7 Common Food And Nutrition Myths Debunked

#SugarBalancedLiving

We’ve all fallen for some new food trend promising to make us healthier, fitter, or that supposedly is a miracle weight loss hack at some point or another. Whether we see ‘amazing’ results on TikTok or Healthline, it’s all too easy to fall victim to these well-known food and nutrition misconceptions. So, today, we’re getting into the most common food and nutrition myths - are they real, are they not? - and the actual facts behind them.

I think it's safe to say that we've all gotten at least one piece of bad nutritional advice before. With all the overwhelming amounts of nutrition and diet information out there, it can seem impossible to decipher what's good and what's not good advice, what’s a myth and what’s not a myth, and so on.

Should you eat this, should you not eat that, is bread okay to eat, why the keto diet is great and why it's not, go paleo and don't go paleo – the endless amount of conflicting information when it comes to nutrition and diets is enough to make even the savviest researcher’s head go spinning around and around.

It seems that a new fad diet plan or some new "life-saving" detox pops up every few weeks, so following the latest food and diet trends is like trying to figure out which way to go in a new city when every map is different. It’s nearly impossible.

It’s no wonder so many of us have a hard time knowing which foods are actually good for us and which ones are not.

To make matters worse, there is quite a large number of popular circulating misconceptions and misinformation out there about proper nutrition.

Common food misconceptions and myths

All we want to do is eat healthily and make the best choices possible to live a vibrant and fun life that helps us better ward off diseases, stay positive, and increase our energy.

We try to achieve this wellness by initiating a few good habits. But despite our best efforts, due to all this conflicting advice, sometimes the practices we implement are based on information that just isn’t true. That's why need to start debunking some popular food myths.

The specific diet you follow is not as important as learning some nutrition basics. This means debunking common food myths is even more important in helping you make healthier choices.

Luckily, I'm a nutrition and wellness nerd and love to deep dive into research. So, I've jumped into busting some myths by taking my time, checking my sources, and getting into the facts, to reveal the truth based on science on nutrition myths.

Today I'm going to set the facts straight, examine several nutrition myths, and get to the truth behind the most common nutrition fallacies that you still think are true but are definitely not.

1. MYTH: Eggs Raise Your Cholesterol Levels

Eggs have taken a beating over their high cholesterol content.

Yes, it's true that your average chicken egg contains a moderate amount of cholesterol, with an estimated 186 mg of cholesterol in its yolk.

High levels of cholesterol has been shown to increase your risk of heart disease. This has lead many healthy experts and physicians to recommend that people limit the number of eggs consumed in their diet.

Myth, Busted:

However, chicken eggs are an affordable source of nutrients including protein, zinc, iron, choline and vitamin D, and the cholesterol in eggs doesn't seem to raise general cholesterol levels the way other cholesterol-containing foods do, like trans fats and many saturated fats.

2. MYTH: Juice Is Healthy Because It's Made From Fruits And Veggies

These days, people are shifting from sugary beverages with artificial ingredients to vividly colored beverages called juices. Juice bars have been continuing to spring up on city streets and in shopping malls, and sales of juice extractors and blenders have endlessly lead the small-appliance market.

Myth, Busted:

Sadly though, while juices have been praised as a sweet and refreshing healthy alterntive to soda and have been labeled as immunity boosting and cleansing, you’re better off eating an actual piece of fruit or veggies rather than gulping it down in juice form.

Of course, our bodies all need the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, water and fiber, that come with fruit and vegetables. But, the main difference here is that with juice, the calorie content is higher and you get a bigger hit of natural sugar and even added sugars.

Despite looking like a healthy option, because the juice liquid contains most of the vitamins, minerals and plant chemicals (phytonutrients) found in the fruit, whole fruits and vegetables also have healthy fiber, which is lost during most juicing.

The fiber that comes from whole food fruit and vegetables slows the absorption of sugar into your body so you don't get a nasty spike in blood sugar levels, unlike when you drink juice which has lost it's fiber, which may contribute to rapid elevations in blood sugar.

