Myths about nutrition seem to linger for years just like urban legends.
Remember the one about grapefruit burning fat? What about coffee stunting your growth?
Maybe you’re still holding on to the belief that gelatin will make your nails stronger.
No doubt, you’ve fallen for a few weight-loss myths too. It’s easy to do with the continual crop of fad diets promising a quick fix. Who can forget the cider vinegar and cabbage soup diets?
Now desperate dieters are turning to options such as the ”master cleanse” or lemonade diet and other so-called detox diets. All too often, these extreme weight-loss regimens are popularized in the pages of celebrity magazines. Other food fads that come up short on true benefits include the ”raw food” movement, based on the false premise that cooking kills vital food enzymes required for digestion, and ”food combining,” the farfetched concept that starches and proteins should not be eaten in the same meal because they somehow compete with each other.
For National Nutrition Month, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) is encouraging us to be ”100% Fad Free,” the agency’s theme for this year. That means focusing on your overall health and not the latest diet craze. It also means seeking the truth about food rather than falling for popular myths that may lead you astray.
In honor of this year’s theme, we’ve put together a quiz to help you separate food fact from fiction. See if you can spot the nutrition myths.
MYTH OR FACT? (CIRCLE ONE)
1. Calories eaten at night are more fattening.
2. Fasting helps rid the body of toxins.
3. Skipping breakfast helps you lose weight.
4. Your body can’t tell the difference between honey and sugar.
5. Low-fat means low calories.
6. You can still eat shrimp and other shellfish on a cholesterol-lowering diet.
7. Multigrain foods are made with whole grains.
8. Olive oil has fewer calories than other fats.
9. Frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh.
10. Foods boasting ”0 trans fats” contain ”good” fats.
11. Organic food always is more nutritious.
1. Calories eaten at night are more fattening.
MYTH
It is total calories that count, not the time of day you eat them. Many diet books may warn against eating after 8 p.m., but there is no ”witching hour” that makes food more likely to adhere to your hips.
That said, avoiding late-night eating may be a smart strategy to help you eat less, said dietitian Elisa Zied of New York City. People who don’t eat all day and then come home and devour everything in sight are probably eating more than they think. So space your meals throughout the day and keep track of total calories, not the clock.
2. Fasting helps rid the body of toxins.
MYTH
A fast may give you the perception of ”cleaning out” your body’s impurities but there is no scientific evidence that this is true, Zied said. Our body is pretty self-sufficient. We have our own ”detox” system that filters out harmful products on a daily basis. You don’t need to deprive your body of food to make that happen.
Nor will fasting keep weight off. The promise of losing ”8 pounds overnight” may be alluring, but this is water weight, not fat, and it likely will be regained just as quickly. Remember: easy off, easy on. Plus, long-term fasting could be risky.
3. Skipping breakfast helps you lose weight.
MYTH
Studies show that breakfast skippers actually compensate for those missed calories by eating more throughout the day.
And you have to eat the right food: If you grab only a doughnut, you may be ravenous before lunch because of a rapid rise and fall in blood sugar, Zied said. She suggested a morning meal that contained fiber and protein.
People who regularly eat breakfast tend to have better luck losing weight and keeping it off.
4. Your body can’t tell the difference between honey and sugar.
FACT
Honey seems to have a more ”natural” appeal and some people claim it’s less fattening. But as far as your body is concerned, there is no difference if you dip into your sugar bowl or squirt from your honey bear bottle. Honey and sugar are both broken down into glucose and fructose.
Honey is a bit sweeter than sugar so you might use less, but that’s the only benefit. Raw sugar, turbinado sugar, brown sugar and evaporated cane juice are all basically the same too. They may be slightly less refined than white sugar, but that only means more molasses, which is nutritionally insignificant. (And by the way, sugar does not cause diabetes, another popular nutrition myth.)
5. Low-fat always means low calories.
MYTH
If you see the word ”low” on the label, that’s your clue to look a little further, suggested dietitian Susan Moores of Minneapolis. Check for serving size and the number of calories on the Nutrition Facts label. Low-fat foods often contain the same amount or even more calories than regular versions.
That’s particularly true for fat-free foods. If fat is taken out, something else is put back in — and that’s often sugar. Some studies suggest that snacks with low-fat labels simply entice you to indulge, so you end up eating more calories than if you selected the regular version.
6. You can still eat shrimp and other shellfish on a cholesterol-lowering diet.
FACT
Shrimp may be high in dietary cholesterol but it’s low in saturated fat, which is a bigger blood cholesterol-raising culprit. Studies now suggest that saturated and trans fats tend to have a greater effect on our blood cholesterol than the cholesterol we eat, according to dietitian David Grotto, a Chicago-based ADA spokesman. Experts still advise us to keep a lid on dietary cholesterol to keep our hearts healthy (300 milligrams a day), but we should be even more vigilant about saturated and trans fat. So as long as it’s not battered and fried, there may be no need to say sayonara to shrimp.
