Accept it or not, you are in midst of people who set fitness goals to re-build their poor health. Today people are crazily following anything and everything they read about health and nutrition online. But have you ever thought if the information passed through media is genuine? It is sad to note here that, tons of misinformation is spread on internet. It spreads like wildfire and people tend to believe all the fake information which they come across. With the advancement of internet, people talk and share nutrition myths that are not worth believing. Read on the article in case you were planning to adopt some healthy habits and quit fake information passed on.
Myth 1: Carbs are unsafe
We have already mentioned in our previous blog, that Indian recipe is rich in simple carbs and hence not sufficient to kick start a day. You tend to be lethargic half way through the day. That obviously doesn’t mean that carbs are totally unsafe if added to your diet. To maintain a well balanced diet, your body definitely needs carbs. In addition, media is unnecessarily generalizing carbs and insulin. They say, carbs is causing insulin insensitivity, which might be true in case of diabetic patients, but not with healthy people who are following healthy diet.
Fact: As long as you don’t overeat, carbs are not perilous.
Myth 2: Fats are dangerous
It is one of the traditional myths followed by most of us. It says, ADD fat, and ADD weight! People are in a misconception that adding fats in the diet increases the cholesterol levels that are absolutely dangerous. Hence people force themselves to follow low-fat diet that won’t actually do wonders on their health. Remember adding fat doesn’t make you fat! In fact, it is dangerous if you shun the intake of fats completely. Your body requires at least a tiny amount of fat (omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids). But trans-fatty acids and saturated fatty acids are blamed more for causing heart disease. Hence they are considered to be detrimental to health.
Fact: A little intake of fat will never kill you. A minimum of fat (omega-3 and omega-6) is very much required for balancing your diet. But too much intake of trans fats may cause hazards.
Myth 3: Proteins are unsafe
Many times, the blame is on carbs and fats for any health issue caused. But the third culprit pointed by media is proteins. It is royally blamed for causing bone and kidney damages. Intake of proteins was linked to increased urinary calcium; this was believed to cause damage in bones. But it was proved that urinary calcium had zero effect on bone mass. Proteins actually protected bones and had no bad effects on it.
Another study tried to counterfeit that, due to intake of high proteins there was an increased glomerular filtration rate (GFR). GFR is nothing but a test which tells how well the kidneys are working. But it was proved by research that kidney damage does not crop up because of high proteins in the diet.
Fact: Proteins are never harmful for your body irrespective of any amounts consumed. They are not harmful to the kidneys either, unless a person is suffering from a pre-existing health condition.
Myth 4: Egg yolks are unhealthy
Media has successfully scared people away from innocent foods such as egg yolks. An egg yolk is packed with high nutrients, and thus contains high levels of cholesterol. As discussed before “Cholesterol” has scared most of us. People are in the mistaken assumption that, consuming food high in cholesterol will lead to increased cholesterol levels. Till date, there has been no clinical record, which has reported that eggs have caused cardiovascular disease. Hence, yolks are unhealthy only for few people who suffer with specific pre-existing conditions (such as hyperglycemia or diabetes) and not for a common person who is following healthy diet.
Fact: Whole eggs are considered as a great source of healthy nutrients. Egg yolks in particular cannot cause cardiovascular diseases. It can be included in a healthy diet without any second thought in your mind.
Myth 5: Salt is unhealthy
In case you dint know, intake of salt (sodium) is very essential for the body. But people tend to reduce the intake of salt as a precautionary measure to avoid hypertension. Of course it is true but ONLY for people who suffer with salt-sensitive hypertension. Healthy people mistakenly restrict salt for no good reason.
Fact: Salt is strongly advisable in diet, except for people with salt-sensitive hypertension. The amount should be limited, anything too much is always harmful and salt is not an exception.
Misinformation is hard to identify. You might have encountered the above mentioned myths through the media, or from your walking friend. All you need to do is to figure out what has practical relevance. After all it is common knowledge to know that, one cannot exercise a bad diet.
Questions?