It takes a whole lot of fruit just to make your average single glass of fruit juice, so you get way more sugar in a glass of juice than you would get from eating whole fruit.

This makes it easier to consume a large amount of natural sugar when drinking juice, leading to a higher risk of diabetes and weight gain.

Many seemingly healthy juice beverages can contain more natural sugar than the amount of sugar in a can of soda. This juice might be naturally sweetened, but just because it's made with real fruit doesn't justify gulping down a staggering 61 grams of sugar in a bottle especially when there is no fiber to help you digest it all.

For example, drinks such as Naked Juice Green Machine sport label “zero added sugar,” but don’t be misled: a close look at the label reveals 53 grams of natural sugars and 270 calories in one 15-ounce bottle. Consider a 15 ounce Coke which contains 49 grams of sugars—almost the same amount.  Yikes.

3. MYTH: Cutting Carbs Is The Best Way To Lose Weight

Over the past couple of years, low-carb diets from Atkins to keto have begun to earn a cult-like following of superfans who praise these eating plans for their ability to help you quickly lose weight.

However, low-carb diets are much more complicated than, ‚carbs are bad and if you cut them out you'll lose weight quickly and be healthy‘. Low-carb diets should be navigated with caution. What I want to debunk here is the idea that carbs are bad.

Myth, Busted:

Whether a carb contributes to weight gain depends on the type of carbohydrate you are eating. If you're dining on large slices of pizza, a bowl of mac and cheese, or bingeing garlic bread, then those are the carbs that'll contribute to not only weight gain but an increase in health problems and craving cycles.

But, the human body needs all three types of carbs - sugar, starch, and fiber - to function and carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy in a healthy, balanced diet.

With the exception of oils and meats, most of the foods we eat—fruits, grains, legumes, vegetables, nuts, sugars, and dairy products contain some carbs. However, if a specific food is relatively high in carbohydrates (instead of fat or protein), we call that entire food a carb. For example, bread is a carb, and an apple is a carb. Basically, carbohydrates are essential.

When people follow a low-carb diet, they are taking out a major food group and replacing it with protein, cholesterol, and saturated fats. This increase in fats and proteins raises LDL cholesterol levels aka “bad” cholesterol. The carbohydrates and fibers that you lose in a low-carb diet are the nutrients that help to lower cholesterol, so in turn, the LDL raises and high LDL leads to heart disease.

Another issue with low-carb diets is that when you eliminate an entire food group, your body begins to crave them and this can lead you to end up binge eating sugars and fats later on. This often results in yo-yo dieting, which is terribly disruptive to your body and very discouraging to you mentally if you’re trying to make a lifestyle change.

Now, this doesn't mean you can go freely snacking on any old carbohydrate like pizza and popcorn. Not all carbs are created equal. Certain types of carbs wreak absolute havoc on our bodies and can create food addictions, and there are also certain carbs you shouldn’t eat too many of without potentially harming your body.

There are two main groups of carbs: complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates.

These sources of carb aren’t created equally, and both of them can be corrupted (and usually these days are corrupted). When they’re corrupted, they spike your blood sugar levels just like a candy bar would.

Let’s take a close look at these two groups:

Everything You Need to Know About Simple Carbohydrates

Simple carbs, are made up of either one (monosaccharides) or two sugar (disaccharides) molecules, and contain little to no fiber, which makes it easier for simple carbs break down in the body and be absorbed (as glucose) into the bloodstream.

This fact means that simple carbohydrates produce a spike in blood glucose, providing the body with a short-lasting source of energy. Because of this, they raise your blood sugar way faster and mostly higher than complex carbs – which is what makes them worse for your health.

The sugars in simple carb can be categorized as:

Single sugars (monosaccharides):

•         Glucose

•         Fructose (naturally found in fruit, but also added to processed foods)

•         Galactose (normally found in dairy)

Double sugars (disaccharides):

•         Sucrose (table sugar)

•         Lactose (normally found in diary products like milk)

•         Maltose (normally found in grains and veggies.

Because simple carbohydrates exhibit a sweet flavor, most sweet-tasting foods contain simple carbohydrates.

