NUTRITIONAL MYTHS

Nutritional myths fly over our heads and minds, and it's hard to get rid of them.

The only way to deal with them is to dismantle them with evidence.

For as long as we can remember, we have received messages about what to eat, when to eat, why to eat, and how to eat.

These guidelines come to us first from our parents and grandparents, and from the people who take care of us, after all, they are the ones who feed us from childhood.

This already implies an important bias, because depending on their nutritional beliefs and their nutritional culture, they guide us in a more or less accurate way.

A few years later we are taught to eat in the school canteen, there we interact with other children and the first prejudices towards certain foods are created.

In addition, from very early on we suffered from another powerful influence, TV and the media, now also YouTube and other platforms to which children are subjected from a very young age.

 

Nutritional education is the best weapon against nutritional myths.

 

At still very early ages, it is advertising that quickly instructs us on products to eat and drink without any filter, without taking into account our ability to choose the best and reject what we should not.

The influence of our classmates at school or high school is also important. If a product becomes fashionable and everyone consumes it, we will surely end up doing the same.

If it turns out that it is very "cool" to drink a certain energy drink, even if its effects are monstrous, note the irony, we will end up drinking it, we want to be part of that trend.

It's about that feeling of belonging to the group, hardly anyone wants to be different, so they do whatever it takes to be accepted.

Who makes one product or another fashionable? Clearly marketing and advertising.

 

 

And who is behind?

Obviously, the food industry.

Therefore we have already reached the crux of the matter, the big industry, the one that ensures the approval of governments and even medical societies.

That great food industry that with stratospheric economic interests imposes on us what we should have for breakfast, tells us how to kill the bug and gives us ideas for a snack full of energy.

But the audacity of these companies does not stop there, in each of those advertisements with "suggestions and tips" that are good for you, a sign appears indicating that "To maintain a healthy life you must have a varied diet and exercise."

Incredible true?

They tell you one thing and the opposite at the same time.

 

Many nutritional myths have been created and promoted by the food industry.

 

And it is precisely this industry, the huge and great food industry, which has created a series of nutritional myths to make us consume certain products with a certain frequency.

When I say "certain products" I mean those that bring the most benefits to the industry, mainly sugar and wheat, as well as other cereals and all the processed and ultra-processed products that are made from them.

And when I say "with a certain frequency" I mean that we are constantly told that we have to eat 5 times a day, when the reality is that 3 times is more than enough.

For all this, I am going to list some of the most widespread nutritional myths that we have all heard at some time.

They are the kind of statements that you will see written in headlines and that many dietitians and nutritionists still repeat endlessly today.

What I intend is to try to explain to you the reasons why these sentences are not true.

 

VERY COMMON NUTRITIONAL MYTHS:

 

MYTH NUMBER 1 – You have to eat everything.

Right from the start, saying that you have to eat everything sounds a bit grandiose and too generic.

If we take the literal meaning of the phrase "of everything" it means "of everything".

I think this statement does not need much explanation, just remember that you should NOT eat everything, you MUST eat food in its natural and original form, just as it comes from nature.

Yes, you can eat foods that have been minimally processed, such as nuts or crushed natural tomatoes, sauces such as hummus, healthy processed foods whose label we see what it has and does not go beyond 4 or 5 ingredients.

But you also have to be careful with natural foods that are not healthy.

Clear examples are cane sugar, syrups, dried fruits or honey itself.

And what we should always avoid are processed and ultra-processed products with multiple ingredients, sometimes very suspicious.

 

You don't have to eat everything and there are bad foods.

 

 

MYTH NUMBER 2 – No food is bad.

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there are bad foods, in the first point I have already given you some clues.

The worst are industrial products, the result of complex processes that do not seek to create a nutritious product but rather a palatable and profitable product for the manufacturer.

These types of products usually contain saturated fats, trans fats and low-quality vegetable oils, they are also rich in starches and are made with the worst quality refined flours.

Industrial pastries, including cookies, pre-cooked meals, sugary drinks, juices or flavored and hyper-sweetened dairy products are some of the examples.

The food industry and nutritionists, chefs and cooks, who support it with their advertising campaigns, will try to convince you that nothing is bad, that you can take any product without regret from time to time.

They will tell you that the only thing that matters is the dose, that "once a year does not hurt."

And it is true, you can do it, but you must know the truth and not live in ignorance of "nothing happens", because if you settle there, nothing happens today and neither will tomorrow.

You must keep in mind that excessive consumption of sugars and fructose are the main triggers for non-alcoholic fatty liver.

The foods that should predominate in your diet are those that are presented as they come from nature, which only require simple processing at home, be it soaking, cooking, cooling, etc.

