It is no secret that right here at Eat This, Not That!, we spend a variety of time unmasking well being imposters. And the reality is, the superpowers of kale, like the risks of the Bermuda Triangle, have been extremely exaggerated. Certain, it is good for you, however the rating of kale as our biggest inexperienced is only one of many word-of-mouth myths that drive our dietary decision-making, usually within the improper course. A lot of what we imagine about meals is de facto simply rumour, a sport of dietary phone handed down from science journals to newspapers to tv to your aunt to your mother after which to you, with entrepreneurs in between.
Effectively, we went forward and tracked down the reality. Learn to separate truth from fiction and also you would possibly lastly shed the habits which are silently sabotaging your weight reduction efforts.
Listed below are 25 meals myths that might be doing you extra hurt. And after you uncover these, take a look at the 15 Underrated Weight Loss Ideas That Really Work.
1
Delusion: Kale is our healthiest inexperienced.
A 2014 examine at William Paterson College ranked vegatables and fruits by their nutrient density, based mostly on their ranges of 17 completely different vitamins which have been linked to improved cardiovascular well being. Not surprisingly, the highest 16 have been all leafy greens, which pack probably the most diet per calorie. (Coming in at #17 was pink bell peppers.) However kale did not even make the highest 10. The truth is, easy spinach and even Romaine lettuce beat the alleged supergreen, as did parsley and chives. Even stuff you usually throw away—the greens atop beets—pack extra diet.
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Delusion: Excessive fructose corn syrup is worse than desk sugar
Sugar is the grasp of disguise, in response to analysis in Zero Sugar Weight loss program. Maltodextrin, brown rice syrup, dextrose, sucrose—it is bought extra alter egos than the Avengers. But it surely’s most well-known costume is Excessive Fructose Corn Syrup. Whether or not HFCS is worse than plain ol’ desk sugar has lengthy been a contentious problem. Here is what you might want to know: In a 2014 evaluation of 5 research evaluating the consequences of sugar and HFCS, there was no distinction present in adjustments in blood glucose ranges, lipid ranges, or urge for food between desk sugar consumption and HFCS consumption. In different phrases, your physique cannot inform one from the opposite—they’re each simply sugar. HFCS’s actual sin is that it is tremendous low cost, and consequently, it is added to all the pieces from cereal to ketchup to salad dressing. Is it a good suggestion to reduce the HFCS in your weight loss program? Completely. It is best to chop out all pointless sugars.
3
Delusion: Sea salt is a more healthy model of standard salt.
On a regular basis desk salt comes from a mine and accommodates roughly 2,300 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon. Sea salt comes from evaporated seawater, and it additionally accommodates roughly 2,300 milligrams of sodium. That makes them, effectively, roughly an identical. Advocates level to the truth that sea salt additionally accommodates different compounds like magnesium and iron, however in fact, these minerals exist in hint quantities. To acquire a significant dose, you’d have to absorb extraordinarily excessive and probably harmful ranges of sodium. What’s extra, conventional desk salt is usually fortified with iodine, which performs an necessary position in regulating the hormones in your physique. Sea salt, however, offers you nearly zero iodine. The underside line is that this: If switching from desk salt to sea salt causes you to eat even one additional granule, you then’ve simply utterly snuffed out no matter elusive well being boon you hope to obtain. Plus you have wasted a couple of dollars.
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Delusion: Power drinks are much less dangerous than soda.
Power drinks like Crimson Bull, Monster, and Full Throttle try to spice up your vitality with a cache of B nutritional vitamins, natural extracts, and amino acids. However what your physique’s going to recollect most (particularly round your waistline) is the sugar in these concoctions; a 16-ounce can delivers as a lot as 280 energy of pure sugar, which is about 80 energy greater than you’d discover in a 16-ounce cup of Pepsi. What’s extra, a College of Maryland examine discovered vitality drinks to be 11 p.c extra corrosive to your tooth than common soda. So here is the key that vitality drink corporations don’t need you to know: The one confirmed, important vitality increase comes from caffeine. In order for you an vitality increase, save your self the sugar spike and drink a cup of espresso. (A cup of black joe: 5 energy. Make this swap as soon as a day and lose almost 29 kilos this yr!)
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Delusion: Weight loss program sodas assist maintain you slim.
The obesity-research neighborhood is turning into more and more conscious that the bogus sweeteners utilized in weight loss program soda result in hard-to-control meals urges later within the day. Attempt weaning your self off by switching to carbonated water and flavoring with lemon, cucumber, and contemporary herbs.