Since simple carbohydrates found in processed foods like sodas don’t have any nutrients, all they do is spike your blood sugar levels, and you simply don’t need them AT ALL.

But don’t worry, we’re not counting simple carbs as only unhealthy just yet. Simple carbs can be natural and unprocessed, like milk and fruit - containing vitamins, minerals, fiber, and even protein, which we as HUMANS need!

The only thing is, you need to be sure to eat natural simple carbs in moderation because as I mentioned earlier, they can be a vicious blood sugar spiker if eaten in excessive amounts - even fruit.

How much sugar you should be, and can be eating from fruit, and what makes sugar in fruit different from refined sugar is a big subject. It has many variables and is dependent on your health ‘status’ and what your health goal(s) are, so I've written a whole blog post about fruit sugars over here - make sure you check it out to get all the details.

Everything You Need to Know About Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbs are starches, created from longer chains of sugar molecules - this is the reason why they take longer to digest. Because they digest more slowly than their friends simple carbohydrates, most sources of complex carbs will not raise blood sugars as quickly.

Foods in the complex carbs category are starches like grains, legumes, peas. Dietary fiber is also usually understood to be a starch.

The only thing is, these healthier complex carbohydrates, just like simple carbohydrates, have some healthier sources than others.

Good and healthy complex carbohydrates are as un-processed and non-refined as possible. So, whole grains are perfectly healthy while refined grains are terrible for you.

The reason refined carbs are bad for you is because they are stripped of their nutritional value including natural fiber and fiber keeps blood sugar levels from spiking too high. Some more healthy complex carbs examples are brown rice (not white), quinoa, barley, bulgur, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes.

Negative refined simple and complex carbohydrates, include:

•         🍪 Candy, cookies, muffins, pastries, ice creams and cakes

•         🍞 White breads, rolls, croissants, pastas

•         🍦 Commercial sugary or sweetened yogurts

•         ☕ Specialty coffee drinks and milks

•         🥤 Soda, sweetened teas and juices 

•         🍓 Fruit leathers and jellies

•         🥣 Most commercial cereals and flavored oatmeal

So, instead on cutting out a whole food group, reduce your intake of bad sources of that food group and focus on eating in moderation from a variety of food groups to ensure you’re still able to get all the nutrients your body needs.

4. MYTH: Fat Is Bad For You And Makes You Fat

Fat-free is not a good term. Despite some people’s beliefs, some fats are actually good for you - healthy fats.

Foods labeled as "fat-free" are often praised for their wonderful weight loss gifts, but your body actually needs GOOD FATS (yes there is a difference), and fat-free usually comes with a high-sugar price tag.

There is a dogma around fat, that fat makes you fat, causes high cholesterol, and that low fat is the way to kill fat and be HEALTHY, but there is much evidence proving otherwise.

Fat-free food often goes through a process that removes all of the nutritional fat and food companies usually replace this loss of fats with sugar. Yep, that is correct – beneficial fats are removed, and harmful sugars are added... meaning fat-free foods are not better than full-fat foods, simple as that.

This all goes directly back to the food industry, who in their scrambling to cater for the fat-free weight-loss market added sugar in some shape or form into nearly EVERYTHING we eat, to make up for the lack of flavor.

Of course, fats aren't all good and can actually be very bad for you when eaten in excess depending on the kind of fat.

There are two main types of fat that raise cholesterol levels, clog arteries, and increase the risk for heart disease and should only be eaten sparingly: trans fatty acids and many saturated fat foods. Both can raise cholesterol levels, clog arteries, and increase the risk for heart disease. These types of fats are the fats found in foods like donuts, burgers, and bacon, which aren’t any good and negatively affect your body.

Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are known as the “good fats” because they are good for your heart, your cholesterol, and your overall health.

"Good" healthy fats which are fantastic for you include: olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, eggs, almonds, pumpkin seeds, etc. Eating these good fats also helps keep blood sugar levels under control, which helps keep you fuller longer - this helps you not feel as hungry as often, avoid cravings, and stave off energy crashes.

Healthy fats should be a part of all healthy balanced diets, and this is exactly why I always recommend high-fat meals in my Cut The Sugar Program, and in fact, all my programs!

