go on to recommend things like coconut oil that contains no omega 3 at all.
The omega 6 fatty acids are essential. Ratio should be lowered by eating more omega 3 as per AHA and FDA. A good way of eating more omega 3 is switching that lard & tallow for flaxseed or canola oils and eating more oily fish.
Also it’s a pretty absurd myth that we evolved eating an even ratio of the omegas. We evolved eating 10:1, if we evolved to eat 1:1 our dietary needs would be that instead of the 10:1 they are. Low ratio diets can be useful if you have an inflammatory disease like RA but they are not magic.
The idea that there is nothing wrong with junk food. Because maybe the people who say that stuff, actually live that reality. But most people do not live that reality. Junk food can’t be eaten in moderation. It wasn’t designed to be.
this isn’t well accepted at all, but… the idea we need so many carbs in our diets. Like in standard practice, the nutritionist will give their patients 45-55% carbs, incl white bread which has been proven forever to be harmful. I’m not a keto fanboy, but I’m saying it seems a bit careless to rely on carbs THAT much and never even question the benefits/detriments of it. It’s this sort of default setting, despite evidence it can cause harm.