A examine within the American Journal of Public Well being discovered that extra overweight adults drink weight loss program soda than healthy-weight adults and that, among the many obese and overweight adults studied, those that drank weight loss program soda ate extra energy than those that consumed sweetened/common soda. Researchers have additionally linked common weight loss program soda consumption with decreased response to synthetic sweeteners and a decreased hyperlink between candy tastes and vitality worth, that means their our bodies could develop to disassociate sweetness with satiety cues, making it simpler to overeat and, due to this fact, achieve weight.
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Delusion: Yogurt is nice for the micro organism in your stomach.
Certain, some yogurts include helpful micro organism that may ship reinforcements to your intestine while you want them. Lactobacillus acidophilus is the micro organism you wish to search for, with yogurts that say “reside lively cultures.” However most yogurts are so excessive in sugar that they do extra to advertise unhealthy intestine micro organism than the rest. (Unhealthy micro organism feed on sugar in your stomach the identical means they do round your tooth.)
7
Delusion: Low-fat meals are higher for you.
Because it applies to meals advertising, the time period “low fats” is synonymous with “loaded with salt and low cost carbohydrates.” For example, take a look at Smucker’s Lowered Fats Peanut Butter. To switch the fats it skimmed out, Smucker’s added a fast-digesting carbohydrate referred to as maltodextrin. That is not going that will help you drop some weight. A 2008 examine within the New England Journal of Drugs discovered that over a 2-year span, individuals on low-carb diets misplaced 62 p.c extra physique weight than these attempting to chop fats. (Plus, the fats in peanut butter is heart-healthy monounsaturated fats—you would be higher off consuming extra of it, not much less!)
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Delusion: “Trans-fat free” meals are literally trans-fat free.
The FDA’s pointers enable corporations to assert 0 grams of trans fats—even broadcast it on the entrance of their packages—so long as the meals in query accommodates not more than 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving. However here is the deal: On account of an inextricable hyperlink to coronary heart illness, the World Well being Group advises individuals to maintain trans fats consumption as little as attainable, maxing out at about 1 gram per 2,000 energy consumed. In case your cabinet’s filled with meals with virtually half a gram per serving, you could be blowing previous that quantity each single day. The American Journal of Well being Promotion lately printed an article urging the FDA to rethink its lax laws, however till that occurs, it’s best to keep away from all meals with “partially hydrogenated oil” (that means, trans fat) on their components statements. Trans fats is lurking in locations you won’t count on, too.
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Delusion: Meals labeled “pure” are more healthy.
The FDA makes no severe effort to manage the usage of the phrase “pure” on diet labels. Working example: 7UP boasts that it is made with “100% Pure Flavors” when, in actual fact, the soda is sweetened with a decidedly un-natural dose of excessive fructose corn syrup. “Corn” is pure, however “excessive fructose corn syrup” is produced utilizing a centrifuge and a sequence of chemical reactions. And the “pure benefit” Submit Raisin Bran, which bathes its raisins in each sugar and corn syrup. The worst half is, you are possible paying a premium value for widespread junk meals.
RELATED: The simple information to slicing again on sugar is lastly right here.
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Delusion: Egg yolks elevate your ldl cholesterol.
Egg yolks include dietary ldl cholesterol; this a lot is true. However analysis has confirmed that dietary ldl cholesterol has virtually nothing to do with serum ldl cholesterol, the stuff in your blood. Wake Forest College researchers reviewed greater than 30 egg research and located no hyperlink between egg consumption and coronary heart illness, and a examine in Saint Louis discovered that consuming eggs for breakfast may lower your calorie consumption for the rest of the day.
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Delusion: You may eat no matter you need if you happen to work out.
Sadly, a half-hour trot on the treadmill is not going that will help you drop some weight if you happen to reward your self by downing a number of slices of cake and an order of French fries. The underside line: It is close to inconceivable to out-exercise a nasty weight loss program except you intend to spend half your day within the fitness center. You could work out and eat sensible to see outcomes.
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Delusion: You may burn extra fats if you happen to do not eat earlier than a exercise.
With out the right gasoline, you will not be capable to work out for as lengthy or arduous as you might want to if you wish to see a distinction in your physique. What’s worse, fasted exercises may cause low blood sugar and lightheadedness, which may be harmful while you’re breaking a sweat. Plus, while you’re working on fumes, you are going to be ravenous after your exercise. Meaning you may be extra apt to make poor weight loss program choices—like downing a whole pizza—after you get house.
