Wednesday, August 19, 2015

8 food myths science has debunked

Larry Schwarz writes at AlterNet about 8 food myths science has now debunked.

1. Myth: Low-fat foods are good.
...Of course, if you have ever eaten a well-done hamburger or steak with all of the juices (fat) cooked out of it, you know that fat tastes good, and when you remove fat, you are left with something less than flavorful. Big Food, the main engine behind the low-fat industry, knows this, and it compensates for the lack of fat, and the accompanying flavor, by adding stuff to low-fat products. The stuff added is usually some variation of sugar or artificial sweetener. The results are predictable. A product may be low-fat and still be fattening. Added sugar is linked to obesity, diabetes and other life-shortening conditions. Not quite the goal behind going low-fat. And artificial sweeteners have been associated with all sorts of bad things, like metabolic syndrome, diabetes, depression, premature birth, and heart disease.

2. Myth: Saturated fat is bad.
In 2010, a half-century after the infamous Seven Countries study, a huge review was done of 21 different studies involving almost 350,000 people. The conclusion was that there is absolutely no link between saturated fat and heart disease. In fact, saturated fat actually raises the HDL (good cholesterol) level in the blood and alters LDL (bad cholesterol) into a benign blood factor.

3. Myth: Eggs are bad.
...Studies have now shown that the cholesterol in eggs actually raises the good HDL cholesterol in your bloodstream. As for being high in saturated fat, see myth #2 above. Eggs have actually been shown to help people lose weight compared to a typical bagel breakfast. This is because the high protein content of an egg breakfast more efficiently satisfies hunger, whereas a high carbohydrate bagel spikes blood sugar, which then crashes and results in renewed hunger a short time later.

4. Myth: Eat more carbohydrates than protein and fat.
For people who are overweight, have diabetes or metabolic syndrome, high-carb diets have consistently been shown to be inferior to low-carb diets. Low-carbohydrate diets have led to greater weight loss and reduced risk factors for heart disease and Type II diabetes.

5. Myth: Eat lots of small meals throughout the day.
Prehistoric humans were often hungry, and in fact, occasional fasting has been shown to be healthy. Other studies have indicated that the number of meals consumed during the day can be linked to the risk for colon cancer. Eating four or more meals a day increases that risk by up to 90% for men.

6. Myth: All vegetable oils are good for you.
...Polyunsaturated oils contain both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-3s have been shown to lower heart disease risk. The fatty acid has an anti-inflammatory effect and can lower the risk for many diseases related to inflammation. Omega-6s, on the other hand, have been shown to actually increase risk for coronary heart disease. The fatty acids in some of the most popular vegetable oils, like soybean, corn and sunflower oils, are omega-6s. Seed oils such as flaxseed and rapeseed oil tend to be higher in omega-3s.

7. Myth: Too much meat and cheese is bad for the bones and kidneys.
...High-protein diets are actually associated with good bone health and less fracture risk. Similarly, no link has ben established between high-protein diets and kidney health in persons without previous kidney problems. Additionally, a high-protein diet has been associated with a lower risk of diabetes and high blood pressure, both of which increase the chances of kidney dysfunction.

8. Myth: Whole grain breads are good for everybody.
...Grains are actually fairly low in nutritional content, compared to vegetables, fruit and meats. They also contain a lot of phytic acid, which causes some minerals to bind in the intestines and prevents them from being properly used by the body. The most popular grain consumed in the West is wheat, which contains a substance called gluten, the stuff that makes bread soft and chewy. While a small percentage of people have celiac disease, a sensitivity to gluten that causes the immune system to attack the small intestine, a much larger percentage of people without celiac also appear to be gluten-sensitive. Gluten sensitivity can cause intestinal damage, bloating, pain, and other problems. There has even been some association shown between schizophrenia and gluten.
Read more here.

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