9 Of The Most Common Nutrition Myths Ever Told
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Large meals will not stretch out your stomach more than small meals.
A notable example of nutrition myth that is actually false is that fish is dangerous because of high amounts of mercury. While it is true that mercury (or better methyl-mercury) is a poison, and fish indeed contain traces of it, eating fish is not the same at sucking a broken thermometer.
Fish also contains selenium, which protects from mercury. Most of the fish contains more selenium than that actually needed to achieve the balance and neutralize mercury. Exceptions are shark, swordfish and other big predators.
#2 is false. I agree that carbs from processed foods are not the most healthy but you forget that fruit is a carb source. FAT CAUSES MORE INSULIN RELEASE as the more fat present, the more difficult it is for the sugar to get into the cells. Also, the brain runs on glucose, and its tough to convert fat/protein into glucose. Do some more research, and research your research, research every person involved in every study you look at. Look at how the studies were developed and ran.
Go check out http://nutritionfacts.org/ or the multitude of youtube channels that will show you EXACTLY why #2 is wrong as well as a lot of other stuff that the low-carbers say. It may LOOK like low-carb is better but not once you realize the data was manipulated in one way or another. Whether it be industry conflict or knowing a specific result will occur if a study is done a certain way. this guy gets technical and detailed >>> https://www.youtube.com/user/PrimitiveNutrition/videos
BACK STORY on me. I started my journey believing that you could not get enough protein eating vegan as well as other non-sense myths. I fully converted over by doing research and researching the research I was doing. And than researching every person involved and identifying any connections they have. Also research the opposite side of the argument. Also some of the studies can only recognized as being manipulated if your have medical/human biology knowledge which is showcased in some of the more recent videos on http://nutritionfacts.org/
I am making this comment out of love and not disgust or arrogance. I have given the best 2 resources (I know of) to help get past the low/high carb issue.
Thanks for the info my friend, interested at looking into it.
Cheers,
Jeff
I know #2 to be true to me. I have stopped eating carbs and sugars and yes that includes fruit which contains fructose, which is one of the worst sugars to consume( i’m not disputing that most fruits do have good source of vitamins in them).
Personally tho I have never been healthier in my whole life because of it. Our bodies and mind do not need glucose to survive, our body makes a healthy amount of it on our own, we are amazing organisms! In my continuances research and experience our brain actually prefers to use ketones as fuel, rather then glucose which are produced when you only consume fats, proteins and very little carbs only vegetables. My brain clarity has never been better and I can speak for myself and many others that I know that all run there body on ketones rather then glucose. I have tested my blood, and I always have healthy blood sugar levels, without consuming any sugars or carbs.
Were you eating enough calories on high-carb? Also, separate “fructose” from fruit. Yes, it contains fructose but all the studies on fructose being bad are based on high fructose corn syrup, NOT FRUIT.
Hi Doober,
Thanks for the comment. Lowcarb/Highfat works for some people, doesn’t for others.
That’s why I experimented on myself every shade of fats/carbs ratio and found that I do extremely well on what I call a “reasonable carbs diet”, which means around 60g-80g on rest days and 100g on the days where I exercise. I don’t do well on VLC but I also get sicker, fattier (visceral fat), sleepier, and have higher inflammation levels with high-carb low-fat. So in the end my preferred source of calories stayed fats. Am I different than you? Seems so, but this doesn’t have to be a problem, we are different and have different requirements.
And by the way, I totally agree with you on one point: sugars are found in fruits, vegetables and roots, often in the form of resistant starches and soluble fiber, which we need in order to maintain a healthy gut flora.
One counter comment, where did you find the information that fats raise insulin levels? I remember that high glycemic loads (so carbs) and some proteins (caseins in particular) promote insulin release, not fats.
Your insulin specific question. It raises insulin by creating a barrier (fatty layer) over cells. Thus is requires more insulin for the sugar that is present to enter the cell. The fat itself does not raise insulin, it happens as a by product. I do not have sources off the top of my head, I will find them if you request.
Also, this very well may only happen with certain types of fats/oils. never looked into it too much. It made sense that the fat creates a layer and I learned this during the period of time where I was “intense” about this subject.
One extra counter comment (I hope Jeff allows me to spam like this).
The favorite fuel of the brain is the lactate, or alternatively ketones.