5. MYTH: “Detoxes” and “Cleanses" Flush Out Toxins From Your Body

A “cleanse" or “detox” is not a miracle that can flush out toxins from your body and instantly skyrocket your health. "Cleanses" and "detoxes" just don't work and your body already has built-in systems to get rid of toxins: the kidneys and liver.

Nutrition is about the bigger picture not what you do for five or seven days out of the year because that is pretty inconsequential the majority of the time. Plus, there has been no solid evidence that backs detox diets or juice cleanses as beneficial or cleansing your body of toxins.

Myth, Busted:

In fact, there is some risk with these cleanses which can directly lead to urgent health problems. Research suggests that some detoxes and cleanses may cause: stomach cramping, diarrhea, and vomiting. More serious outcomes can include electrolyte imbalance that can cause kidney and heart problems.

If something doesn’t create a sustainable long-term habit, why even waste your time or put yourself through the frustration?

Rather than worry about ‘detoxing’ or 'cleansing', you're better off thinking about eating nutritious natural whole foods that are health-promoting on a daily basis. The concept of remedying months of unhealthy eating by drinking nothing but green juice or following some detoxing food routine for a couple of days is erroneous.

Don’t buy into the unproven and even expensive promise that a detox or cleanse will make you healthier in a couple of days. If you are concerned about detoxifying the body, eating a healthy diet, getting an average of 30 minutes of exercise a day, getting plenty of rest at night, and drinking enough water to stay hydrated is your best bet.

6. MYTH: Count Your Calories For Healthy Success

'Calories in, calories out' – this is a simple and prevailing rule ingrained in our diet industry.

We’re given generalized statements like "The average woman needs about 2,000 calories per day to maintain her weight, and 1,200 calories per day to lose weight. And, the average man needs 2,500 calories to maintain, and 2,000 to lose weight". But is this even true?

Myth, Busted.

Truthfully, I believe that counting and cutting calories are practical approaches for "guiding" you to a balanced diet that’ll help you lose weight. However, any universal recommended daily calorie intake is at best not an accurate representation of what a healthy balanced diet looks like and at worse a dangerous practice.

The biggest misconception around calories is that calories are seen as a direct or precise measurement of how 'fattening' a food is.

What Exactly Is a Calorie?

Technically a calorie is a way to measure the energy in food. Everything you eat or drink has a calorie count, whether it’s big or micro-small, and while in technical terms the more calories a food has, the more energy your body has to function, a proper calorie count takes into account the type and amount of what it is you’re consuming.

Basically, although calorie counting is the most accurate measurement of the calorific value of a meal, the interrelation between those calories and our individual bodies is less straightforward.

Firstly, all humans are unique and we all have a different basal metabolic rate, meaning we burn up energy in different ways. Secondly, calorie counting is based on estimates. It‘s silly to think that we can precisely measure the energy value of any food. Your body doesn't process every food the same way.

Your body uses and stores energy gained from, say, a 105 calorie banana differently from two 53 calorie Original Oreos. Yet the calorie-intake method would treat the energy gained from each the same.

For another example: studies suggest that peanuts, pistachios and almonds are less completely digested than other foods with similar levels of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, meaning they turn over less calories than you'd expect.

Even more importantly, when food goes through ultra-processing, the complex structure of the plant and animal cells is destroyed, turning the food into a nutritional emptiness.

The biggest problem with the calorie intake method is not the measurement itself (which in all fairness does serve some kind of 'guiding' purpose) but the way it's seen as a practicing rule for success and has given us a false sense of precision and doesn't advertise the importantce of where you're getting your calories from.

It's not just the calories, but how much of the protein, carbohydrate, and fat, and vitamins and minerals you take from the food that's important for overall well-being. Use calories for a general guidance so you don't overeat.

Sometimes high-calorie foods may be better for you than lower-calorie foods, especially healthy fatty foods like nuts, olive oil, avocado, fruits, and coconut oil. They may be high in calories, but they are full of nutrients that you need to stay at the peak of health.

