Five Nutrition Myths Revealed

My lovely wife enjoys educating me on my lack of nutritional knowledge.  At some point in the day (and during most meals), it’s inevitable I’ll receive some culinary nutritional education.  It could be something as simple as “remember eggs are high in cholesterol”, or maybe a bit more complicated like, “avocados are high in fat, but they’re heart-healthy fats”.   Now, it seems like every few years new science (research data) complicates matters.  Essentially, my wife’s “old food science” has been muddied with new data, which led me to question her sources, requesting recent research info to substantiate.   This typically doesn’t go over well…nevertheless, this had led me to discover some misconceptions that either I, she or both of us had.  Sometimes the data is conflicting, and the health benefits of some foods are split in opinion – Pros equal the Cons.   So, I thought I would share some food/eating misconceptions I’ve found over the years.   My personal Top 5 myth-buster list.

Myth #1

Don’t eat late – calories eaten at night are more fattening.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told to not eat after 5PM, then it was 6PM, then it jumped to 8PM.  Turns out calories are calories, and it doesn’t matter what time of day the calories are consumed.  In the end what matters is the total calories you take in.

 

Myth #2

Microwaves are dangerous to your food

Now this one I bought into.   Not exactly sure why as I did not know the science, it just seemed plausible after many disastrous microwave meals.   There was also the widely purported claim that the Russians once banned microwaves, right?  Well, that was untrue as well.   The long and short is that cooking with a microwave is essentially no different from other cooking methods that apply heat to food.  For example, the changes that occur in your microwavable Mac N Cheese as it cooks are from heat generated inside the Mac N Cheese, not the microwaves themselves.

 

Myth # 3

Sugar is healthier than High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Again, this is one of those urban myths I bought into.   Why would marketers label products “Real Sugar” or “NO HFCS” if there wasn’t a benefit?   Now, I know neither are healthy nor belong in my diet, but I figured if I ever stray I would choose the “healthier sugar option”.   Truth is studies show that both High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and sucrose (table sugar) have very similar effects on blood levels of insulin, glucose, and triglycerides.  Essentially, HFCS is no better or worse than good ole white table sugar.

 

Myth #4

Carbs are fattening

Come on – doughnuts and pasta definitely add lbs.  This must be true.  Actually, there’s nothing inherently fattening when consuming carbs.  In fact, it’s not the carbohydrates that fatten you up its consuming too many calories.

 

Myth #5

Carrots improve eyesight

Now this one I know is true in that both parents told me so.   My parents never fib.  Well, maybe there’s partial truth to the carrot-eyesight connection.   The truth is although carrots provide a good source of eye-boosting Vitamin A, fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables are an even better source.