The brain burns sugar because it can, not because it must. In presence of excess of sugar in the blood, it helps sweeping out part of it (contrary to the muscles, the brain does not need insulin to use glucose). Don’t forget that high levels of sugar is poisonous and potentially mortal. The pancreas is the only other organ that can run on sugar without insulin.
However (I’m not serious here, of course) following the same logic, I have the ultimate proof that the favorite fuel of the brain is ethanol: in fact, in presence of alcohol in the blood, the brain immediately activates to use it! 😉
I would like the sources saying that the brain prefers lactate/ketones over glucose. But yes…its ALL just a bunch of words and figures, you can find info to back up anything.
“Lactate can be an ‘opportunistic’, glucose-sparing substrate when present in high amounts, but most evidence supports glucose as the major fuel for normal, activated brain.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22186669
It prefers glucose because there is an excess of it, I already explained it. You can’t study “overcarbed” subjects and say that this is the golden rule. If you base your research on 100 drug addicted you will end up with the scientific evidence that heroin is a essential nutrient.
Yes, I agree, poorly designed studies exist.
I was more in-depth with my second reading of this article, prompted by your reply. This article is saying that the brain produces lactate to use as fuel, more so during time of physical activity. But it also says that there is an increase in glucose utilization during physical activity. Maybe this study just doesn’t discuss what you are talking about with the favorite fuel of the brain being lactate thing. This study also mentions that glucose is the major source of fuel for the brain.
Here is the full text to the study. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3390802/ Maybe you have more experience in reading these studies and can explain how I may be mis-interpreting what it says.
Also, do you remember where you caught hold of this information? I am interested in reading it, especially after reading the article I referenced more thoroughly.
@Doober: I looked for the articles but couldn’t find them, it was long time ago, I had the time to digest the information, test it on myself and I confirm that once you are no more dependent on sugar (yes, it is addictive) our brains don’t need much of it to function properly. Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Plato themselves recommended fasting for mental clarity.
But the article you mention holds part of the answer: astrocytic glial cells produce lactate and ketones and are found inside the brain. If the brain were really craving glucose I would expect to find little bubbles of syrup scattered inside but no… I find local factories of ketones and lactate ions.
Excess of sugar used by the brain over long periods can be related to degenerative diseases like Alzheimer: since the brain has this burden of being able to burn sugars without a carrier (insulin), just like the pancreas (the disease related to excess of sugars in that case is type-2 diabetes), they are easily targeted when blood sugars levels raise.
However, to be 100% honest, I have to add that astrocytes are also capable of glycogenesis, so it seems that the brain needs both sources of energy. It is just interesting in my opinion to go back to the mental clarity thing that people on ketogenic diets experience, as opposed to the state of euphoria caused by sugar highs.
Cool, I like this conversation. It is intellectual and expanding. The very last part of that last reply was very interesting. Ketogenic diets producing mental clarity while high-carb diets produce euphoria. If only it was as easy to consume a vegan ketogenic diet, as it is to eat high-carb vegan.
How long do you think it would take, on average, for the body to make the switch from burning carbs to fats?
> How long do you think it would take, on average, for the body to make the switch from burning carbs to fats?
It is a bit out of topic regarding the main article, but I reply with pleasure.
I am not on a ketogetic diet, meaning that I am not in full blown ketosis 24/7. However I trained my body to burn fats efficiently, which means that if I can safely skip breakfast and lunch, exercise before dinner and then have a normal dinner. During those 24 hours the fat metabolism activates (actually it never stopped) and I drop into a mlld ketosis. Some people call it intermittent fasting.
To answer you question, the time needed is surprisingly short, it takes from 2 to 3 weeks, which shows how adaptable our bodies are. From an evolutionary point of view this can be the switch that allowed our ancestors to move from a diet with abundance of fruits (summer) to an animal based diet (winter): get fatter during summer, then burn it on a ketogenic diet during winter.
I agree it is advantageous to be able to switch to ketosis quickly. And I agree that ketosis is a wonderful ability that our bodies possess as it keeps us from dying when we are in situation of starvation!
I also do not eat until later into the day but I am always high-carb when I do eat. You actually do not live a ketogenic diet but yet support it?
I am curious who you have learned about ketosis from?
Have you ever seen these videos? There are 4 of them, 7 minutes each. I highly recommend these videos, if only to supplement your current knowledge of this subject.
The link to the 1st – http://youtu.be/sbWydBBCOKk
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th video should be the first 3 positions in the suggested videos column.
