1. Myth: Eating at night makes you fat.
Reality: Although some small studies have found mixed results, there’s no real proof to support this myth. Eating breakfast is linked to lower body mass index, but calories count whenever you eat them. It’s the total that matters, whether consumed day or night.
2. Myth: Avoid foods with a high glycemic index.
Reality: You could use the glycemic index to adjust your food choices, but don’t make it your sole strategy for losing weight or controlling blood sugar. For individuals who already count carbs, this can be a way to fine-tune food choices, but it isn’t a magic key for weight loss.
3. Myth: High fructose corn syrup causes weight gain.
Reality: There’s probably nothing particularly bad about high fructose corn syrup compared to regular sugar. This diet myth arose in 2003 when researchers noticed that obesity was rising along with the use of high fructose corn syrup. They speculated that our bodies manage high fructose corn syrup differently than sugar, but there’s no evidence to support that. The American Medical Association recently concluded that high fructose corn syrup doesn’t contribute to obesity beyond its calories.
4. Myth: Caffeine is unhealthy.
Reality: Besides caffeine’s famous alertness buzz, there’s some evidence that caffeine may have a positive effect on some diseases, including gout and Parkinson’s disease. Also, caffeine doesn’t dehydrate people who consume it regularly. But, beware because caffeine isn’t always listed on product labels, and children who drink a lot of caffeinated energy drinks may get more caffeine than their parents expect.
5. Myth: The less fat you eat, the better.
Reality: For some people, counting fat grams can work for weight control. People with heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome may benefit from adding a little healthy fat — the monounsaturated kind — and cutting back on carbohydrates. But, they shouldn’t increase their overall fat intake — just swap saturated fat for monounsaturated fat.
6. Myth: To eat less sodium, avoid salty-tasting foods and use sea salt in place of table salt.
Reality: Your sense of taste doesn’t always notice sodium, and sea salt or other gourmet salts aren’t healthier than table salt. Just because it doesn’t taste salty doesn’t mean that it isn’t salty. Many processed foods contain a lot of sodium — check the label.
Sea salt contains slightly less sodium per teaspoon than table salt only because sea salt is coarser, so fewer grains fit into the teaspoon.
7. Myth: Drinking more water daily will help you lose weight.
Reality: There’s no evidence that water peels off pounds. Foods containing water — such as soup — can fill you up, but just drinking water alone doesn’t have the same effect. Our thirst mechanism and our hunger mechanism are two different things.
8. Myth: Whole grains are always healthier than refined grains.
Reality: Whole grains are a healthy choice, but you needn’t ditch refined grains. You can have some of each. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “My Pyramid” dietary guidelines recommend getting at least half of your grain servings from whole grains.
Enriched grains, refined grains with certain nutrients added, have some perks. They generally are going to have more folate, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and iron. Whole grains usually have more fiber, vitamin E, selenium, zinc and potassium, so there’s kind of a trade-off.
9. Myth: Sugar causes behavioral problems in kids.
Reality: You might want to check your expectations about sugar and children’s behavior. For most children, excitement probably is more related to events than to consuming sugar. Research shows that when parents think their kids have been given sugar, they rate the children’s behavior as more hyperactive — even when no sugar is actually eaten.
10. Myth: Protein is the most important nutrient for athletes.
Reality: It is true that athletes need more protein than sedentary people. They just don’t need as much as they think. And, they probably don’t need supplements because it’s likely they’re getting plenty in their food. However, timing does matter. After weight training, athletes should consume a little bit of protein — about 8 grams, the amount in a small carton of low-fat chocolate milk — to help their muscles rebuild.
Diet fads come and go. Separating nutrition myth from reality boils down to this: Step back, check out the evidence and be a bit skeptical. Here is some specific advice.
• Look for red flags. These include promises that sound too good to be true or dramatic statements refuted by reputable health organizations.
• Think critically. Consider the “facts” touted in diet myths. Are they from biased or preliminary research? One study doesn’t make a fact. The messages need to be evidence-based, which means multiple studies conducted in large groups of people and reviewed by independent scientists.
• Ask an expert. A registered dietitian or other health professional can help you tell nutritional fact from fiction.
Remember, there are no magic bullets. The true approach to good health includes an overall healthy eating pattern, enjoyed and followed over time.
Anita Marlay, R.D., L.D., is a dietitian in the cardiac rehab department at Lake Regional Health System in Osage Beach.
