Health Food Myths Busted

We’ve all heard, or been subjected to, the latest in diet foods and health guidelines. Low fat, no fat, high protein, low carb, no sugar; every couple of months there seems to be a new way to lose weight by restricting or completely eliminating one or several food groups. SAHM has taken the top health myths and found out if they are truly fact or fiction.

Throw away the yolks and just eat the egg whites

This crazy little idea came about because everyone got a little protein crazy and thought that as some protein is good, lots must be great and eating it in enormous quantities must be awesome.

This is what you get when you focus purely on eating for weight loss and not looking at eating to nourish your body, which is why we eat in the first place.

Eggs also got bad press because the yolk contains cholesterol and at some point people were told to limit their consumption to prevent high cholesterol. But this is a bit of an over simplification of what’s going on. Eggs are high in good cholesterol. Good cholesterol helps lower bad cholesterol.

Let’s not forget all the other amazing things that eggs bring to the party such as being loaded with high-quality protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, almost every nutrient your body needs. They’re very high in choline, a brain nutrient that 90% of people don’t get enough of. They contain Lutein and Zeaxanthin, powerful antioxidants that are highly protective for the eyes, lowering the risk of various eye diseases.

Eggs are a great post workout snack as they help your body repair muscle and they also fill you up so they are a great choice if you are trying to lose weight.

Verdict: Cheap, easy to cook, full of nutrients and great for weight loss. Eggs are a winner

A low fat  – high carb diet is best

The low fat, high carb diet has been pushed for long time and has got a lot of bad press. There is no getting away from the fact that we have never been so overweight, despite the large amount of ‘low fat’ food available to us.

So what’s going on? Firstly a healthy diet should be largely based on fresh vegetables and fruit and needs a protein source, and yes carbs should be in there too but they shouldn’t form the major part of your diet.

But not all carbs are created equal. Highly processed white bread, pastries, cakes and biscuits are not what we need. Nutrient rich grain based carbs though, can provide a valuable energy source along with fibre and vitamins and minerals. They shouldn’t form the basis of your diet but the odd bowl of rice is not going to make you fat. Seriously, it won’t!

The low fat thing has lost its way due to the manufacturing of low fat foods. We have essentially taken high fat foods, removed the fat, realized they don’t taste very good and so the fat is replaced by sugar and salt. Add to this, the halo effect of the ‘low fat’ food and people will over indulge in the mistaken belief that they can eat as much as they want because it’s healthy. Often it’s not, a quick check of the nutrient label will reveal it has way more sugar than the original product and maybe just a little less fat.

Naturally low fat though, is a different matter and if you are trying to lose weight, a low fat protein source such as chicken or fish is a great option.

Verdict: If low fat chocolate brownies sound too good to be true they probably are.

Counting calories

Quite honestly I think life is too short to count calories. A whole diet industry was built in the 70’s and 80’s based on the idea that low calorie is best. The problem is that not all calories are created equal and it doesn’t take into account the nutrient value of the food.

Different foods will fill you up more quickly, protein for example has been shown to speed up metabolism, reduce appetite and even reduce cravings. Simply put 150 calories of chicken will fill you up more quickly than 150 calories of ice cream. That feeling of fullness will last longer and lead to you subsequently eating less. All this before we even compare the fat and sugar content.

Verdict: Forget low calorie and think about the nutrition value of the food.

Source: Hungry for change.