I do not support KD, except for specific clinical situations. I just think that today people are eating too many carbs and not enough fats.
Nice set of videos btw, not that I agree with all that is spoken there (for example, it is impossible for an elite athlete to be on LCHF, our teeth are made for grinding, etc), but I agree with him on most other points.
Permanent ketosis is not the preferred metabolic state, I never said that. It is an option which comes extremely handy for cleansing fasting.
Ahhh, I see. I also agree that is does indeed aid certain situations.
IMO its more about people eating too many shitty carbs and not enough of the right type of fat more than simply too many carbs/not enough fat. **maybe thats what you actually meant.
“Permanent ketosis is not the preferred metabolic state, I never said that.”
My apologies for putting words in your mouth. Not accustomed to individuals discussing issues in the way you have with. Also, fasting, yes, I intend to integrate fasting into my overall “health routine” when conditions are correct. Elite athletes unable to perform with LCHF is an opinion, so again, we agree. Some of our teeth are surely for grinding, but certainly not all of them.
Ever since I started working on my diet and health in general my fat intake has averaged probably about 15, maybe even 20% so not technically low fat if you talk with some people. I eat fat thru avocados (almost daily with the salad) as well as nuts and I still use bottled salad dressing. If it wasnt for the dressing, I would be under 15%. For me, its important to eat at least some type of fat outside the little thats in most plant foods. Aiming for no more than 10% calories from carbs is really tough, and a lot of people are even going as far as 90% carbs, 5% fat/protein. I have never been that low for more than a day or two at a time but I do know that once I start approaching 25% fat, I become groggy and cloudy. But if I stay right around 15% or drop to 10%, I am always full of energy and with a clear head, even if I go an entire day without eating.
For me its about eating a whole foods plant-based diet, with variety, and not eating processed foods. Not so much about caloric ratios. I do believe ratios are important to consider and be aware of so that, over time, whats best for the individual can be discovered.
> For me its about eating a WHOLE FOODS plant-based diet, with VARIETY, and NOT eating PROCESSED FOODS.
Isn’t it interesting that, regardless the choice of being LCHF, HCLF, high protein, vegan, vegetarian, pescovegetarian or omnivorous… in the end those for which their diets work have at least THESE three things in common?
@Jeff R.: I think this would require a separated article. A lot of interesting discussions could arise…
haha, yes, it is indeed! 🙂
I actually thought of that myself after writing out that last message. All this science geared towards high-fat or high-carb is kinda bullshit. Whether it be direct manipulation of data, straight faced lying, or just terrible study design. Example: when studying the ratio issue, the carbs that are used are white bread or even sugar water or the fat that’s used is straight lard or oil. Using pure forms of calories will not give accurate results lol.
Ratios are important to be aware of, but should not be the focus for most people. I would think, If an individual eats a whole foods diet and abstains from processed items, their body will do just fine with a wide range of ratios. I know I do. Oreos drag me down more than avocado, for example.
I am grateful for this conversation. It has guided me towards these realizations and allowed me expand my knowledge even more.
I thank you for the part you played 🙂
Plus, regardless of this entire article and all the comments, there are some simple things that most people don’t do that would increases their health. The number one, IMO, being most people are dehydrated all the time. Its actually tough to discuss diet because of all these other issues that may be playing a role in someone not experiencing the results they were looking for. It ends up being about lifestyle.
I think the reason I initially commented was more to shed light on bad studies than to rip on high-fat. All this terrible advice based on scientific studies is causing a lot of people health damage. http://youtu.be/a-Tx9dCbv-g You may have an aversion to it partially because it brings into play the mercury in seafood issue. But I believe, based on our conversation so far, that this wont cause you to discredit the video completely and that it add to your knowledge.
Amazing and relevant article about the food system.
http://aeon.co/magazine/philosophy/tovar-cerulli-vegetarian-food-production-hunting/
Dear dooberdoober, Your belief in multiple research is good and commendable. It is, therefore puzzling why you state that FAT CAUSES MORE INSULIN RELEASE. Dietary fat does not trigger off an insulin dump into the blood stream. It is beyond dispute that excess glucose levels in the blood cause insulin dump to clear the blood of this blood sugar. This produces two results. One becomes hungry and the insulin turns the glucose into adipose tissues and deposits them as body fat.
