Nutrition myths, like fast-food restaurants, are everywhere, difficult to avoid, and can derail your best efforts to eat a healthy, balanced diet. The theme for this year's Nutrition Month is "Take the Fight out of Food." And getting the facts is the first step.
Numerous websites provide health and nutrition advice. Many online articles spread nutrition misinformation that is frequently untrue, resulting in many nutrition myths. So, instead of quick food, let's talk about some home-cooked facts. We've put together a list of seven common dietary myths, as well as the truth behind them.
1. You Gain Weight if You Eat Beyond a Particular Hour
How much you eat, what you consume, and how active you are during the day are the most important factors. High-calorie foods should still be minimized close to bedtime since they might induce digestion and sleep issues, leading to poor eating patterns the next day.
2. Salt is Bad for You
Although too much sodium can cause high blood pressure and kidney damage, salt (sodium) is an important mineral for numerous body activities.
Sodium is an electrolyte that aids in water balance and is required for the proper functioning of our muscles and nerves, as well as our heart and brain. Excess salt consumption, like many other things, can be harmful to one's health.
3. You Should Cut Carbs to Lose Weight
Carbs are an essential component of your diet, some of them called carbohydrates. The main source of energy is the carbohydrates in your body. Carbohydrates are divided into two categories, simple and complex.
In foods not especially healthy, such as chips, soda, candy, and other sugar pleasures, simple carbohydrates may be present. Complex carbohydrates are more nutrient-dense and can be found in foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and beans, which are all healthier options.
Reducing your intake of simple carbohydrates and increasing your intake of complex carbohydrates can help you maintain a healthy weight by keeping you fuller for longer and delivering nutrients that help your body regulate itself.
4. Unless You Have High Blood Pressure You Do Not Need to Limit Salt Intake
Because most Indians consume too much salt, we can all benefit from lowering our sodium intake. Excess sodium can cause stroke, heart disease, and kidney disease, in addition to high blood pressure. The average Canadian consumes 3,400 mg per day, much beyond the 2,300 mg upper acceptable limit.
5. Fats Are Bad for You
Fats are essential for your body's energy, vitamin absorption, heart, and brain health, among other things. We often think that certain foods are good for us and some are not. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are heart-healthy fats that can help you avoid heart attacks and strokes.
Olive oil, avocados, and almonds have monounsaturated fats, while flax-seed, fatty salmon, and tofu include polyunsaturated fats. Trans fat and saturated fat are both unhealthy fats. Whole-fat dairy products, red meat, and chicken skin are high in saturated fat and should be consumed in moderation.
6. Energy Bars Will Power Weight Loss
This is one that has become a fad in the past couple of years. You are bound to find energy bars in the gym bags of all your gym buddies! While they are extremely nourishing, energy bars do not lead to weight loss!
They are called energy bars because they are rich in carbs and protein and they give your body the fuel to keep going. You ultimately need to exercise and maintain a calorie deficit if you want to achieve weight loss!
7. Dietary Supplements Are Required for Good Health
A balanced and nutritious diet should provide most people with all of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients they require.
Instead of taking supplements, eat a variety of healthy, nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy proteins to obtain the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you need.
If a deficiency is discovered that cannot be corrected by food alone, dietary supplements should only be taken on a doctor's advice.
8. You Can Eat Whatever You Want, As Long As You Exercise
Despite what you may like to believe, health is as much about eating right as it is about exercising. You need to watch what you eat regardless of how much you work out!
9. Drinking Packed Fruit juices is the best way to increase fruit intake
Fruit juice has a lot of sugar added to it. In fact, a cup of fruit juice can contain up to 40 grams of sugar or 10 teaspoons.
Sugar consumption increases your chance of developing a variety of chronic conditions, including heart disease and stroke.
Eating entire fruit, which also provides fiber, is the best approach to improve your fruit consumption. If you're thirsty, drink some water or low-fat milk.
10. Gluten-free Foods are Healthier
Fact: Gluten-free foods are not healthier if you do not have Celiac Disease or gluten sensitivity. A gluten-free diet isn't meant to help people lose weight; rather, it's meant to help those with these diseases. Gluten avoidance may reduce your intake of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
11. If Food is Fat-free, It Must Be Healthy
A bag of gummy candy sits at the checkout counter as you go grocery shopping. It's an impulse purchase, but why not treat yourself? After all, it's fat-free! The problem is that those gummier are high in sugar, which is harmful to your health.
Foods labeled "fat-free" may nevertheless include a lot of calories, salt, sugar, or other unhealthy ingredients. Furthermore, fat is no longer the adversary it was previously assumed to be.
Fat from foods such as nuts, oil, and fish is necessary for a healthy diet. Don't be deceived by claims of fat-free products; learn to read the ingredient list.
12. Grazing Will Boost Metabolism and Help You Lose Weight
Grazing is one fad that has become unnecessarily popularized in today’s day and age. The idea of eating multiple small meals throughout the way sounds like an easy hack, but mind you, it’s not.
Losing weight is about mindful eating and grazing can make you eat a lot of unhealthy food without realizing it too! It is not the most reliable way to lose weight and for certain kinds of bodies, it is not advisable to eat multiple small meals too.
Verdict
Nutrition is an essential part of a healthy life, and something we should all have a good understanding of.
In the end, think of what’s best for your body and your health. Chase a healthy body, not a thin one!
