Some Popular Food Myths Decoded
07-06-2017 | Posted By: Rajni Joshi | 3995 View(s)
Do you eat less just because you think you are all set to lose weight and eating less will help you achieve your target of being slim and fit? Many of us just believe in the food myths that we have heard at our homes, but did you ever try to search for the factual correctness of these Food myths? Are there any proven facts or reasons behind these myths? Everybody desires for a fit and healthy body, but are you making the right efforts to achieve the goal?
People often skip meals and avoid consuming fats in their diet for the sake of reducing weight, but it is a proven fact that skipping meals can never help in reducing weight. Not only these, but there are many other food myths that we blindly believe in.
Food Myths Decoded
1. Eliminating Fats from diet will help in Reducing Weight
It’s not a good idea to eliminate fat from your diet.Fat is one of the nutrients required in our daily diet. It is considered as the most concentrated source of energy. It is generally recommended not to exceed more than 30 % or 80 grammes per day for an average healthy person.
A single exchange of fat provides 9 kcal which is half of the energy provided from other nutrients. There are various fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A which can not be absorbed in the absence of some fat in the body.Now fats are of different types, i.e., saturated(cream, cheese, butter, etc.) and unsaturated(vegetable oils, walnuts, almonds, peanut butter, etc.).
The physical difference between these two is that saturated fats are solid at room temperature whereas unsaturated fats are said to be liquid at room temperature.
It is commonly recommended to consume more unsaturated fats(monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats) than saturated as unsaturated fats may lower the risk for some diseases that majorly includes some cancers and heart diseases.Also, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can raise good cholesterol levels and lower bad cholesterol whereas saturated fats and trans fats are said to be unhealthy.
Although saturated fats have been considered as “bad fats” since long for their bad effects on heart but an academic medical journal called “Annals Of Internal Medicine” which is published by American College Of Physicians, sparked renewed update about the effects of fats and heart health.It says that in a study of more than 600,000 people from 18 countries.Some of these already had heart disease, whereas others did not. The researchers reanalyzed the results; an approach called a meta-analysis.
After all the efforts, there was a surprising conclusion which revealed that saturated fats which are thought to raise the heart diseases had no effect. Neither any other fat had an effect except trans fats which are known to raise the bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol were associated with a higher risk of heart diseases.
Now, you might be having an idea about what fats to eat and what not. But just eliminating all the fat sources won’t only have a bad effect on your health but It will also affect your skin and physical appearance.If you do not have enough of these in your diet, your body will be affected which will majorly include
-Dry, dull or bumpy skin
-Dry and brittle hair
-Soft and brittle nails
-Night blindness
-Fatty food cravings and depression
-Lack of energy
2. Eating less leads to Weight Loss
People often believe these Food Myths and follow a strict low-calorie diet or eat less than it is required per day. But it does not work that way. Yes, you heard it right! Why? Let’s figure out. There are certain daily dietary recommendations for each category, i.e., for children, adults(male and female), teenagers and elders.
If you keep eating less than that, you may end up having some sort of health Problems. Eating less doesn’t burn the body fat. Instead, it results in weakness and lack of energy in your body. People who eat less to reduce their weight actually worsen their condition.
3. Skipping Breakfast is Weight Management
Do you feel lazy all day when you skip the meal? But you still do it because you feel you need to lose weight? Never Ever forget that breakfast it the most important meal of the day. Breakfast is considered as healthy and one of the most important meals of the day. Why?? Let us figure it out.
Breakfast is essential for us as it is taken after a long gap of around 8-10 hours. Skipping such an important meal may lower the metabolism. Not only this but when the meal is finally taken, it is stored as fat in your body so never skip meals if you want to be healthy, energetic and fit.
4. Not eating sugar, Prevents Diabetes
“Let’s have this candy; this is sugar-free” let’s not have sugar in our daily diet and we are less prone to get diabetes”. Don’t you believe in these food myths? Then you are not the only one! Based on Several studies it has been said that if you avoid sugar, it nowhere means that you can’t get diabetes. People often refrain from having sugar completely so as to prevent diabetes but it is entirely wrong to do so. As mentioned earlier, you should never eat or consume less than what is required on a daily basis, for a normal healthy adult 25 grammes or 6 spoons is enough for a day, says WHO.
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As per the studies and researches, there are two types of diabetes, i.e., type 1 and type 2. In type 1, your immune system destroys cells present in your pancreas which makes insulin, which causes diabetes. Whereas in type 2 diabetes, the pancreas can still produce insulin, but the body is not able to respond to it appropriately.In both the cases, glucose can’t get into the cells normally, and as a result, it leads to the rise in blood sugar levels.
5. Drink as much Water as you can
“Drinking a lot of water is the secret of my beauty” you must have seen or heard the celebrities using this line to answer when asked about how they are so attractive or healthy. Well, it may be true in some cases, but there are possibilities when you may overdo this. Let’s quickly find out the drawbacks of drinking water more than what the body requires.
If you drink water in excess, it leads to the increased blood volume in the body which puts pressure on veins and ultimately leads to a rise in blood pressure. Excess of water in your body can lead to swelling in your body.
It is said that drinking more water improves weak digestion but is it so? Digestion problems such as gas, acidity and constipation occur due to the weak digestive system, and digestive enzymes are responsible for that. In case you have slow digestive power, it signifies that you may have less or diluted digestive enzymes. So water plays no role in it, and it will not be helping if you have a weak digestive system. Instead, if you drink water in excess and you have a poor digestive system it may lead to worsening of the condition.
The amount of water for a healthy person can not be determined as there are many factors associated with it such as the weather, the amount of time spent on physical activity and exercise, the type of work a person does as well as the amount of other liquid drinks that the person may take.
Every individual is not the same, right? Every Individual has a different body shape, colour and personality, why do you need to be like someone else? Why can’t you be just you? Being chubby is not wrong at all, but yes, being overweight and obese may be a problem because you are more prone to get diseases then. But you can lose weight by inculcating simple changes in your lifestyle, which includes exercising, yoga and majorly having a nutrients rich, balanced diet. It’s not that easy to leave junk food altogether, but yes you can try to bring it to the minimum.
Hope you were able to decode some very common Food M yths.Have a healthy and balanced diet and don’t take all these Food myths seriously which are not supported by facts. Never ever miss any meal especially the breakfast as it is taken after a long gap. Skipping and eliminating any of the nutrients won’t actually lead to weight loss but, yes it can surely make you weak and less healthy that we surely don’t want to happen. Go in for Regular Checkup especially once you hit the 40’s. Stay healthy, Stay happy and keep tuned for more Health Tips