This is unlike foods like fried wings or chips - they may also pack on calories, but they’re empty calories and wreck your hormones.

The strict 'calories in, calories out' method has yet again enabled the food industry to market unhealthy ‘low-calorie’ foods as healthy to mislead the average consumer into eating highly processed foods that cause us to crave more and more, so we keep buying their products without realizing it's unhealthy for us.

So, with all this said, if you want to get into more depth about how many calories you should be eating for your health goals, I have a whole blog post on helping you bust some myths based around calories, helping guide you to understand where you can find the optimal sources of calories for your health goals and finally get to the answer behind how many calories you should really be eating every day!

While having awareness over a calorie intake is an effective tool to help you along on a health journey, there is so much more to it than simply calories in calories out.

7. MYTH: Food Is Better For You When It's Gluten-Free

The idea that following a gluten-free diet will improve your health is a certifiable health myth for most people. Gluten-free is not better for you unless you 'actually' have a gluten intolerance.

Myth, Busted.

While gluten-free whole grains, like buckwheat, rice, quinoa, sorghum, and oats (if not cross-contaminated) are healthy and nutrient-rich, grains that contain gluten like whole-grain barley and rye provide similar benefits to your diet too, like beneficial fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Gluten is also a protein. In fact, gluten is the name for the protein naturally found in some grains including wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten can be found in many unexpected foods like you can find wheat in certain sauces and salad dressings. So, if you've been thinking gluten is evil? It might be time to think again.

Only people with gluten intolerance and celiac disease, who experience symptoms like abdominal pain, constipation, weight loss, and fatigue when consuming gluten, should follow a gluten-free diet.

While, many, many people follow a gluten-free diet, the reality is that only 1 percent of Americans are diagnosed with celiac disease.

The fact is... gluten-containing foods can be beneficial to your health and you don't need to cut gluten out of your diet unless you 'actually' have a sensitivity or allergy to them.

Common Food and Diet Trends: Debunked

It’s clear to see that it's time to ditch the food fads and focus on eating a well-balanced diet.

I know it's easy to get wrapped up in the latest health and nutrition “rules” and "diets" when you see a health expert boasting it's miracle results on instagram or your favorite celebrity praise them. But you need to do your own research, so you can keep it all straight and separate fact from fiction, because as you've now seen, nutrition myths can be dangerous for your health.

It's time to unlearn the myths that have misled us for so long. There is no one-size-fits-all perfect diet. Diversity and fresh whole foods in our diet is the key to maintaining a healthy vibrant body. Cut out added sugars and processed junk foods and aim to fill half of your plate with lean protein and fiber-rich carbs, add at least one serving of healthy fats, and fill the other half of your plate full with non-starchy vegetables.

So what’s the big takeaway from all these debunked diet and nutrition myths?

Before you go anywhere… I know that telling you to follow a reduce sugar and junk foods is easier said then done. One challenge that adults face when it comes to eating a healthier diet is breaking their bad eating patterns and breaking those addictive food habits.

I know it can be hard going wholesome and removing processed and synthetic packaged foods from your diet, especially when they cause you to endless crave them. So, if your weight has crept up on you and/or you’re tired feeling STUCK in trying to conquer negative food habits without food fads, obsessive dieting, deprivation, or the need for willpower, I have some extra support for you, that’ll help you in cutting down on processed foods and junk foods addictive pull!

Check out my FREE ‘Ultimate Guide to Crushing Your Sugar Cravings’ Downloadable Guide.

Get started on effortlessly breaking your sugar reliance/addiction for good with help + support. AND, most importantly, while maintaining a healthy balance between your mind and your body - because low-sugar living shouldn’t feel like deprivation.

Plus, for even more support, to help guide apply what you’ve learned about food today during your next shopping trip, I’ve put together a whole list of everyday innocent-looking foods that are hiding a surprising amount of sugar, in my '27 Hidden Sugar Foods to Watch Out for Checklist + Guide.

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It’s your turn!

What’s one food hack trend you think is a myth?

Let me know in the comments or on Instagram @itsisabellem using #SugarWithIsabelle!

That’s it from me, 👋

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