Nutrition Myths Busted

There is so much information at our fingertips today but perhaps with the pervasiveness of it and social media it is hardly surprising that there is a fair chunk of misinformation. And once a piece of information is assimilated it can tend to go unchallenged and be presented as fact.

There is a huge reservoir of information on nutrition, food, exercise and wellness but the sources are important. I am a total believer in evidence-research and any of the information I present below is the result of scientific research. A great source of information is at Examine.com, used as the reputable source by many recognised institutions. I don't include the actual scientific studies used in the myth-busting pieces below, but please reach out to me if you want me to point you to the scientific evidence used.

There are a lot of myths out there and to be fair I don't know them all and can't possibly research them all, but below are my top 5!

Protein Is Bad For You

 Protein is often accused of harming bones and kidneys.

When you ingest more protein you absorb more calcium in your food, so less ends up in your feces. Later, your body gets rid of the calcium you don't need, so that more calcium ends up in your urine, but not as much as would have ended up in your feces. So, an increase in protein uptake leads to an overall decrease in calcium excretion, leading to an overall increase in calcium retention.

Evidence suggests that protein, even in large amounts, isn't harmful to bones or kidneys, in fact it may have a positive impact on your calcium uptake.

Egg Yolks Are Bad For You

This is an old one and yes, foods such as eggs, high in cholesterol can increase LDL ('bad') cholesterol in most people, but to a fairly minor extent on average.

Clinical trials have found no association between eggs and cardiovascular diseases except in some people who are 'hyper-responsive' to dietary cholesterol.

Eggs are a great source of protein, fats and other nutrients. Their association with high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease has been severely overblown.

Red Meat Is Bad For You

This is one I have acted on by reducing my red meat intake.

Red meat causes cancer. Really, well it is difficult to discuss absolutes, indeed, almost everything we eat has the potential to be involved in cancer development.

There certainly is evidence that processed red meats, and particularly charred meats, can pose a greater cancer risk for those with poor diets and lifestyles. There is also some evidence that eating a lot of red or processed meat might increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Fears about red meat causing cancer are exaggerated. Making healthy lifestyle choices is more important than micromanaging your intake of red meat. If you do plan to eat less red meat, start with the kind that has been cured, smoked or highly processed.

Bread Is Bad For You

Bread will make you fat! Bread is full of gluten, that is bad for you!

Bread will not inherently make you fat, but because it is calorie dense, it is easily overeaten and is also often eaten with other highly calorific foods - butter, jam, pate spreads, peanut butter.

Definitely gluten can be a problem for some people. Outside of celiacs, you can suffer from non-celiac gluten sensitivity. So better to stay clear of bread in that case.

Of course whole-wheat bread is better for you! Well, there is more fiber, but the actual difference between while and whole-wheat bread is negligible .. there is far more fiber in fruit and vegetables.

While some people are sensitive to wheat, the gluten content isn't necessarily to blame, and other foods may be implicated. Bread, nor any other food, will inherently cause weight gain unless its consumption puts you in a caloric surplus. Though whole-wheat bread is claimed to be far healthier than white bread, they aren't that different, and neither contains high levels of fiber or micro-nutrients.

Fresh Is More Nutritious

'Fresh' sounds better than 'canned' or 'frozen'. Definitely.

While there are some differences between fresh and frozen for certain nutrients for certain fruits and vegetables, overall the nutritional content is very similar.

Canned produce does undergo more processing which can breakdown some essential nutrients, such as nitrates, but remember than even when you cook fresh produce these type of chemical reactions also occur that strip out certain nutrients. Canned goods though also see an increase in preservatives - particularly added slat and sugar. Read that label.

There is little difference between fresh and frozen produce, nutrient-wise. Canned produce tends to go under a lot more processing, but remember that cooking is a form of processing too. Overall, fresh and frozen produce might be more-nutritious than canned produce, but eating enough whole-food fruits and vegetables is more important than how they were processed.

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So, that's it! My top 5 myths. There are of course lots more that could be discussed. I guess the important thing is balance. Eating a varied diet and managing your lifestyle is far more important than focusing on one or more individual concerns about food and nutrition.