nutrition myths

15 Common Nutrition Myths You Must Dispel

Nutrition is a confusing field. It’s easy to get lost in misinformation. Sometimes, old myths can still slip through the cracks even if you do your research. Getting deep nutrition misinformation from popular culture, friends, and family is easy. Even health professionals can’t agree on what to eat and drink, leading to much confusion. We’re here to help! What’s the best method of approaching a nutrition myth? You will learn about the truth about nutrition in this article. This article debunks 20 nutrition myths and facts.

Common Nutrition Myths - Top 15 Myths

Table of Contents

Weight Loss - Less Calories Intake is Enough

Less-calories intake creates a calorie deficit that is an important factor, but not enough for weight loss. A calorie deficit is not all needed for weight loss. Several factors account for poor weight loss such as hormonal imbalance, genetics, metabolic adaptations, hypothyroidism, and medications. Even if you are on a strict diet these above factors make it harder to lose the weight as required.

The nutrient value of the diet is more important than the calorie value. People concentrate more on a calorie deficit and forgot the most important nutrients value of the diet. This leads to choosing a poor nutrients diet such as cakes, rice, and egg white. A high nutrients diet such as whole eggs and avocados is required for overall health. So, we should focus on the nutrient value of diet for better health and weight loss.

High-Fat Diet - Dangerous and Unhealthy

Overall health can be achieved by a proper diet. A proper diet contains proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in a balanced amount. A low-fat diet is a poor diet. A lot of people think about fats as unhealthy and dangerous for their health. But it’s not true.

Fat has a lot of benefits and maintains our body healthy. A deficiency of fats causes several diseases such as insulin resistance, higher triglycerides level that leads to heart-related problems.

Excess and very low fats intake is dangerous. Good health is maintained by a balanced diet. A diet high in fats is better for weight loss than a low fats diet.

Breakfast - Necessary and Most Important Meal

Breakfast is a necessary meal, it’s a myth. It was thought that it’s very important and we shouldn’t skip it. But research has shown the opposite results. Intermittent fasting has a lot of benefits as it is linked with reduced calorie intake and better control of blood sugar levels. It also reduced the inflammatory markers.

Intermittent fasting can be achieved by skipping breakfast, by late breakfast, and taking the regular breakfast but having dinner early in the evening, it will provide a window of 14 to 16 hours of fasting.

Skipping a meal has a lot of benefits but it’s not good for children, teens, and pregnant ladies, and certain health-related problems. As it leads to more negative effects than positive. Some good evidence is available for consuming a breakfast as it leads to reduced meal frequency, body weight, and inflammation. So, breakfast is not necessary. Both eating breakfast and skipping it has health benefits.

Small and Frequent Meals - Optimal health

Most people think that small and frequent meals help in weight loss and boost metabolism. But it’s not a way to reduce weight. A healthy individual can take more frequent meals to fulfill the required calories. More frequent meals are necessary for pregnant women, IBS, diabetics, and coronary artery disease patients.

So, frequent meal pattern is good for weight loss. Studies have shown that a regular meal pattern is good for health.

Non-nutritive Sweeteners - Safe and Healthy

Most people prefer a low carb, low calorie, and sugar-free diet. So, they prefer the use of Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS). A high sugar diet has a lot of health issues but NNS intake also has several negative potential risks. NNS causes a negative shift of gut bacteria and dysregulates the blood sugar leading to diabetes.

Macronutrient Ratio - More Important than Food Quality

Some people think that a ratio of macronutrients matters more than the quality of diet. They think the macronutrients ratio is important for weight loss. But it’s not true. Eating highly processed food has a lot of health issues. Whole and unprocessed foods are more important for overall health than macronutrients ratio. So, food quality matters more than maco ratios.

nutrition myths

White Potatoes - Unhealthy Food

White potatoes are considered unhealthy for weight loss and overall health. The excess of any food is bad for health and leads to weight gain. But potatoes are nutritious tubers that have a lot of health benefits due to several nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, and fibers. Potatoes act as a fuller and you feel satisfied more than any other food such as rice and pasta. You can use potatoes as roasted and baked but avoid fried potatoes for better health.

