Myths

There are many myths in nutrition that cause lots of confusion for people looking to lead a healthy lifestyle or lose weight. I have listed some of these below and hope that the facts will help to resolve this confusion.

Sugar causes Diabetes

People that have diabetes do have to monitor their sugar and carbohydrate intake, however if you do not have diabetes, excessive sugar intake will not cause you to develop the disease. The main causes of diabetes are being overweight, high calorie diets and an inactive lifestyle.

All fats are bad

There are bad fats that we should limit in our diets, such as saturated fats and trans fats as they can cause heart disease. Not all fats are bad though, in fact some actually promote good health such as monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats by helping our body's to absorb vitamins and lower cholesterol levels. It is these fats we should be looking to consume more of.

Avoiding carbohydrates helps you to lose weight

Dramatically reducing carbohydrates in your diet may have short term weight loss benefits due to water loss from a decrease in carbohydrate store, but eating carbs in moderation does not directly lead to weight gain. The body uses carbs for energy and going too long without them can cause lethargy.

Low carb diets that promote weight loss are often caloric restricted ( maybe 1000-1400 a day compared to the average 1800-2200 for most people). Its this reduction in daily calorie intake that promotes weight loss not the amount of carbs consumed. However reducing your calorie intake in order to lose weight should be done gradually so not to promote the slowing down of the body's metabolism. For more information see Losing Weight.

Skipping meals can help you to lose weight

This is quite simply untrue. If you skip a meal your body goes into starvation mode, therefore slowing down the body's metabolism to compensate. As a result your body will store more energy, which is turned into fat. Also you could tend to over eat at the next meal resulting in a higher caloric intake than if you ate frequently throughout the day. Eating smaller healthy meals frequently can help to keep your blood sugar balanced and your metabolism up. See Healthy Eating Tips.

Eating eggs raises cholesterol levels in the blood

Egg yolks do have a high concentrate of cholesterol in them. There isn't enough however to effect blood cholesterol levels. In fact studies have shown that there is no direct connection between the amount of cholesterol you eat and the concentration of cholesterol in your blood. Consuming excessive amounts of saturated fats and trans fats and leading an inactive lifestyle is what has a negative effect on blood cholesterol levels which can cause heart disease.

Eating red meat is bad for you

Some studies have linked red meat with an increased risk of heart disease. This is due to the high saturated fat content of some red meats. Even chicken (leg with skin) can contain as much saturated fat as lean cuts of beef or pork. It is true that poultry like chicken and turkey are naturally lower in saturated fats but only without the skin.

It is important to remember that the risk of heart disease is only increased when consuming excessive amounts of saturated and trans fats, therefore eating red meat in moderation, choosing leaner cuts of meat and/or removing the fat such as on bacon can be effective ways of reducing saturated fat consumption.

Red meat contains high amounts of important vitamins, minerals and nutrients such as iron and protein. See Nutrition.