Yeah, I could have worded that better. The fat interferes, or coats, the outer layer of cells and as a result the sugar has a more difficult time entering the cell, which in turn causes additional insulin release. It is still the sugar creating a need for insulin. I have best witnessed this be consuming large amount of donuts, or other sugary sweets. Eat, eat, eat, eat, crash, wake up feeling shitty.
Years and years of that happening before I hear about this fat coating cells decreasing ease of sugar entrance into the cell subject matter. The individual was also saying that the entire thing is a massive spike in insulin because, not just the sugar or fat alone, but the almost 50/50 mixture of fat and carb/sugar. The crash comes from low blood sugar after an event such as this.
I can sit and eat 1500-2000 calories from fruit and then get up and go be active, no problem. Or if I eat that many calories in candy, no problem. If I eat it in high fat, nuts and avocado, I become a little sluggish but not much, more so with nuts because of tough digestion. But if I eat close to that 50/50 ratio, super tired, or passed out.
**I have never eaten this amount in all “clean” burning vegan high fat foods.
I am always open to new information. Im all for the best diet, of the future, including foods that I currently do not eat. I am all about transparency and facts that are completely void of manipulation.
Here a doctor addresses some soy myths, like some of the ones listed in the above article:
http://freefromharm.org/health-nutrition/vegan-doctor-addresses-soy-myths-and-misinformation/
Eggs are the second highest source of cholesterol in the diet (the first being animal brains). Newsflash, we don’t need to eat cholesterol, our body makes the perfect amount on a healthy plant-based diet. Here’s more on that from another actual doctor:
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/avoiding-cholesterol-is-a-no-brainer/
Thanks for the links Larry, will definitely look into it. I think there are a lot of myths surrounding soy. I find people are quick to state that all soy is GMO, which isn’t true. Then there’s the myth about forming ‘man boobs’ from eating soy.
I was once someone who refuted the idea that soy is bad for you, it was a staple in my diet (as I eat a plant-based diet). But after awhile I noticed I would get headaches after consuming non-fermented soy products such as tofu, soy milk, or soy protein powder. I also noticed my stomach would bloat like no other.
After looking more into it, I realized that non-fermented, processed soy products weren’t the most healthful foods to be eating. I do eat tempeh on a regular basis however. I will also have organic tofu from time to time, just not as often as I used to. I guess the best way of knowing whether or not a food is harmonious with your body is by tuning into your body after you’ve eaten it, really notice how you feel. Everyone is different after all.
Cheers,
Jeff @ CE
The eggs topic should be addressed independently from the cholesterol thing.
As you said, 75% of the cholesterol we have is auto-produced. Do you want your body to produce 100% of it, feel free, our body is designed to produce cholesterol because it is fundamental for our health and indispensable structural part of all our internal organs, especially the brain.
But eggs don’t have just cholesterol inside, they have the highest quality proteins you can imagine, plus all the vitamins and minerals both in a form ready to be assimilated.
I prefer to think of eggs as a nutrient dense food which fight for perfection with the liver from grass-fed beef. Eggs are relatively cheap, easy to prepare (if you know how to prepare them… most people would need a tutorial) and practical to bring as a snack at work or for a hike.
In short, I prefer my body to produce just 50% of the missing cholesterol and enjoy eggs in quantities.
Hemp oil is by far the best source of the omegas.
So how do we know THIS article is telling the truth??? Maybe it is. I’m getting tired of all these “Everything you thought you knew about….is wrong” type articles.
Great point John. I guess the only way to know what stands out as true is by looking into the studies yourself. There are many studies referenced in the article, I encourage you to look into them and come to your own conclusion. That’s the best way to do it in my opinion.
All the best,
Jeff @ CE
Well written and researched Jeff, You are quite right in saying that people need to draw their own conclusions, The beauty about access to the internet is that we no longer have to accept what we are being told, we can make the effort to do our own research and eventually the truth will set us free , ultimately the choices one makes throughout our lives will determine the end result, A life of abundant health or one that will lead to the path of chronic illness . Personally since accepting responsibility for my own health I have not been ill or needed a doctor for over 30 years.
Hi Jeff, Good work on the 9 myths. During my research into nutrition and weight control for the past 12 years two things became chrystal clear. 1) one can find a research report that supports categorically any proposition concerning food ingredients that other research reports categoriccally reject. 2) the Official “healthy eating” advice of the past 40 years, based on the diet/heart hypothesis is vacuous and in consequence, counterproductive. Evidence? The obesity epidemic explosion during the same period.In my book ESCAPE FROM OBESITY: the route out of the diet jungle, I expose these anomalies and provide a route map out of the confusion that exists concerning weight control. May be you might like a copy?
