Nutrition should be a sensible science, just like biology or animal husbandry but, unfortunately, it isn’t. The whole field is in chaos and, to the general public, there is no unified message.
There are several factors driving this. The first is journalists and other writers deliberately pushing false messages to benefit themselves. Many sell books that give people good news about their bad habits. Nobody wants to read a paperback talking about the benefits of eating more broccoli, but they will certainly pick up a book that extols the virtues of steak.
The next is the food industry itself. It doesn’t want people to know just how destructive its products can be. Food companies deliberately lobby governments to ensure that their products remain part of a “balanced” diet and lifestyle. In other words, no food is off the menu.
Then there is the issue of the government itself. Since the advent of nutrition science in the 1960s, it’s chopped and changed its recommendations. It has not provided the public with a consistent message, sowing even more confusion and doubt.
On top of this are all of the cultural myths surrounding food that we have inherited and don’t really think about. In this post, we unpick some of these fallacies, providing real information on diet. By the end of it, you should feel more like a registered nutritionist, and less like a confused layperson.
Myth 1: Carbs Are Automatically Bad
Perhaps the biggest myth circulating the modern diet discussion is the idea that carbs are bad for you. The problem here is subtle. Some carbs lead to weight gain, but others lead to weight loss and improvements in health.
The issue here is the use of the word “carb” itself. Unless you’re eating pure sugar, most of us never eat “carbs” in isolation. Instead, they’re bound up in regular food items, just like all the other nutrients. In that sense, carbs can mean a lot of different things. There are carbohydrates, for instance, in both broccoli and white bread. Broccoli is one of the best things you can eat for long-term health, while white bread usually leads to poor health and weight gain.
Instead of labelling foods by isolated macros (such as carbs), we should just treat them as foods. We should evaluate them based on their holistic interaction with the body.
Myth 2: Fat Makes You Fat
Here’s another common myth that is extremely popular but, again, it’s not true. As with carbs, it all depends on how you’re getting that fat. If you’re getting it in the form of blocks of butter and lard then, yes, you’re liable to put on weight. However, if you’re getting it in the form of flaxseeds and walnuts, then the likelihood of you putting on weight is slim indeed. In fact, many forms of healthy whole food fats – such as nuts and avocado – are associated with slimmer waistlines and lower BMIs.
Myth 3: Eating More Often Boosts Your Metabolism
The idea that eating more often boosts your metabolism is one of the most insidious and false notions in all of nutrition science. There is no evidence for it and, in fact, it may encourage overeating.
The reasons for this are, again, quite subtle. Those who support regular eating rely on the “grazing” idea – the notion that in the past, humans ate constantly throughout the day to get all the calories that they needed.
However, when you explore the way our bodies work more deeply, you find that this is not the case. Humans, it appears, are designed to cycle between feast and famine. When food was available, we ate a lot, and when it wasn’t, we often went hungry.
What’s interesting is that our body’s metabolism doesn’t slow down for the first five to seven days of fasting. And, furthermore, once we start eating again, it returns to its baseline level.
Myth 4: Fiber Is Just Roughage
Fifty years ago, researchers believed that fiber was just roughage and didn’t really serve a purpose in the body. It passed through undigested. But the more we learn about how it interacts with our systems, the more critical it is becoming to health and nutrition.
Fiber is actually still food – just that it’s food for the bacteria that live in your gut. These critters munch on fiber and then use it to make compounds that benefit the body. In this sense, therefore, fiber is actually a key nutrient that you want to have in your diet. And the more of it the better.
It also performs some other functions too. For instance, it bulks up your stools, making them softer and enabling your bowel to push them along easily. It also fights constipation.
Please note that meat, refined oils and refined sugars do not contain any fiber.
Myth 5: Fresh Foods Are More Nutritious
The word “fresh” often makes it sound as if fresh foods are more nutritious and better for you than frozen or canned equivalents. However, it depends very much on the type of food, how long it has been in transport, and so on.
In many cases, frozen food has the highest nutritional value. That’s because producers pick it from plants and then freeze it immediately, preventing the nutrient loss associated with a lot of fresh food. Canned foods, such as beans, also contain the same nutritional content, were you to cook them from scratch.
Myth 6: All Posts That Talk About Food Myths Are True
For example, you may encounter websites that claim that the idea that too much salt causes health problems is a myth, or that people who eat plant-based aren’t any healthier than those who don’t.
Here’s another problem that you’ll encounter as you search on the internet: even websites claiming to provide you with information on food myths are themselves, often false.
The fact that there is so much conflict out there speaks to the heart of the issue. There are elite scientists who understand the basic nutrition landscape and what people should eat to be healthy. But there are also many people disseminating and warping the presentation of science to the public.
Myth 7: Single-Food Diets Help You Lose Weight
In general, diets don’t work. Since the 1950s, researchers have known that only around 5 percent of people are able to keep their weight off long term. The rest wind up putting it all back on in the coming weeks and months.
That’s a problem. Diets are actually counterproductive because they put the body in a state of stress. The less a person eats, the more the body’s hormones ramp up in an attempt to keep the calories flowing. Eventually, the person reaches breaking point and gives into food, often indulging in wild binges that last weeks at a time.
The problem is even worse for single-food diets, such as the grapefruit diet, or the cabbage soup diet. These foods severely lack nutrition because they do not provide a complete nutrient profile. Humans evolved to eat hundreds of different species, not just one or two. So we must eat widely to satisfy our hunger. Single food diets typically lead to yoyo weight loss and gain.
Myth 8: You Can Reduce Dietary Salt By Getting Rid Of The Salt Shaker
While stopping using the salt shaker can reduce your dietary salt intake a little, most salt actually comes from processed foods. Bread is the biggest culprit, but there are others, including snacks. To reduce salt, always cook from scratch. Don’t rely on products.
