It seems that everybody enjoyed my top ten food myths so I decided to add to the list.
Pick up any magazine and you will read about the latest diet fad or the next wonder food. These tips often sound too good to be true because they are not! Read on to learn the truth about some more food myths. You will be surprised at what you learn!
11. Fruit juice is healthy
Fruit juice is a source of empty calories. Eating a piece of fruit provides vitamins, fiber and tends to reduce intake of other food. But most fruit juices are just sugary beverages, providing extra calories — all from refined carbohydrates — without sating appetite. And this goes for all juices, from apple and grape juice to acai berry or pomegranate juice.
12. Antioxidant water prevents disease.
Antioxidant water is a marketer’s dream come true because it really sounds like it should be healthy and naturally-occurring antioxidants in other foods have been shown to prevent illness. However, none of the antioxidant waters have shown any health benefits. Antioxidant water is just overpriced water with added sweeteners, flavoring, and supplements. Studies of antioxidant supplements have shown no benefits and their is no reason to believe that the antioxidant supplements in these waters will be any different.
13. Frozen vegetables are less nutritious than fresh ones.
The best time to eat a vegetable is right after it is picked. However, for those of us who do not live on a farm, this is not quite feasible. Nutrient levels drop during shipping and storage. They drop further as the veggies sit in your refrigerator. By the time you eat that fresh vegetable, is has far fewer nutrients and is not quite as fresh. Frozen veggies, on the other hand, are flash-frozen immediately after they are picked so they retain most of their nutrients.
14. Pork is fattening.
It’s true that sausage and ribs are loaded with calories, but three ounces of cooked pork tenderloin has only 140 calories ‑- exactly what you’d find in three ounces of skinless chicken breast. That’s why they call pork “the other white meat”!
15. You should drink eight glasses of water a day.
Studies show that people often mistakenly believe they are hungry when they are simply thirsty. They then eat unneeded calories instead of just drinking a glass of water. A good diet strategy is to make sure you are fully hydrated at all times. However, you do not need to drink eight glasses of water a day to stay fully hydrated. Four glasses of water a day should be sufficient.
16. Trans fat-free foods don’t contain any trans fats
There is a loophole in the FDA’s trans fat labeling law. Any food with less than 1/2 gram of trans fat per serving can be called “trans-fat free.” Manufacturers get to choose what a serving size is, and it rarely matches up with what you want a serving size to be. A cracker company can decide that one small cracker is a serving but if you eat 12 “trans fat-free” crackers, you could have eaten up to 6 grams of trans fat. The key is to look at the ingredient list. If the product contains hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils, it contains trans fats. Since trans fats are so unhealthy, these products should be avoided.
17. Sugar causes behavior problems in kids.
A 1995 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that “sugar does not affect the behavior or cognitive performance of children,” yet the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that 93 percent of parents ask about avoiding sugar when their children are diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. There is no evidence that sugar increases hyperactive behavior in children.
18. Wraps are a healthy lunch choice.
Whoever ran the marketing campaign for the wrap is a genius. How did this incredibly unhealthy and fattening product get the reputation of being a health food? A wrap (without anything in it) can have more than 300 calories. Wraps are never a healthy choice.
19. Exercise makes you hungry.
I have heard dieters say that they don’t exercise because it makes them hungry. The truth is, exercise does not significantly increase hunger. However, many people feel that they “deserve” to eat more calories because they exercised and so they allow themselves to indulge.
20. Skipping meals will help you lose weight.
Skipping meals is one of the worst things you can do when dieting. Yes, you save calories at that meal but studies show that you more than make up for those calories during the rest of the day. Also, you put your body into “starvation mode” so your metabolic rate lowers and your body tries to do whatever it can to hold onto calories. You are much better off eating small mini-meals every three or four hours.
