Nutrition Myths

Did you know?

I read an article a while back and wrote a post about it. It was deleted due to reconfiguring my blog but I did save it first. Here's an overview of that article called “20 Mainstream Nutrition Myths that Most People Believe (Even though they’ve been Proved Wrong)". The article can be found at eatlocalgrown.com, but I did a brief review here...

For any of my Facebook Happy-Healthy-Living followers, you see the many food related articles I post. I’m working on getting my blog more updated with those same articles, hang in there!

In today’s society it’s hard to know exactly where our food comes from let alone if where it says it comes from it true. According to the article, eating a low-fat, high-carb diet with a lot of grains is not as good for you as we were once advised. It used to be pushed as a weight loss food program as well as preventative care for cancer. This is a myth. Many studies have been done from reputable sources showing inconclusive evidence for the statement to be true.

Another common myth is “Salt should be restricted in order to lower blood pressure and reduce heart attacks and strokes”. Now I am a fan of seasoning and always thought this was true, so hesitated on my salt intake. According to the article, on average, lowering your salt intake can indeed reduce a persons’ blood pressure by 1-5 mm/Hg. That being said, this has no effect on heart attacks, strokes or death. There is one exception to this common myth, if you have a pre-existing medical condition such as salt-sensitive hypertension, you may have increased risks that involve salt.

“It is best to eat many, small meals throughout the day to ‘stoke the metabolic flame’”. This is another common myth that I have heard from many health professionals throughout my lifetime. I’ve been blessed my entire life, thus far, with a fairly “high” metabolism. I grew up eating 3 meals a day; breakfast, lunch and dinner. As I grew older and continued to stay active, I met several friends in the health field. They almost all advised me it is best to eat 5 small meals rather than 3 larger meals. According to this article, that’s a myth and eating 2-3 meals per day has the ‘exact same effect on total calories burned as eating 5-6 (or more) smaller meals.’ I never thought of it as how many calories I was eating. I’ve never been a calorie counter and frankly, don’t know if I ever will. I eat healthy and stay active, therefore; I try not to go crazy… Granted, calorie counting works wonders for many of my friends! Some people benefit from eating often because it prevents excessive hunger. According to the article, that is true, but it is untruthful that this has an effect on the amount of calories we burn. On the flip side, there have been multiple studies showing how eating ‘too’ often can have a negative effect on the body. In on recent article, frequent meals increased liver and abdominal fat on a high calorie diet intensely. That is contradicting to what many think is the ‘healthy’ choice today.

Have you heard that “Whole wheat is a health food and an essential part of a balanced diet”? I have and I love wheat. The only issue, in today’s society, wheat doesn’t carry the same nutritious value it used to. Studies have been down that show “older wheat” compared to “modern wheat” and the difference in our production today. Modern wheat can cause an increase in cholesterol levels as well as inflammatory markers. I’ve thought about this in depth since I grew up eating mainly wheat bread and continue to lean towards wheat choices, but beyond the other health concerns, modern wheat products can cause symptoms such as bloating, drowsiness, discomfort and reduced quality of life in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. A great alternative is Einkorn, an older variety of wheat that Young Living offers in an organic form! Contact me for more information on Einkorn and other Young Living products.

These are just a few of the myths the article talks about. Click here to view the full article!