SUPER DIET FOR SUPERMAN

MYTH: When trying to gain muscle, one should eat extra amounts of protein.

FACT: Around 10 – 35% of the daily dietary intake should be protein – whether trying to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain weight. Most of this comes from our regular food and we seldom need to take protein supplements. Recent studies show that consuming additional amounts of protein don’t correlate with muscle growth. Also, extra protein does not make you stronger. There is no super-diet for super performance. Besides, high protein diet often lack key nutrients found in carbohydrate foods. You need every kind of food.

JUST BECAUSE I’M PROCESSED

MYTH: Processed foods are not as nutritious as fresh foods.

FACT: Many processed foods are just as nutritious or in some cases even more nutritious than fresh foods depending on the manner in which they are processed. Frozen vegetables are usually processed within hours of harvest. There is little nutrient loss in the freezing process so frozen vegetables retain their high vitamin and mineral content. In contrast, fresh vegetables are picked and transported to market. It can take days or even weeks before they reach the dinner table and vitamins are gradually lost over time no matter how carefully the vegetables are transported and stored.

Some processed foods, such as breads and breakfast cereals, have vitamins and minerals added for extra nutrition. Processing can also make some nutrients more available. For example, removing phytic acid from grain foods by removing the bran helps to improve the absorption of iron from a food. Processing tomatoes into a tomato paste or sauce increases the amount of lycopene (an antioxidant) that is available to the body.

MYTH: Processed foods have no benefits.

FACT: Food processing makes many foods available that we couldn't otherwise eat. Without food processing, we certainly wouldn't have the large variety of food products we see on supermarket and store shelves. Food processing enables the year-round availability of foods that have limited growing seasons. Processing extends the shelf life of foods and helps in increasing the quality and safety of many foods. Convenience is another major benefit of foods that have been processed.

I'M FAT BUT NOT BAD

MYTH: All Fats are bad
FACT: Fats are important in people’s diet, the USDA recommends that around 30% of total daily caloric intake comes from fat (with less than 10% coming from saturated fatty acids). Fats help nutrient absorption, nerve transmission and maintain cell membrane integrity. However, when consumed in excessive amounts, fats contribute to weight gain, heart disease and certain types of cancers. Also, one must keep in mind that fats differ in their effect on the body. Some fats promote our health positively while some increase our risk for heart disease. The key is to replace bad fats (saturated fats and trans-fats) with good fats (monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats) in our diet.

RAW-AMAZING DIGESTION

MYTH: A raw-food diet provides enzymes that are essential to healthy digestion.

TRUTH:  Raw foods are unprocessed so there are no nutrient losses (as compared when processed/cooked). But the claim by some raw-food advocates that eating raw boosts digestion by preserving “vital” plant enzymes is not true. “Those enzymes are made for the survival of plants; for human health, they are not essential.” 

SKIP AND BINGE

MYTH: Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight.

FACT: Many people think that by skipping a meal, they eat less food and therefore lose weight. Studies show that people who skip breakfast and eat fewer times during the day tend to be heavier than people who eat a healthy breakfast and eat four or five times a day. This is partly due to the fact that when skipping a meal, you feel hungrier and tend to overeat at the next meal and pay less attention to your satiety cues. Often, skipping a meal results in an increase in total caloric intake as compared to just eating more frequently throughout the day. A better approach is to eat smaller frequent healthy meals and snacks to keep blood sugar balanced.

SAFE DRINKING

MYTH: “Diet” drinks are healthier

FACT: One can of regular pop contains about 135 kilocalories whereas a can of diet pop contains less than 10 kilocalories; some even contain zero kilocalories. Therefore, it is true that diet pop contains fewer calories. However, it is rather difficult to agree that diet pop is "healthier" as there is really nothing healthy about artificially colored and flavored water. In fact, artificial sweeteners are sweeter and make you crave for more.

MYTH: All bottled waters (sparkling water, tonic water, flavored water, and mineral water) are water.

FACT: Plain bottled water is water and is calorie-free. Some flavored waters are made with water and real juice. However, many flavored waters are flavored with artificial sweeteners and contain little juice. Tonic water, for instance, has 125 kilocalories per serving. Hence, reading the label and checking the ingredient list is important. Also, if you drink bottled water instead of tap water regularly, make sure it contains fluoride. 

MYTH: Drinking wine instead of beer won't make a beer-belly

FACT: It is simply not true that wine contains fewer calories than beer. One glass of wine (five ounces) contains about 130 kilocalories whereas one bottle of beer (12 ounces) has about 150 kilocalories. Therefore, wine contains more calories on a per-ounce basis. As a general rule, the sweeter the wine, the more sugar and calories it contains. By the same token for hard liquor; the higher the proof, the higher the calories.

Remember this next time when you are contemplating a second helping of alcohol: calories from alcohol tend to be stored as fat in the abdomen. So, if you drink alcohol on a regular basis (regardless of the kinds of alcohol), watch out for the beer-belly!

SUGAR: I AM NOT GUILTY

MYTH: Sugar causes diabetes

FACT:  The most common nutrition myth is probably the misconception that sugar causes diabetes. If you have diabetes, you do need to watch your sugar and carbohydrate intake, to properly manage your blood sugar level. However, if you do not have diabetes, sugar intake will not cause diabetes. So far, a diet high in calories, being overweight and an inactive lifestyle are the main risk factors for Type 2 diabetes.

Devil's Temptation: Chocolates

MYTH: Chocolate lacks any nutritional value.

FACT: Chocolate is rich in magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. It improves blood circulation and also contains polyphenols (an antioxidant also found in tea and red wine) that have been associated with a decreased risk of coronary disease. It has memory-enhancing properties and is antibiotic in nature. It increases the levels of serotonin (“feel good” hormone) in the brain.

MYTH: Chocolate is loaded with saturated fat and is bad for your cholesterol.

FACT: The main saturated fat found in milk chocolate is stearic acid. Research has shown that it doesn’t raise cholesterol levels the same way that other types of saturated fats do. In fact, eating a 1.4 ounce chocolate bar instead of a carbohydrate-rich snack has been shown to increase High Density Lipoprotein (“good”) cholesterol levels.

MYTH: Chocolate causes acne.

FACT: Chocolate does not cause acne. In fact, many dermatologists doubt that diet plays any significant role in the development of acne. Acne is now believed to be caused by a combination of high bacterial levels and oil on the skin.

MYTH: Chocolate causes weight gain.

FACT: Any food can be part of a healthy diet if consumed in moderation. An average chocolate bar contains 220 calories, which is low enough to be a part of a weight control diet if other high-calorie foods are eliminated.