7 Myths About Your Favorite “Foods” – BUSTED!
We all know that one person whose eyes always pop open when they see us indulging in our favorite chocolate bars because “That’s gonna make you fat! And give you acne”. Getting fat and acne, now that sounds like a nightmare! But, what’s the scientific evidence behind it? Have we ever asked ourselves this? The answer is probably “No”.
The fun fact behind this oblivion is “Let’s face it, myths and misinformation are much more seductive than the truth,” says Keith-Thomas Ayoob, Ed.D., R.D., professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Today we’re going to enlighten you with the truths about your favorite foods that has been prejudiced with misinformation and thanks to science, some of them have proven to do the total opposite of the myths revolving around them to our body.
“Eggs are not so good for your heart” – Who doesn’t love a bright, sizzling, right out of the pan sunny-side-up or a deliciously poached egg in breakfast? We all do. This energy booster, a great source of our daily protein has a bad reputation of having bad cholesterol. Busted! Cholesterol is the fatty stuff in our blood and can contribute to clogging of the arteries and cause heart attack. But according to experts the scenario is not correct. “Epidemiologic studies show that most healthy people can eat an egg a day without problems,” says Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., distinguished professor of nutrition at Penn State University.
“Carrots are good for improving eyesight” – The British during World War II tried to convince Germany that the success behind the Royal Air Force shooting down German aircrafts was the outcome of “superhuman” night vision due to eating Carrots! Mind blown right? Busted! While its true that carrot is an excellent source of Vitamin A which helps maintain eye health but it doesn’t really contribute to improving eyesight. The Royal Air Force was only using the new radar technology and not guzzling on carrots!
“Washing chicken will get rid of bacteria” – Everyone has this idea that chicken when washed properly can get rid of all the bacteria. Busted! Water alone can not get rid of bacteria if not cooked properly. In fact, there’s a chance the bacteria in chicken while washing can spread and contaminate the surrounding surface. To get rid of bacteria chicken has to reach the internal temperature of 75° C.
“You can lose weight if you skip one meal or two” – The idea of gaining weight that reaches an unhealthy state is always terrifying to health conscious people. In some point of our life we have assumed that skipping meals will stop us from gaining the additional unwanted weight. Busted! While short, intermittent fasting and very-low-calorie diets can offer some benefits, skipping meals has almost always resulted in the opposite scenario. it can affect metabolism, slowing it down to compensate for a lack of food to process. And slow metabolism contributes to weight gain.
“Eating raw fruits and veggies is the healthier option than cooked” – Busted! Cooking vegetables can eliminate some nutrients, true, but the vegetables and fruits we eat these days are packed with preservatives that can cause adverse effect on health. Cooking or simply washing them in boiling water can get rid of the preservatives and make the digestion process and absorption of nutrients easier as the gut has more difficulty digesting raw food.
“Chocolate is the most unhealthy food on planet earth” – As we have mentioned before, people often get judged if they are seen indulging in chocolate as it is considered to be packed with calories. *Drumroll please* That myth is Busted! It is usually the amount of sugar in most chocolate that accounts for its poor reputation. The cacao bean contains flavonoids that may help prevent inflammation; the darker the chocolate and the more cacao it contains (by percentage), the healthier it is.
“Having a glass of warm lemon water in the morning wakes up metabolism.” – Busted! Metabolism is highly genetical and one can not simply adjust it with a glass of lemon water. Lemon water being a great dose of vitamin C can provide hydration to the body and affect the alkaline level thus can be correlated to temporary metabolism shifts. However, lemon water by itself will not help shed pounds.
Knowing what we eat is always necessary if we are planning to lead a healthy life. I hope we have successfully painted a smile on your face by busting the myths about your favorite foods. Now ditch your old-school thinking and eat to your heart’s content without a fear in mind! Happy eating!
