Saturday, February 8, 2014

Popular Nutritional Myths

By James Spann


I:6:T Everyday Nutritional Myths What are nutritional myths? Why should you be concerned about them? Simply stated, nutritional myths mean just what it says. They are statements about nutrition that are not completely true. Why are they important? Look at it this way. More people are becoming concerned about their overall physical fitness, nutrition, and well-being. If these people are following a diet plan, based on nutritional myths, they could be harming themselves. So, this could affect their overall physical fitness. Some nutritional myths have been around for a long time. Therefore, they are accepted by a lot of people. Consider the following example. Some people believe that high fructose corn syrup is worse than table sugar. However, both HFCS and table sugar, or sucrose, are composed of two sugars, fructose, and glucose - a disaccharide. Therefore, they're both just sugar. It's best to reduce all sugars. However HFCS's role as nutritional culprit has been greatly exaggerated.

Other examples of nutritional myths are found below:

Foods labeled "natural" are healthier for you.

Based on a study taken by the American Heart Association, many individuals agree. Nevertheless, the statement is incorrect. Sea salt is not more beneficial to your health than regular table salt. Although they have different origins and taste, both are composed of the same two elements, sodium and chlorine.

Drinking red wine is good for the cardiovascular system, including the heart.

It is true that milk chocolate - which contains a lot of sugar - is bad for you. However, dark chocolate, contains cocoa, a plant-based food replete with flavonoids that increase blood flow and release feel-good endorphins. Plus, it contains a healthy kind of saturated fat called stearic acid, which research has shown can increase your good HDL cholesterol. But, keep in mind that moderation is the key. Eating too much dark chocolate, like anything else, is not very beneficial to you.

Consuming eggs for breakfast is not beneficial for your heart.

Eggs do include a significant amount of cholesterol in their yolks. An above-average size egg contains about 210 milligrams of cholesterol. I'm aware that cholesterol may contribute to clogged arteries and heart attacks. However, research has shown that most healthy people can consume an egg every day with no complications. Why is this so? The cholesterol we eat-in eggs does not cause a massive effect on raising our blood cholesterol. The chief heart-disease culprits are saturated and trans fats, which have a lot higher impact on raising blood cholesterol. A typical egg contains two grams of saturated fat and no trans fats. You should limit your cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg daily. When you eat a large egg, you are only getting 10% of this amount. So one large egg a day is fine as long as you don't go over that 300 mg of cholesterol with the rest of your daily diet.

Eating fatty meals, such as bacon and sausage, will certainly make you fat.

This statement is not always true. Foods high in fat do have cholesterol and saturated fats that are instrumental to having cardiovascular diseases. Nevertheless, calories from sugars-- not fatty foods-- are the major root cause of weight gain. Yes, bacon and sausage most certainly contain calories, yet not as many as carbohydrates - that are metabolized to form different types of simple sugars. These simple sugars are the primary sources of energy - calories - for our physical body.

So, what is the take home point? If you want to lose or keep from gaining a lot of weight, you should reduce your consumption of high-sugary foods, such as buttermilk pancakes with layers of mocha cream topped with chocolate and whipped cream. Instead of eating high-sugary carbohydrates, eat complex carbohydrates which are high in fiber and vital nutrients, such as broccoli, beans, spinach, and fruits.

If you are not sure whether a particular food practice is a nutritional myth or not, study it online. If you find that the habit or practice is a myth, praise yourself own becoming one of the many nutritional myth busters.




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