Posted on 22 Sep, 2010 -
10 Myths of Healthy Eating
Myths about breast cancer, apple juice and diet drinks
A cup of tea is just as good at hydrating the body as water
Why lettuce is good for you
Dear Reader,
There’s a great joke told by the comedian Redd Foxx:
“Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospital dying of nothing.”
Because after all, something’s got to kill you in the end. No amount of wild salmon, daily doses of brazil nuts and weekly trips to Holland and Barret are going to help us cheat death. But it’s got to help a bit, right?
The difficultly of being a ‘health nut’ these days, in fact, is knowing when to stop and what to believe.
I was reading a report today, for example, that showed that drinking tea hydrates you just as well as drinking water. So all those newspaper articles telling us that only water will do were (probably) wrong.
On the subject of tea again, I was also reading that you actually get more antioxidants from a cup of tea than from a serving of fruit and vegetables. It also has virtually no calories and the dose of caffeine is good for perking you up a bit. Just don’t overdo it…
10 More Health and Diet Myths to question and poke before you take them as gospel
Myth No. 1: A lump in your breast means you have breast cancer
In Fact: Around 80% of breast lumps are non-cancerous (benign). If you do find a lump, however, always go to your doctor straight away. I’ve been a couple of times myself and the doctors have always made me feel that I was right to ‘bother’ them.
Myth No. 2: Menopause symptoms are normal
In Fact: A bit more controversial this one but quite a few health professionals now believe that symptoms put down to menopause may actually have more to do with an underlying hormonal imbalance caused by years or poor eating habits and or stress.
The slowing down and eventual shutdown of the reproductive system are of course natural and tend to occur around the age of 51. It is not, however, necessary for this to cause all the array of symptoms it sometimes comes along with or is blamed for. Staying fit and healthy should make for an easier transition. A diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates may make it worse.
Myth No. 3: Depressed people just need to pull themselves together
In Fact: Depression is a recognised illness involving an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. It is not a sign of weakness or flawed personality. Neither is it something that is easy to ‘snap out of’ if you want to. Counselling and or medication are often needed to treat the depression. Getting the right medication, however, can sometimes be a minefield and the wrong anti-depressant can make you worse…
Myth No. 4: Low-sugar drinks are healthier
In Fact: This is one of my own pet hates. When well-meaning grandparents produce bottles of squash touting their ‘low-sugar’ benefits, I have to point out that ‘low-sugar’ tends to mean sweetened with poisons. Dozens of symptoms including neurological disease have been linked to aspartame, for, example. Also found in vitamin supplements, chewing gum and… Read those labels!
On the weight loss front, there are also studies that show that artificial sweeteners including saccharin leave you craving the calories the body was promised. So that can of diet coke may not have any calories but the maple and pecan pastry you find yourself buying an hour later will.
Myth No. 5: If it’s healthy, you can eat as much of it as you like
In Fact: Healthy sweet foods like honey, fruit and dried fruits all have great health-giving properties and should be eaten by all. They do, however, still contain a lot of sugar. And to a certain extent, sugar is sugar. I have met, for example, 4-year-old children with fillings because they drink too much apple juice. Your body also metabolizes the sugars in these foods in the same way as it would white sugar. So once again, everything in moderation.
Another one to watch is nuts. While you should ignore people who say not to eat them because they’ll make you fat… you should also note that eating a whole bag of them a day may well do so.
Myth No. 6: Fat-free foods are good if you’re trying to lose weight
In Fact: Just because they’re low in fat, doesn’t mean they’re low in calories. They’re often full of sugar which may we be worse for your weight than some nice healthy fat. Low-fat processed foods may also be full of additives which can themselves be a cause of unwanted weight.
Myth No. 7: Lettuce doesn’t contain many nutrients
In Fact: Iceburg lettuce is the least nutritious of the bunch but still contains some vitamins A, K and C and is an excellent source of potassium. All lettuces aid digestion and are good for the liver.
In general, the darker the leaves, the more nutritious the salad. Romain and watercress are particularly good, are high in beta-carotene and are a great source of calcium.
According to the website WHFoods.org, “The vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber found in romaine lettuce are especially good for the prevention or alleviation of many common health complaints,”
Myth No. 8: Carob is lower in fat and healthier than chocolate
In Fact: It contains the same amount of fat and calories with none of the (same) pleasure. Carob is good if you need a dairy or caffeine-free alternative to chocolate. Otherwise, you’re punishing yourself for no good reason.
Myth No. 9: Fresh food is better than frozen
In Fact: This might be true if the fresh food we can buy at the supermarket really were fresh. Instead, it may actually have been picked weeks or even months before you eat it but kept alive with a combination of cold storage and carbon dioxide and ethylene oxide. The longer they sit around, the more nutrients they lose. Fresh frozen vegetables are usually frozen within hours of being picked so retain their nutrients until they are defrosted.
Myth No. 10: Eating a large part of your calories in the evening promotes weight gain
In Fact: This is not true and I am pleased as the late arrival home of my husband from his commute means we often don’t eat ‘till 8.30 or even 9. Coming together for a chat over dinner is the thing that keeps us happy and sane so it’s good news that it won’t make us put on weight.
It doesn’t matter when you eat - only how much. If you eat too much then you will put on weight. This does NOT, however, mean that if you are overweight then you eat too much. Weight is much more complicated than that.
And that, I’m afraid, is another subject altogether.
Bye for now