7. Multigrain foods are always made with whole grains.
MYTH
The only way to know for sure is to see if ”whole” is in front of every grain in the ingredient list, Moores advised. ”Multigrain” only means the product was made with several grains. You can’t assume that whole grains were used. The same is true for ”7-grain” or ”cracked wheat.” Even breads and cereals that say ”made with whole grains” may contain few whole grains. Look for products labeled ”100 percent whole grain.”
8. Olive oil has fewer calories than other fats.
MYTH
Somehow, with all the buzz about the heart-health benefits of olive oil, people forget that it’s still a fat, said dietitian Bonnie Taub-Dix of New York. All oils are 100 percent fat and supply basically the same number of calories–about 120 calories per tablespoon. ”Light” olive oil has nothing to do with the amount of calories: That simply refers to the flavor. So even though olive oil contains the ”good” monounsaturated fats, be mindful of how much you douse or drizzle.
9. Frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh.
FACT
Just-picked vegetables do have more vitamins and minerals, but the nutrient levels can drop the longer that produce is stored. Frozen vegetables are flash-frozen soon after picking to lock in nutrients. You can limit the loss of nutrients by steaming or microwaving with a little water or stir-frying with a bit of oil.
10. Foods boasting ?0 trans fats? contain ”good” fats.
MYTH
Sometimes the substitution was a saturated fat, which signals no significant improvement. Turn the product over and check the Nutrition Facts label. Front-of-the-package claims are marketing facts, back-of-the-package claims contain nutrition facts, explained dietitian and ADA president-elect Connie Diekman. Don?t assume that ”trans-fat free” is a healthful choice, she said. When a product says ”0 g trans fat,” by law it can contain up to half a gram per serving. So if you eat a jumbo portion, you may be getting more trans than you bargained for.
11. Organic food is always more nutritious.
MYTH
Few studies have compared organic and conventionally grown foods, according to food toxicologist Carl Winter, director of the FoodSafe program at the University of California at Davis. Some evidence suggests that organic produce may be higher in certain antioxidants, but there appears to be no nutritional advantage to organic milk and meat, he said. The descriptor refers to the practices on the farm and not the nutritional content of the final product. When it comes to the snack aisle, don’t assume that ”organic” gives you the green light to load up. An organic cheese puff is still a cheese puff.
How to spot a food fad
– Avoid diet plans that require you to eliminate entire categories of food or rely on expensive supplements.
– Be cautious about products that use words such as ”breakthrough” or ”miracle.” Cures for serious diseases are not sold in health food stores or on the Internet.
– Don’t be lured into buying pills or potions that claim to ”revitalize,” ”detoxify,” ”purify your blood” or ”balance your body with nature.”
– Be skeptical when products rely on personal anecdotes or testimonials rather than scientific evidence.
Bogus weight-loss claims
A claim is too good to be true if it says?
– Lose 2 pounds or more per week without dieting.
– Eat what you want and you’ll lose weight.
– Weight loss will be permanent, even after using the product.
– Blocks the absorption of fat or calories.
– Safely lose more than 3 pounds per week for more than four weeks.
– The product causes substantial weight loss for all users.
– Lose weight by wearing [this] on your body or rubbing [that] into your skin.
— Janet Helm
Source: Federal Trade Commission
The key to weight loss? A balancing act.
The basic rule of metabolism is like a math equation: One pound equals 3,500 calories. To lose a pound a week, that means subtracting 500 calories a day, best achieved by cutting 250 calories and burning 250 calories each day through exercise. That’s key for most people who successfully lose and keep weight off–mainly because you can eat more if you exercise more. Severely reducing calories also makes it difficult to get the nutrients you need. For long-term success, you need to learn a new way to live, not just a way to diet. Studies with ”successful losers” find that they all use similar tactics:
– Engage in daily physical activity
– Reduce calories and fat
– Eat breakfast
– Monitor weight on a regular basis
– Maintain a consistent eating pattern
– Catch ”slips” before they turn into larger regains
To find a registered dietitian to help you develop a weight loss plan, visit eatright.org.
Source: National Weight Control Registry
Our take on the diet book craze
First there was the South Beach Diet, and we looked away. After all, it was a variation on the Atkins craze and seemed a natural marketing evolution. Not that we’re endorsing that.