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Delusion: Going Paleo ensures weight reduction.
It is no shocker that Paleo is among the most-Googled diets in recent times. Bacon and steak for weight reduction? Sure, please! However the Paleo weight loss program is certainly too good to be true. Though protein-rich diets assist kilos fly off initially, consuming a low-carb, high-protein weight loss program can truly trigger weight achieve within the long-term, say Spanish researchers. The truth is, their examine findings revealed that those that observe high-protein diets have a 90 p.c better danger of gaining greater than 10 p.c of their physique weight over time than those that do not go heavy on the meat. To reap the weight-loss advantages of the Paleo weight loss program—with out paying for it later—nix the processed junk and oils because the weight loss program suggests, however maintain the protein in verify. Soak up greater than the really helpful quantity and the surplus will possible be saved as health-harming fats.
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Delusion: All energy are created equally.
Consuming 300 energy of rooster is just not the identical as consuming 300 energy of cake. The physique makes use of and shops energy in a different way relying on the vitamins every meals is comprised of. Corn and beans, for instance, include one thing referred to as resistant starch, a kind of carb that’s actually arduous to digest. In flip, the physique is not capable of take up as most of the energy or as a lot of the glucose—a nutrient that is saved as fats if it isn’t burned off. It is a related story with lean-protein sources like turkey, rooster and fish. Along with boosting satiety, protein additionally has a excessive thermogenic impact in comparison with fat and carbs. In flip, your physique burns off a good proportion the meat’s energy through the digesting course of and post-meal calorie burn spikes by as a lot as 35 p.c! Your favourite cookies cannot make that very same declare. The truth is, because the majority of candy treats’ energy come from sugar, getting too lots of your energy from desserts can depart you hungry, fats and–you guessed it–pissed off.
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Delusion: You may’t eat at evening if you wish to drop some weight.
Consuming too many energy all through the day, not nighttime munching, causes weight achieve. The truth is, “consuming the best sort of bedtime snack truly boosts metabolism and aids weight reduction—not the other!” explains Cassie Bjork, RD, LD of Wholesome Easy Life. “When you do not eat earlier than mattress, blood sugar ranges dip so you do not sleep as effectively. In flip, you crave extra sugar- and carb-laden meals the subsequent day. If this occurs usually sufficient, it will possibly trigger weight achieve. On the flip facet, consuming the best snack might help maintain blood sugars secure so the fat-burning hormone glucagon can do its job.” So what must you be consuming? “I recommend pairing a pure carb with a wholesome fats.” Apple slices and almond butter, berries with heavy cream and carrots with guacamole all match the invoice.
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Delusion: You may eat as a lot as you need so long as it is wholesome.
Avocados, oatmeal, nuts, and their creamy, scrumptious butters are certainly wholesome, however low in energy they don’t seem to be. Certain, you are higher off consuming 200 energy of oatmeal then 200 energy of sugar-spiked cookies made with the grain, however that does not provide you with free rein to eat as a lot of the stuff as you need. The underside line: Nutritious or not, portion measurement counts with each meals. If you happen to discover that you’ve hassle sticking to cheap portion sizes for among the extra caloric wholesome meals in your weight loss program, search for portion-controlled packages. Shopping for mini sizes in lieu of larger tubs of meals helps maintain energy in verify and train you what a correct serving seems like.
17
Delusion: Protein shakes and bars make it easier to drop some weight.
Though packaged protein merchandise may be part of an all-around nutritious diet, they are not any higher than a sit-down meal comprised of comparable vitamins. Nonetheless, relying on which bars and shakes you choose up, you may truly be placing your well being in danger. Many well-liked merchandise are full of bloat-causing components like carrageenan and whey along with caramel coloring, which has been proven to trigger most cancers in people. A lot of the pumped-up meals additionally use synthetic sweeteners in lieu of sugar, which might improve cravings for candy treats and trigger weight achieve over time. Our recommendation: If you wish to embody bars and shakes in your weight loss program, go for one in every of our Greatest Vitamin Bars for Weight Loss and whip up your individual protein shakes at house utilizing contemporary fruits, veggies, milk or water and a low-sugar vegan protein powder. Additionally, ensure you are substituting your shake or bar for a snack or a meal—not consuming them along with your common weight loss program. This could trigger weight achieve, not loss.
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Delusion: Ingesting 8 glasses of water every day ensures weight reduction.
