Nurition: Fact and Fiction
What if I told you that I sold a vitamin that would fix all that ails you?
This vitamin would do everything from grow hair on your head to clearing your heart of plaque build-up to restore your joints to those of a 20 year old!
As a chiropractor in San Diego, I am exposed to many myths regarding our nutrition and our health and the things that we can do to preserve it. Indeed we treat many patients for neck pain, back pain, headaches, and sciatica. That being stated, our patients’ nutritional needs are never overlooked.
The problem that we encounter when discussing nutrition involves patient participation. I have found that our patients have good intentions when it comes to nutrition but those good intentions are often negated by poor planning.
I found a list of the top ten nutrition myths on Healthcastle.com that I thought was both interesting and relevant.
I have heard all of these myths from my patients over the years. Good nutrition has to start with good information. This is a start.
1. Sugar Causes Diabetes. The most common nutrition myth is probably that sugar causes diabetes. However, if you do not have diabetes, sugar intake will not cause you to develop the disease. The main risk factors for Type 2 diabetes are a diet high in calories, being overweight, and an inactive lifestyle.
2. All Fats are bad. It’s a long-held nutrition myth that all fats are bad. But the fact is, we all need fat. Fats aid nutrient absorption and nerve transmission, and they help to maintain cell membrane integrity - to name just a few of their useful purposes. However, when consumed in excessive amounts, fats contribute to weight gain, heart disease and certain types of cancers.
3. Brown Sugar is better than White Sugar. The brown sugar sold at grocery stores is actually white granulated sugar with added molasses. Yes, brown sugar contains minute amounts of minerals. But unless you eat a gigantic portion of brown sugar every day, the mineral content difference between brown sugar and white sugar is absolutely insignificant.
4. Brown Eggs are more nutritious than White Eggs
Contrary to a widely believed nutrition myth, eggshell color has nothing to do with the quality, flavor, nutritive value, cooking characteristics, or shell thickness of an egg. The eggshell color only depends upon the breed of the hen.
5. Avoid seafood to lower blood cholesterol. I still can’t believe it, but I heard this nutrition myth from my own doctor! In fact, the dietary cholesterol found in seafood and other meats has little effect on blood cholesterol in most people. Saturated fats and trans fatty acids are the most important factors that raise blood cholesterol.
6. Avoid carbohydrate to lose weight. The key message that many low-carb diets convey is that carbohydrates promote insulin production, which in turn results in weight gain. Therefore by reducing carbohydrate intake, you can lose weight. Unfortunately, this is just another nutrition myth.
The truth is that low-carb diets are also often calorie-restricted! Followers only eat an average of 1000 - 1400 calories daily, compared to an average intake of 1800 - 2200 calories for most people. To lose one pound a week, you only need to eat 500 fewer calories per day in your normal diet. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you eat a high- or low-carb diet, you will lose weight if you decrease your caloric intake to less than needed to maintain your weight.
7. Avoid nuts as they are fattening. Yes, it’s true that nuts are quite calorically dense. But if you can restrain yourself from overeating them, nuts can be a part of a healthy diet.
It’s a nutrition myth that nuts should be avoided. In fact, nuts are high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (the good fats) as well as plant sterols, all of which have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol.
8. Eating for 2 is necessary during pregnancy. Energy requirements vary among individuals. Unfortunately, the idea that pregnancy is an ice cream free-for-all is a nutrition myth. An extra snack before bedtime is often enough.
9. Skipping meals can help lose weight. Many people think that by skipping a meal, they will be eating less food and therefore lose weight. As we now know, this is a nutrition myth. People who think skipping meals means weight loss do not understand how our bodies work.
If you skip a meal, your body will think that you are in starvation mode and therefore slow down the metabolism to compensate. You then tend to overeat at the next meal.
10. Red meat is bad for health. I often hear people saying that they do not eat red meat. When I ask why they don’t, or even what they consider to be red meat, the answers vary dramatically.
It is true that some studies have linked red meat with increased risk of heart disease, partly due to the saturated fat content. In fact, even chicken can contain as much saturated fat as lean cuts of beef or pork. For instance, a serving of sirloin beef or pork tenderloin has less saturated fats than the same serving size of chicken thigh with skin. It is true that poultry like chicken and turkey is naturally lower in saturated fats. But it is only true if you don’t eat the skin.
Yours In Good Health
Dr. Jones
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Tags: Natural Health Care, Nutrition