Then came the Sonoma Diet (”Trimmer waist, better health in just 10 days!”) and we groaned, ”Jumping on the geographical name bandwagon, eh?”
When ”The Hamptons Diet Cookbook” came out (”Over 200 Recipes and Entertaining Tips of the Rich, Famous and Thin”), well, then we were getting agitated.
That wasn’t the end, and now we really are riled up: ”The Saint-Tropez Diet?” What?s that? You tan all day and eat fruit?
Now they’ve really gone and done it, and we?ve had to take action. The Good Eating Subcommittee on Copycat Diet Themes has come up with some diet plans of our own. These are much more practical, much more in touch with your real life but not necessarily any less effective than the others. (As always, consult your physician first before following any diet craze.)
– The South Side Diet: Eat all the ribs ya want with plenty of beer–just skip the bun and make your brews light.
– The North Shore Diet: Brie and foie gras, darling–just have your personal trainer come three times a day.
– The Bucktown Diet: PBR (that’s Pabst Blue Ribbon for you non-hipsters) and cigarettes.
– The Gold Coast Diet: See North Shore Diet.
– The Naperville Diet: 2,000 calories of your favorite fast food and jog around the SUV five times daily.
Look for our next topic: The Frenchwomen copycats. ”Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat” is already out. What’s next? ”Italian Woman Might Get a Bit Fat, But They Look Great and Have Better Sex Lives?”
Don’t get us started.
Dieting through the decades
Diets go in and out of fashion, just like shoulder pads and hemlines. Many of today’s popular diet books are simply recycled concepts from years past. The sensible ones tend to say the same thing but often include a gimmick to sound new. Throughout the years, various foods have been demonized or praised as pound melters. Here’s a look at our history of dieting:
1864
”Letter on Corpulence”
By William Banting
First popular diet book that marked the beginning of carb bashing: no bread, potatoes or sugar
1917
”Diet and Health, with Key to the Calories”
By Lulu Hunt Peters
Ushered in the concept of counting calories
1930
”The Hay Diet”
By William Howard Hay
First to promote the virtues of separating your food, which sparked multiple copycat “food combining” diet books
1950
”Look Younger, Live Longer”
By Gayelord Hauser
Written by the first celebrity nutritionist who railed against processed foods while championing brewer?s yeast, blackstrap molasses and yogurt
1964
”The Drinking Man’s Diet”
By Robert Cameron
A low-carb, high-protein diet that tempted men with well-marbled steaks and martinis
1967
”Doctor’s Quick Weight Loss Diet”
By Dr. Irwin Stillman
Started the trend of the ?diet doctor? with this strict all-protein and water diet that allowed unlimited quantities of meat, cheese and eggs
1972
”Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution”
By Dr. Robert Atkins
Popularized the low-carb craze and other sugar-busting diets that claim carbohydrates are the root of all evil
1979
”The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet”
By Dr. Herman Tarnower
A more rigid version of the Atkins approach that told dieters exactly what to eat for two weeks.
1979
”The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet”
By Dr. Herman Tarnower
A more rigid version of the Atkins approach that told dieters exactly what to eat for two weeks
1981
”Beverly Hills Diet”
By Judy Mazel
Fruit was put on a weight-loss pedestal?touted for its so-called ability to soften, burn and flush out fat.
1987
”The Rotation Diet”
By Martin Katahn
Required you to rotate on and off a diet and vary your calories from week to week
1993
”Eat More, Weigh Less”
By Dr. Dean Ornish
Published at the height of the low-fat diet craze, with extremely low-fat meals full of vegetables
1995
”The Zone”
By Barry Sears
Called for a strict balance of carbs, protein and fats: a 40/30/30 approach
1996
”Eat Right 4 Your Type”
By Peter D’Adamo
Written by a naturopath who claims your blood type should dictate what you eat
1997
”The Weigh Down Diet”
By Gwen Shamblin
Put the weight loss struggle in God’s hands and started the trend of faith-based diets that remain popular
1999
”Get Skinny on Fabulous Food”
By Suzanne Somers
Reintroduced the concept of food combining, claiming that enzymes in proteins and carbohydrates ?cancel each other out?
2001
”Dr. Atkins? New Diet Revolution”
By Dr. Robert Atkins
Atkins made a comeback with this updated version that sparks the low-carb rise and fall.
2003
”The South Beach Diet”
By Dr. Arthur Agatston
Morphs low carbs into good carbs and high fats into good fats; helps put an end to the Atkins era
2005
”The Sonoma Diet”
By Connie Guttersent
Basically just the South Beach Diet with lots of wine
2007
”You: On a Diet: The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management”
By Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Michael Roizen
Explains the biology of your body and puts the emphasis on waist measurement,not weight
