NUTRITION MYTHS

In this part, we go to share a blog post about some of the biggest nutrition myths floating around out there and why you shouldn't believe them.

Myth 1: You need to limit the consumption of eggs.  

In the past, it was recommended to reduce eggs consumption because they are high in cholesterol. In 1973, the American Heart Association recommended to limit their consumption to prevent cardiovascular diseases (defined as 3 per week).

However, cholesterol in food has a much smaller effect on blood levels of total cholesterol and harmful LDL cholesterol than thought.

Increased in blood cholesterol is due to consumption of satured fats and trans fats.

A egg contains 200mg of cholesterol, but it has more insaturated fats and only 70 calories. 

High cholesterol levels is produced to eat saturated fats and trans fats.

In fact, moderate egg consumption (1 per day) has not been found to increase heart disease risk in healthy individuals. 

Actually, the American Heart Association recommended to consumption 1 egg per day.

Also, it is important to remember the other different nutrients that have eggs, for example, the egg has a high protein content of excellent quality, a wide range of vitamins (A, B2, B12, D and E, among others ) and minerals (phosphorus, selenium, iron, iodine and zinc...).

 

Source:

*Hu, F. B., Stampfer, M. J., & Rimm, E. B. (2000). A Prospective Study of Egg Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Men and Women. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, 11(2), 277.
*http://www.huevo.org.es/default.asp

Myth 2: Brown sugar is healthier than white sugar. 

Sugar that's the colour of dirt doesn't make it more "natural" or healthier than its white counterpart. The colour comes from a common residual sticky syrup, called molasses.

Brown sugar retains some of that molasses. In fact, brown sugar is mostly white sugar with some molasses, so refining it further would give you white table sugar.

While molasses contains some vitamins and minerals like potassium and magnesium, there is not enough in your standar brown sugar packet that should make you reach for it if you're trying to eat healthier.

As far as your body is concerned, white and brown sugar are one-in-the-same.

Source: Business Insider, "The dispensatory of the United States of America," Self Nutrition Data.

Myth 3: Choose fat free and other light products to lose weight.   

There are a lot of products light or low fat  in the supermarket, but this is not to say that they are healthy or suitable for losing weight.

These products contain 15% fewer calories than your original product. But normally, it is not more healthy than other product.

Usually, people who consumption these type of products eat more calories and with nutrients with poor quality.

For these reason, if you need to lose weight, you have to eat natural product like fruits, vegetables, fish, cereals, among other, instead of this kind of products.

  

Myth 4: I can't eat fruit if I have diabetes.  

Although we know fruits and vegetables are good for us people with diabetes are often told they can't eat fruit because they are too sweet or contain sugar. All fruits contains natural sugar, but also contain a good mix of vitamins, minerals and fibre.

The concern has been that because fruits contain sugar, it makes your blood glucose go up. In fact, most fruits have low to medium glycaemic index, so the do not lead to a sharp rise in your blood glucose levels compared to other carbohydrate containing foods like white or wholemeal bread.

So one of the most important thing, when considering the biggest effects on your blood glucose levels, is the portion size.

Also, it is important to know, that a portion of fruit contains about 15-20g carbohydrate on average, which is similar to a slice of bread. To put things in perspective, just a can of cola contains 35g carbohydrates and a medium slice of chocolate cake contains 35g of carbohydrates as well.

So, if you are looking to reduce your carb intake, with the aim to manage blood glucose levels, the advice is to reduce your intake of foods like ordinary fizzy drinks, cakes, biscuits, chocolate and other snacks.

It is very unlikely that fruits are the main culprit for high blood glucose levels as there is a tendency to over-estimate consumption of foods that are perceived to be healthy like fruits and vegetables.

In this video you can learn more about fruit and diabetes.

                                 

Source: Diabetes uk. Know diabetes. Fight diabetes. web:https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Enjoy-food/Eating-with-diabetes/Diabetes-food-myths/myth-fruit-diabetes/

Myth 5: Pills, natural or herbal weight-loss products are safe and effective.

These products are not usually scientifically tested to prove that they are safe or that they work, so they can become dangerous.

In most cases, these products generate fluid losses that are mistaken with weight loss. This can lead to eating again as at the beginning and therefore gain weigh again.

Any product that guarantees rapid, permanent weight loss is at best not effective and at worst, dangerous.

Myth 6: Moderate drinking has health benefits. 

But, what is moderate?.

It is very important to know the amount to alcohol that is considered moderate, because a high alcohol consumption can cause serious health damage.

Recommendations are of a glass of wine per day for women and two glasses of wine per day for men may be considered healthy. 

If you want more about alcohol and health, visit the next blogger

Myth 7: A balanced diet is a healthy diet 

Is always a balanced diet a healthy diet?
A balanced diet   has specific percentages of macronutrients ( 55-60% CH, 10-15% P 25-30% F)
However, this information does not provide  us any information about more o less healthy food. Fish is healthier than the sausage and both of them are proteins. 
 Following link can help you understand it.
https://youtu.be/CustmTTCfNE