Debunking Food Myths

It seems that a new diet plan pops up every few weeks, touting the latest foods to trim fat or boost lean muscle. However, the specific diet you follow is not as important as learning some nutrition basics. Given a large amount of misinformation or misconceptions about food that circulates, debunking common food myths can help you make healthier choices.

Myth#1: The more grains, the better

While grains are certainly preferable to refine white flour because they contain more fiber and vitamin B, don’t fall into the multigrain trap. Just because a product has multiple different grains doesn’t mean those grains aren’t processed and stripped of many of the good things you want from them. In processing grains for convenience, you’re potentially losing the nutrients and changing the degree to which they are absorbed. Check the label and look for the word “whole” before any grains listed.

Myth#2: Red Wine Is Good For Your Heart

Moderate amounts of red wine can boost heart health, as it contains an antioxidant that delivers this benefit. However, high consumption of red wine (or any alcohol) leads to an increased risk of developing alcohol-related cancers. If you don’t drink, there’s no need to start! If you do, drink responsibly. A basic guideline for daily wine limits is one unit for women and two units for men. A unit of red wine is one 150ml glass.

Myth#3: Coffee Will Only Make You Thirstier (Next Article is a Coffee Related Article. I will add its link here)

While the caffeine in coffee is a diuretic, meaning it draws water out of your body, the amount of water in coffee means that overall, it can be a thirst quencher. Water is still your best option to stay hydrated, but don’t avoid coffee if you’re a regular java drinker because you think it will dehydrate you.

 Myth#4: Egg Yolks Are Bad For You

This one is not true. Egg yolks do contain cholesterol, but the amount is still within healthy limits, not to mention that eggs also contain good sources of high-quality protein. You can safely eat six to eight eggs a week without increasing your risk of higher cholesterol levels. What you choose to eat with your eggs may be the cholesterol culprit. New researches even suggest that The body creates cholesterol in amounts much larger than what you can eat. So avoiding foods that are high in cholesterol won’t affect your blood cholesterol levels very much. 

Myth#5: Nuts are an Unhealthy Junk Food

Nuts have gotten a bad rap in certain nutrition circles. Nuts are actually an important part of a healthy diet. They contain high amounts of protein and monounsaturated fats that are good for heart health. For instance, almonds contain 6 grams of protein and 14 grams of healthy fat per ounce. Eating raw or dry roasted nuts tends to be healthier than eating nuts packaged in oil, which can contain more unhealthy fat.

Health News Tips Team Member