 

MYTH NUMBER 3 - It is important to eat 5 times a day.

This is one of the most widespread nutritional myths.

No, it is not important to eat 5 times a day, there are people who do well to have small snacks between the main meals, while others feel better eating 3 times a day, some people prefer to eat 2 full meals and others just 1 .

And if you have to give a general guideline, it is best to make 3 complete daily intakes, leaving a minimum of 12 hours of fasting between the last and the first, without taking snacks to make sure that at least 4 hours pass between each one.

 

No food is more important than another.

 

MYTH NUMBER 4 – Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

False, there is no intake more important than another, they are all equally important. I go back to what I said in the previous point, for some breakfast is the most important meal because they get up hungry and enjoy it, but for others it can be dinner.

For our body none is better or more essential than another.

What is peculiar about breakfast is that it breaks the fast of many hours and for this reason it must be composed mainly of proteins and healthy fats, regardless of the time it is consumed.

It is important to leave a minimum of hours between one intake and another, to begin with, it is a good idea to fast for 12 hours between the last intake of the day and the first of the following day (at least).

If later you are able to extend that time and reduce the feeding window, much better.

And it also seems to be decisive when it comes to losing weight to set lunch and dinner times earlier.

It has been studied that individuals who eat their lunch later than 15:00 p.m. are able to lose less weight than those who do it before, eating the same thing, and the same thing happens with dinner.

 

MYTH NUMBER 5 - The brain needs sugar.

As? Well, it will not be, what you need is glucose, and that glucose can be obtained from complex carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains.

Furthermore, glucose can be synthesized by the liver.

So get out of your head that children need to drink sugar or have buns and cookies for breakfast for their brain to work.

What children and adults need is to consume complex carbohydrates in their proper measure, and that is where nuts, vegetables and fresh fruits, whole grains and legumes come in (without being essential).

That is why a good breakfast can be hummus with carrots, or some rye crackers with quality ham, add an apple and that's it.

Like this there are many more examples, but don't be convinced, breakfast cereals are not complex carbohydrates, they are refined carbohydrates with a lot of sugar.

Oatmeal is not a particularly nutritious food, it is a cereal that can be whole grain, yes, and it can also be certified gluten-free, but it is not, by far, the best breakfast option.

 

The brain does NOT need sugar to function.

 

In that first daily intake, regardless of what time you do it, choose proteins and healthy fats, if you think you need them, you can provide some carbohydrates from vegetables.

 

 

For example, avocado with walnuts and fresh cheese, add red fruits or an apple, you can also take tuna from the north, ham, canned mackerel or some sardines. And egg! scrambled, cooked or in an omelet.

You want bread? Some 100% rye flour crackers are a good option, but so are some crackers almond without flour or seeds.

The possibilities are many without falling into the typical bowl of breakfast cereals, in the porridge oatmeal or on white bread toast with tomato and oil.

The latter are three options with very little nutritional density, which will make you feel hungry in a few hours.

Always choose foods of high nutritional value with a low level of carbohydrates, you will notice the difference.

 

 

Nutritional education should start in childhood, without the interference of the food industry, with the sole interest of improving people's health.

 

I don't know if these nutritional myths have been part of your nutritional "education", (or rather, your nutritional non-education), I don't know if you have ever suffered from them or if you have already overcome them, in any case, take note and adapt each of them to your situation.

Tell me what you think about it and if you have made changes in your life to improve any of these situations. I read you in comments!

Enjoy!

 

Related studies:

• Ma, X., Nan, F., Liang, H., Shu, P., Fan, X., Song, X., Hou, Y., & Zhang, D. (2022). Excessive intake of sugar: An accomplice of inflammation. Frontiers in immunology, 13, 988481. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.988481

 

• Jensen, T., Abdelmalek, MF, Sullivan, S., Nadeau, KJ, Green, M., Roncal, C., Nakagawa, T., Kuwabara, M., Sato, Y., Kang, DH, Tolan, DR , Sanchez-Lozada, LG, Rosen, HR, Lanaspa, MA, Diehl, AM, & Johnson, RJ (2018). Fructose and sugar: A major mediator of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Journal of hepatology, 68(5), 1063–1075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2018.01.019

 

• MacDonald, AJ, Yang, YHC, Cruz, AM, Beall, C., & Ellacott, KLJ (2021). Brain-Body Control of Glucose Homeostasis-Insights From Model Organisms. Frontiers in endocrinology, 12, 662769. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2021.662769

 

• Lopez-Minguez, J., Gómez-Abellán, P., & Garaulet, M. (2019). Timing of Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Effects on Obesity and Metabolic Risk. Nutrients, 11(11), 2624. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112624