John, I agree with you, recently there is a competition between scientists for publishing this kind of researches. One day butter is bad, the following day it is good, tomorrow it will again be the villain responsible for all the diseases in the world.
Just remember this: not only researches (and researchers) CAN be manipulated, believe me, THEY ARE.
What we cannot ignore is the current situation. Decades of pyramid, low-fat / high-grain, animal fat is is bad vegetable oils is good, grass-fed is no better than grain-fed, etc. This paradigm produced the worst health emergency in human history. So it is time to question it.
Another one to add to this list of shocking myths, it that we should all reduce our salt intake. Salt is quite energising and helps distribute the nutrients around our body in conjunction of course with water. Salt water is awesome, to drink and swim in. For years we were told to reduce salt, and lack of salt means low energy.
I hope people don’t think this article is educational . I expect more from ce
Hi Tia,
I’m sorry you found this article unhelpful. Could you point out anything in specific that you find misleading? I’m always open to doing more research to expand my knowledge. I would never want to provide unhelpful or misleading information to the public.
Thank you,
Jeff @ CE
How about this perspective: who stands to gain by misleading nutritional health? Who has the most money and what diet cause more destruction than personal health. Who’s pockects get fatter if we eat more or less eggs or other animal products for that matter. Nutritional information is the most biased info out there. There are 3 sides to the story : Their side… Our side… And then the truth. When you mentioned the soy beans being GMO and sprayed with round-up I chuckled because the animals we eat eat more of it than we do.
Great read, thanks Jeff!
Leaving out a particular food group that we were always eating and designed to eat is not in fact healthy. We are omnivores. However a few things to qualify what I am saying is first we should be eating everything in its pure unprocessessed form without added chemicals hormones or artiifcial vitamins. Food in it’s pure unprocessed form contains items that are considered bad for us to eat such as cholestrol yes but it also contains items to counteract these. I like the comment that you made though to listen to your own body if a particular food item/group leaves you feeling worse don’t eat it.
I think it is also about balance. Grains in themselves should not make up the biggest part of our diet as we are taught.
Also though people have particular illnesses that call for a removal of a partiuclar food group, i.e having particularly high yeast infections such as candida should reduce sugar intake from fruits etc as these feed the yeasts just an example but if you are a completely healthy individual you should be ensuring your vegetable intake is high, your grain intake moderate, fruit intake moderate and red meat intake low but not non-existent.
Using as a guide the alkalinity charts will help as well. A healthy body will manage its own PH balance if fed with a balanced diet but an ill body needs some assistance by ensuring you eat foods that promote an alkaline state will assist your body in achieving health and balance.
These fad diets in themselves especially the low fat diet in themselves are dangerous especially if they encourage you towards the artificial sweeteeners and highly processed oils.
These are my thoughts on this I have become increasingly angered by the research articles etc that are published all in the name of money without any real thought to the truth in full and I can’t advocate more your comments about doing research for yourself and then researching the research. The other thing that angers me on this whole is the peer pressure that accompanies these debates on diet and especially on the whole debate on innoculations which I won’t comment on further so as not to change the subject.
the 5 a day myth is another one. If you only eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day its not enough.
This article reminded me of a great documentary use to be in the internet but no mor called EATING OURSELVES TO DEATH.. I like what someone saw above draw their own conclusions, there is no possible way another can find solutions for your own problems, in fact I believe that has been the biggest mistake, you can only be certain of what to do when YOU have tried different options yourself and decide what is best for your particular reality, the rest are only information in the space, wisdom can be everywhere but is not for everybody
What about dairy & meat products? I think these also needs to be included in the above list. Checkout the ‘Forks over knives’ documentary on netflix.
http://www.forksoverknives.com/10-things-wish-americans-knew-meat-dairy-industries/
Hello Vaishnavi, So much misinformation is circulating around concerning food ingredients and the nutritional values they represent. Based on objective information, some of these phoney facts are demolished in a new book, ESCAPE FROM OBESITY: the route out of the diet jungle. Can be obtained from Amazon. You will be surprised, even shocked perhaps if you read it.
http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/09/22/forks-over-knives-is-the-science-legit-a-review-and-critique/
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