Nutritional Myths, What To Believe?

We cannot take for granted everything we hear. Luis Isaías, will help us debunk some nutritional myths, What to believe?

The skin of apples and pears is not particularly rich in vitamins: there is more in the pulp. 

Brown sugar is not better than white sugar. Sliced beef is not the most nutritious. Anemia cannot be cured by eating spinach…

Our list of “against the grain” statements could go on and on. 

Surprised? Probably yes. The reason is that, when it comes to food, there are many false myths.

That is, statements that virtually everyone is convinced of, and it’s not hard to understand why.

Why do we believe nutritional myths?  

“The myth becomes credible when it is grafted onto something everyone is sure of: for example, the fact that human intervention makes the product worse, when normally in the food industry exactly the opposite is true.”

Andrea Ghiselli, physician at the National Food and Nutrition Research Institute. 

What is considered natural is perceived as tastier, fairer, healthier and safer. 

The love of natural is also behind the success of organic products, as well as the widespread belief that foods from the farmer are better than others, but this is not always the case.

Common nutritional myths

We often hear wise words, advice and suggestions, but many of them turn out to be incorrect upon closer inspection. 

Here are some popular nutrition/wellness claims. Are they right or wrong?

Coffee deprives the body of water

It is said that coffee dehydrates the body. This is not true, studies have shown that caffeine has a diuretic effect. 

This means that the liquid added to the caffeine leaves the body more quickly, but the overall impact on the water balance is negligible. 

Therefore, it is possible to include coffee in the daily diet.

Eggs increase cholesterol levels

Eggs contain a lot of cholesterol, which is true and has been shown many times in studies. 

However, cholesterol is important for us because without this substance we could not survive.

All the cholesterol that our body needs every day is easily produced by our body, but there are also many foods that contain this substance. 

Recent studies have shown that cholesterol intake through diet is extremely low. 

Unless the person has high cholesterol, a poorly controlled problem, the influence of eggs on cholesterol levels is very low and it is possible to consume them safely.

Beer swells the belly 

This is not entirely true. Beer is a hypercaloric and fattening food, this is indisputable. 

However, it is not true that the increase in abdominal fat is due to beer. It always depends on the individual.

Fruit acids damage dental enamel

It is true that many people eat healthy, regularly including lots of fruits, vegetables and fruit juices in their diet. 

While this behavior is often valuable for our health, it is not the best for our teeth.

Acids soften the enamel and strip it of minerals. Over time, the enamel becomes brittle and thin. 

Fruits, vinegar, fruit juices, wine and acidic beverages are especially dangerous to enamel.

To reduce the negative effects of acid on our teeth, we can add foods containing calcium (which remineralizes teeth).

Rinsing the mouth with water after each meal restores the pH level of the mouth to its natural level and neutralizes acids.

Better organic? 

To determine whether organic foods are healthier and more nutritious than conventional foods, the Food Standards Agency (the UK’s food safety agency) commissioned the largest review of scientific research ever conducted in this field in 2009. 

The researchers examined the results of all the studies that had compared organic and conventional products nutritionally. 

The result: in 16 of the 23 nutrient categories analyzed, there were no differences between organically and conventionally produced vegetables.

For example, calcium, potassium and vitamin C remained unchanged. 

In general, conventional products had a higher average nitrogen content, while organic products contained more sugar, magnesium, zinc and flavonoids. 

However, the review concluded: There is no evidence that a diet richer in organic products is more beneficial than a normal varied diet. 

Let’s talk about phosphorus 

Fish is not as rich in phosphorus, there are foods that contain more, such as legumes or nuts. 

In any case, consuming more phosphorus with food does not help the memory. 

White meats are not usually leaner than red meats (100 grams of sirloin have only 5 grams of fat, 100 grams of chicken thigh can reach 9 grams).

Conclusions 

Sports nutritionist Luis Isaías, helps us to disprove some of the most common nutritional myths.

From the article, we can highlight the following points:

• Just because many people repeat a fact about nutrition, does not make it correct;
• Organic products are not necessarily better than conventional ones, 
• If there are doubts about the intake of a specific food, it is always better to consult with a nutrition specialist, since on the Internet you can find a lot of erroneous information about it.