11 Biggest lies of Mainstream Nutrition.
It is time to start the new year out right with healthy eating choices! But... before we do, it is important to know the truth about what healthy is!
This a great article from authority nutrition that talks about some of the biggest misconceptions about general nutrition. This article mostly speaks for itself but there are few comments that I wanted to point out. First read the article then take a look at my comments.
http://authoritynutrition.com/11-biggest-lies-of-mainstream-nutrition/
1.) Eggs are Unhealthy:
I agree that eggs get a bad rap and can be a very healthy food, however a couple things to keep in mind. First, how you cook an egg makes a big difference in its nutritional value, for example a fried egg is not nearly as healthy or nutritious as a boiled or poached egg. Secondly Eggs still have plenty of calories in them (especially the yoke). So eggs can be part of a very nutritious breakfast, but if weight loss is your goal be mindful of how many eggs you throw into a meal. Remember the only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume.
2.) Saturated Fat is Bad For You:
I like the point they are making about not being afraid of high fat foods. Our bodies do need fat in our diets and another misconception some people may have is that high fat foods will make you gain more weight, which is not the case; the amount of calories in food is what makes the difference in gaining or losing weight, not the amount of fat. I agree that saturated fat doesn’t need to be feared and should not be the reason to avoid many healthy foods that have a higher content of fat in them. However it is best to avoid trans-fat whenever possible, also remember that there are many health benefits to having a higher ratio of Omega-3 unsaturated fat that most of us get in our typical diets. So look for good healthy foods like fish with lots of Omega-3 unsaturated fats to add to your diets anytime you get the chance.
3.) Everybody Should be Eating Grains
Couldn’t agree more! I think everyone could benefit from eliminating or reducing the amount of wheat or grains that they consume, however I know that this can be an incredibly hard thing to do! However, there are some simpler things you can do to get the most out of the grains you do eat and/or reduce the amount of grains you eat. First, try to make all of you grains (pastas, breads etc.) whole wheat and be sure to check the ingredients list and make sure that WHOLE WHEAT is the only wheat or flour ingredient listed or at the very least the first ingredient listed. Also try to add a variety of fruits and vegetable to your meals, this will increase the nutrients of the meal and if you add some fruits and veggies you can eat less of the grains and still have enough of a meal to make you full.
4.) Eating a Lot of Protein is Bad For Your Bones and Kidneys
I agree that eating good healthy protein is fine. However I wouldn’t recommend focusing on having a high protein diet. It is generally more important to focus on having a large variety of many different types of foods, especially fruits and veggies and not focusing on a diet high or low in protein, fat, or carbohydrates. I think too often diets get focused on having a high or low content of any one of the main macronutrients and lose track of eating healthy nutritious food. The most important thing is to make sure that you are getting a good variety of healthy nutritious forms of each macronutrient.
5.) Low-Fat Foods Are Good For You
So true, couldn’t agree more! Like the article said, low fat or fat free foods are usually loaded with crap and are much less healthy and nutritious than their natural counterpart. The more you can stay away from processed foods the better off you are!!
7.) Carbs Should Be Your Biggest Source of Calories
As we said before most grains aren’t very nutritious and can cause a slew of health problems. So eating a lot of carbs will very likely lead to a diet that is low in nutrients and not very healthy. Like the article mentions a high fat, low carb diet is preferred to a high carb, low fat diet, however again I think the most important thing is to focus on getting healthy natural foods of all macronutrients and not focusing on a higher or lower level of any of them.
8.) High Omega-6 Seed and Vegetable Oils Are Good For You
Omega-3 fish oils are one of the few supplements that I think everyone almost without exception would benefit from taking. The more you can avoid the seed and vegetable oils high in omega-6 and instead use oils with less omega-6 and more omega-3 the better off you are.
9.) Low Carb Diets Are Dangerous
Although I don’t like to advocate for diets that focus on sticking to a high or low percentage of any macronutrients reducing the amount of carbs you eat will also result in reducing the amount of grains you eat. As mentioned before grains are one of the most common allergenic and inflammatory foods there is, therefore I do tend to agree that reducing the amount of carbs would be a good health choice.
10.) Sugar is Unhealthy Because it Contains “Empty” Calories
Everything mentioned about sugar is very true and clearly should be avoided whenever possible. Something to also consider is that it does make some difference what kind of sugar it is. As we talked about earlier there are many artificial sweeteners used to take the place of sugar and calories. Most of these are also very unhealthy and are not meant to be eaten by humans. So just because something says that it is “sugar free” doesn’t mean it as any healthier than its full sugar counterpart. It’s best to just avoid sweets altogether whether they are “sugar free” or not. Dates can be a great sweet treat that are about as healthy as can be.
11.) High Fat Foods Will Make You Fat
I did briefly mention this earlier and the article does briefly mention the difference in calories between fats, carbs, and proteins. Again the only way to actually lose weight is to consume fewer calories than eat per day. It is best to maintain a healthy nutritious diet with lots of varieties of foods while staying active while dieting and not just focusing on limiting any specific macronutrients without any other considerations.