6 Food Myths
If you ask anyone today about the topic of food and nutrition, everyone will give you a different opinion.
We all need to eat, so we have also all formed views about what we think is best to eat.
Some of our views are taught to us by our parents, or conversations we've had with our friends or family members or information picked up via the internet, magazines or some other source.
With so much information flying around today about food, it's no wonder so many of us are muddled.
1.
You can eat as much fruit as you like: Fruit is high in fibre, vitamin and mineral content, but it also contains high kilojoules when over consumed.
The average piece of fruit contains a similar amount of kilojoules to a piece of white bread.
Adults should only consume two to three pieces of fruit per day unless they are participating in a high level physical activity.
Other processed fruit options, such as dried fruit, fruit bars, juices and even tinned fruit can be more concentrated in sugar than fresh fruit and consist of double the number of kilojoules as the equivalent piece of fresh fruit.
2.
Low GI White bread is as good as multigrain: Even though low GI white bread is better nutritionally than plain white bread, eating wholegrain bread offers you a number of key nutrients, such as zinc and vitamin E and also has the lowest GI.
3.
You can eat as much 'good fat' as you like: Vegetable oil, nuts and avocado oil have some health benefits when they are consumed in small amounts; too much is certainly not good for you.
An adult requires just a teaspoon of oil, ten to fifteen nuts, some tuna or salmon as well as some avocado to get all the good fat they need in one day.
4.
Potatoes are bad for you:.
Spuds have been given a bad rap because they are found to have a high GI, which means they are digested very quickly.
When eaten with fish, meat, chicken and vegetables, a potato without dashings of butter on, is just fine.
A potato contains less than 400 kilojoules which is half the kilojoules compared to a cup of cooked rice.
5.
Nuts are too high in fat to eat regularly: Even though nuts are high in fat, they are the type of fat that is primarily unsaturated, which means that a small serve of nuts can be enjoyed daily.
Studies have shown that eating 30 grams or 10 to 15 nuts per day will not have any negative effect on a person's diet or weight.
6.
Avoid carbs for weight loss: By reducing your intake of energy dense carbohydrates, which consist of large slices of white bread, rice, pasta, cakes and biscuits, will certainly help in weight loss.
However, eating too few carbohydrates can starve the muscles for long periods of time and thereby reduce the metabolic rate, so the body becomes less effective at burning energy and losing weight.
We all need to eat, so we have also all formed views about what we think is best to eat.
Some of our views are taught to us by our parents, or conversations we've had with our friends or family members or information picked up via the internet, magazines or some other source.
With so much information flying around today about food, it's no wonder so many of us are muddled.
1.
You can eat as much fruit as you like: Fruit is high in fibre, vitamin and mineral content, but it also contains high kilojoules when over consumed.
The average piece of fruit contains a similar amount of kilojoules to a piece of white bread.
Adults should only consume two to three pieces of fruit per day unless they are participating in a high level physical activity.
Other processed fruit options, such as dried fruit, fruit bars, juices and even tinned fruit can be more concentrated in sugar than fresh fruit and consist of double the number of kilojoules as the equivalent piece of fresh fruit.
2.
Low GI White bread is as good as multigrain: Even though low GI white bread is better nutritionally than plain white bread, eating wholegrain bread offers you a number of key nutrients, such as zinc and vitamin E and also has the lowest GI.
3.
You can eat as much 'good fat' as you like: Vegetable oil, nuts and avocado oil have some health benefits when they are consumed in small amounts; too much is certainly not good for you.
An adult requires just a teaspoon of oil, ten to fifteen nuts, some tuna or salmon as well as some avocado to get all the good fat they need in one day.
4.
Potatoes are bad for you:.
Spuds have been given a bad rap because they are found to have a high GI, which means they are digested very quickly.
When eaten with fish, meat, chicken and vegetables, a potato without dashings of butter on, is just fine.
A potato contains less than 400 kilojoules which is half the kilojoules compared to a cup of cooked rice.
5.
Nuts are too high in fat to eat regularly: Even though nuts are high in fat, they are the type of fat that is primarily unsaturated, which means that a small serve of nuts can be enjoyed daily.
Studies have shown that eating 30 grams or 10 to 15 nuts per day will not have any negative effect on a person's diet or weight.
6.
Avoid carbs for weight loss: By reducing your intake of energy dense carbohydrates, which consist of large slices of white bread, rice, pasta, cakes and biscuits, will certainly help in weight loss.
However, eating too few carbohydrates can starve the muscles for long periods of time and thereby reduce the metabolic rate, so the body becomes less effective at burning energy and losing weight.