Whereas chugging water and working to and from the toilet go hand in hand, chugging water and weight reduction don’t. “Ingesting water doesn’t assure weight reduction—particularly if you happen to’re nonetheless consuming an unhealthy, high-calorie weight loss program,” says Lisa Moskovitz, R.D., founding father of Manhattan-based personal observe, The NY Vitamin Group. However that does not imply it’s best to cease working to the water cooler. “Staying hydrated all through the day is a superb behavior to take care of for good well being, it is simply not the one change you may must make for everlasting weight reduction,” Moskovitz provides.
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Delusion: Nuts are fattening.
“Nuts have gotten a nasty repute for his or her whole fats content material, however diet science means that the standard—not amount—of fats is what’s most necessary to our well being,” says Jackie Newgent, RDN, and writer of The All-Pure Diabetes Cookbook.
“The truth is, the FDA lately introduced they’re reevaluating the time period ‘wholesome’ because it applies to meals with good-for-you fat, like pistachios,” Newgent continues. “What’s extra, meals like in-shell pistachios could make it easier to idiot your self into feeling full as a result of the leftover shells could present a visible cue for parts, probably serving to to curb consumption.”
20
Delusion: Ingesting beer causes a beer stomach.
Whereas beer consumption would not have a tendency to assist shrink your waist, a beer stomach is not essentially attributable to beer; it is extra possible attributable to consuming too many empty energy.
“Though, if you happen to get pleasure from guzzling six-packs frequently, you then do must rethink your beer-drinking habits,” cautions Newgent.
21
Delusion: Consolation meals chases away the blues.
A bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich on a chilly winter’s day. A giant spoonful of mac and cheese while you’re down in your luck. Consolation meals simply makes you are feeling higher, would not it?
Really, it would not. In a 2014 examine within the journal Well being Psychology, aptly titled “The Delusion of Consolation Meals,” researchers confirmed members miserable movies to “induce a damaging impact.” Then they gave them both consolation meals, meals that weren’t thought of consolation meals, or no meals in any respect. End result: The themes bought over their unhealthy moods in equal time, no matter whether or not or not they ate. Is feeling unhealthy a superb excuse for consuming unhealthy? Seems, it isn’t.
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Delusion: Peanut butter is a well being meals.
In its finest type, peanut butter truly is a well being meals. That is as a result of peanuts are filled with monounsaturated fat, the heart-healthy fats that truly helps you drop some weight. Here is what the components of a wholesome jar of peanut butter ought to learn:
Peanuts.
However most peanut butter would not appear to be that. Most peanut butters are extremely processed and loaded with sugars and trans-fatty oils, and include much less of the wholesome monounsaturated fat that you just actually want. “Peanut butter unfold” is even worse. The phrase “unfold” signifies that it is at the very least 10 p.c components. Search for “pure” peanut butter and do not be fooled by any low-fat guarantees.
23
Delusion: “Multi-grain” and “wheat” breads are higher than white bread.
Wait a minute—is not “multi-grain” one of many greatest buzzwords in diet? And have not we been educated to select the wheat bread over the white at each flip? Sure, however sadly these labels are about as credible as your native congressman’s marketing campaign guarantees. “Wheat bread” is usually white bread with caramel or molasses added to make it look darkish and wholesome. “Multi-grain” simply signifies that completely different sorts of junky refined grains could have been used. All the time search for the phrases “one hundred pc entire wheat” or “one hundred pc entire grain” on the bundle.
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Delusion: Wraps are more healthy than common sandwiches.
These skinny little wraps are so flimsy, so delicate, so fusion-cuisine pleasant. How can they not be higher than the typical lump of bread? Effectively, take into account Subway’s wrap, for one. It packs 310 energy—earlier than you even add the primary whiff of meat or sauce. The reason being that, to ensure that the tortilla to wrap round like that, it wants added fats, usually within the type of soybean oil and hydrogenated oils. (The truth is, when ordering Mexican meals, you are often higher off with a tough taco than a mushy, for a similar motive.)
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Delusion: Potatoes are empty carbs.
As soon as the proud spud stud of the American dinner plate, potatoes have been downgraded in recent times to a standing not seen because the Irish blight. However not like the commentators on cable information, the widespread taters in your kitchen even have one thing value chewing on. A USDA examine of potatoes discovered ranges of phytochemicals reminiscent of flavonoids and kukoamines that rival the quantities present in broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts. Kukoamines? You have not heard of them as a result of they have been beforehand believed to exist solely in Chinese language medicinal crops, however they’ve been proven to decrease blood strain by reducing free-radical harm and irritation.