Low Fat and Diet Foods - A Healthy Alternative

A low-fat, fat-free, or diet product is chosen often for weight reduction. But it’s an unhealthy choice for weight loss. Studies have shown that these products contain high salt and high added sugar contents than regular diet products. So, avoid low fat and diet products and choose full-fat yogurt, nut, butter, and cheese for better health.

Supplements - A Waste of Money

A well-balanced and nutrients rich diet is required for good health. But, supplements when used in the right form and consumed correctly have a lot of benefits. Supplements are very important and have a lot of benefits for diabetics patients and those who are using medications like PPIs, birth control pills, statins, etc. 

For example, the use of magnesium and vitamin B by diabetic patients has several benefits like proper utilization of sugar and prevention of diabetes-related complications. Supplements are necessary and have several health benefits for pregnant and breastfeeding women, people over age 50, etc.

Low-Calorie Diet - The Best Way to Lose Weight

A low-calorie diet can increase the rate of weight loss. But a very low-calorie diet can lead to a lot of health issues. A short-term low-calorie diet is good for proper weight loss. But a long-term intake of a low-calorie diet can lead to more hunger feelings, slow metabolic rate, and fullness hormones alternations. So, it’s not a healthy choice to choose a low-calorie diet for long-term weight loss management.

Good Health - You should be Skinny

Obesity is not good for healthy living. It has a lot of health issues like diabetes type 2, heart diseases, certain cancers, depression, and early death. You should reduce your weight and keep it in control to avoid further complications related to obesity. But it shouldn’t mean you should be skinny. You should consume a nutritious diet to maintain proper body weight.

Calcium Supplements - Necessary for Bone Health

Most people choose calcium supplements for bone health. But these supplements do more harm than good. One study has linked calcium supplements with heart diseases. Moreover, calcium supplements don’t reduce the risk of fractures and osteoporosis.

If you want to fulfill the calcium deficiency then choose dietary sources like seeds, beans, full-fat yogurt, and sardines.

Fiber Supplements - A Substitute for High Fiber Diet

An adequate intake of fibers is necessary. Fibers have a lot of benefits like improving bowel movement and controlling blood sugar levels. To fulfill this need most people use supplements, which is an unhealthy practice. Whole foods like fruits, vegetables, and beans contain a lot of other essential nutrients for better health. So, a fiber supplement is not a good choice.

High Cholesterol Diet - An Unhealthy Diet

Most people consider a high cholesterol diet unhealthy for health. Cholesterol is necessary for cell membranes and the production of several hormones in the body. A balanced diet is necessary for good health, and a balanced diet contains a good amount of cholesterol. You can get the required amount of cholesterol by including eggs and full-fat yogurt in your diet.

Carbohydrates Intake - A Cause of Weight Gain

Most people think that carbohydrates intake is a cause of obesity and diabetes. The intake of healthy carbohydrates like vegetables, legumes, and grains supply the vitamins, minerals, and fiber for good health. A dietary pattern that contains aa high fiber carbs, proteins, and healthy fats reduces diabetes, obesity, heart diseases, and certain cancers.

Unhealthy carbs like cakes, beverages, cookies, and bread can cause weight gain and diabetes when consumed in excess. So, these should be avoided.

The Bottom Line

There is a lot of misleading nutrition information (the myths about nutrition science). This leads to confusion, poor dietary choices, and mistrust of health professionals. You should educate yourself and neglect these myths about nutrition from your life. This will help you to choose a healthy dietary pattern.

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Nat Huang
Nat Huang

Founder of Keeswan.com. I love to write about striving forward and pursuing excellence, believing that hard work and pragmatism is the way to taste the manna of happiness and the fragrance of success in life.

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