Diet Myths
You
have probably heard all the well known diet advice and might have even
tried them. Just how accurate is this advice? There are alot
of
conflicting advice, and some of the most popular recommendations don't
stand up under closer inspection. We've
investigated some of the most popular diet myths, and the results may
surprise you. So read on and get ready to change your own
routine; you may be applying some of these untrue theories in your own
life.
Low-fat food is healthy.
The
diet myth behind low-fat foods and their poularity is easy: Less fats
equals fewer calories, which equals a healthier change to the full fat
version, right? Not always the case. Low-fat versions are often full of
added ingredients, like sugar and flour, these are used to add to the
flavour of the newly fat-deficient food. Extra amounts however, of
refined carbohydrates like sugar and flour can make you feel hungry
again faster. Sometimes low-fat foods contain more calories than full
fat foods. In that case you would be better off eating the regular
version. To ensure a low-fat version is rally healthier for you, you
will need to compare ingredients and nutritional information in both
varieties. If the low-fat food beats this diet myth then by all means
feel free to stock up.
Mixing carbohydrates is a good way to lose weight.
Many
people who try diets that are protein-heavy, carbohydrate-limiting
report dramatic weight loss, but what does this mean? By focusing your
diet on high-protein foods like meat, cheese, eggs, and pork rinds (all
foods that are high in cholesterol) you could be risking a heart
attack, and buying right into this diet myth. By cutting out
carbohydrates, which the body craves for a reason, you can become
irritable, nauseous and feel weak. Lack of fruits and vegetables, a key
source of dietary fibre, can lead to constipation. And not eating
enough carbohydrates puts you at risk of developing ketosis, a
condition in which fats in your blood (ketones) build up, leading to
gout and kidney stones.
Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight .
Skipping
meals is not only unhealthy, but you'll also often eat more when you
eventually do eat because you’ve been starving yourself all day.
Anyway, lots of studies prove that people who eat a wholesome breakfast
and eat small meals throughout the day weigh less than those who
believe into this diet myth and skip meals and eat fewer times
throughout the day. The reason? Inconsistent eating makes it hard for
your body to regulate its metabolism. By going hungry, you’re making
your body think that it’s time to enter starvation mode, and it does
this by conserving calories and storing any extra calories as fat. Even
if you aren't giving it any more of either, it's going to store
whatever it currently has and not burn the extra you want burned during
the day.
Don’t eat after 7 p.m .
This
diet myth has been around on for a long time. Any food you consume in
the evening will automatically be stored as fat. The truth is that
calories can’t tell time. Your calorie count over a 24-hour period
matters more than those three packets of crisps you had at 10:30 p.m.
What might be more important to note is not to eat just before you're
about to go to bed. Once asleep, your body functioning is much less
than it is during the day; while sleeping, you just don't burn the same
amount of sugar/fat/calories that you would if you were awake. So, a
big bowl of pasta with cheese might not be the best midnight snack.
There are few more diet myths you should watch out for.
Cholesterol is bad for me .
Without
good cholesterol in your blood, your body wouldn’t be able to create
new cells or make new supplies of crucial hormones -- that’s what high
density lipoprotein (HDL) is responsible for. Low density lipoprotein
(LDL) (aka "bad cholesterol," this is the famous artery-clogging
cholesterol) we could all do without. Most LDL cholesterol comes from
saturated fats like butter, meat and pastries, while HDL (the good
stuff) can be derived from unsaturated fats like nuts, seeds and
vegetable oils.
I can lose weight quickly by cutting out calories.
When
you dramatically cut calories, your body won’t lose weight healthily.
As with people who regularly skip meals, your body will go
into
starvation mode. Your metabolism will slow down as your body holds on
to the fat it would need if you really were starving. Any fat you lose
will take muscle with it, which causes your basal metabolic rate (the
amount of calories your body needs to support its functions) to
decline. That’s why healthy weight loss is a slow process and requires
muscle-building exercise to accompany it.
Fat is bad for me.
Just
the same as in the case of cholesterol, there are good kinds of fat and
bad kinds of fat. Fat is a key player in the overall health of our
body, and it has a diverse resume. Fat helps clot blood, cushion organs
and build cell membranes. Just make sure your diet is rich in
unsaturated fats like olive oil, flaxseed oil, trout, salmon, and
avocado.
If I exercise I can eat what I want.
Thirty
minutes of bike riding doesn’t mean you have a free pass to the buffet.
While exercise does burn calories, you will still gain weight
if you’re
eating large portions of unhealthy food. A half-hour on the treadmill
doesn’t come close to balancing the calories contained in the average
double bacon cheeseburger meal with fries and a strawberry milkshake.
That doesn’t mean you can’t indulge every once in a while -- just don’t
make it a habit, and don’t expect your normal exercise routine to pick
up all your slack.