There are many myths surrounding diet. Well I'm here to debunk the 5 biggest myths:
MYTH 1. Don't eat after 8pm.
Fact: Calories are calories irrespective of what time it is and contrary to the belief, they cannot actually tell the time. You don’t magically store more fat after 8pm. What and how much you eat determines weight gain or loss. To lose weight, try spreading out your calories throughout the day, so you’re not starving in the evening and end up overeating.
With ever-busy schedules, many people often do not get a chance to eat until 7 or 8 p.m. It's a myth that food stays in your stomach all night and magically transforms into fat. Your body does not turn off when you go to bed. There is no magical time of day that your body starts storing fat and stops digesting food.
It is simple mathematics. Weight gain happens when you eat more calories than you expend. As long as you are burning off the same or more than what you are consuming, you can eat at any time of the day. If you are having a late dinner, go for a light meal such as some fish or chicken with a salad. And if you are craving a late-night snack, try a piece of fruit to ensure those extra calories don't sneak up on you.
With ever-busy schedules, many people often do not get a chance to eat until 7 or 8 p.m. It's a myth that food stays in your stomach all night and magically transforms into fat. Your body does not turn off when you go to bed. There is no magical time of day that your body starts storing fat and stops digesting food.
It is simple mathematics. Weight gain happens when you eat more calories than you expend. As long as you are burning off the same or more than what you are consuming, you can eat at any time of the day. If you are having a late dinner, go for a light meal such as some fish or chicken with a salad. And if you are craving a late-night snack, try a piece of fruit to ensure those extra calories don't sneak up on you.
MYTH 2. Carbohydrates make you fat.
Fact: Carbohydrates have had a bad rap for far too long so let's finally dump this erroneous notion. Carbohydrates do not make you fat. Eating more of any kind of food than your body needs will make you fat. Carbohydrates are the primary and preferred source of energy for your working muscles and brain. For anyone who has been on a low-carb diet will attest to feelings of lethargy and tiredness.
Carbohydrates are classified as either simple or complex and you can read more about the various types in Nutrition 101 series: Choosing the right fuels, 31/8/11
Carbohydrates are classified as either simple or complex and you can read more about the various types in Nutrition 101 series: Choosing the right fuels, 31/8/11
MYTH 3. Diabetes is the direct result of eating too much sugar.
Fact: Diabetes is caused by a lack of insulin absorption or production in the body, not by consumption of sugar and carbohydrates. Although, diabetics do need to monitor how much sugar and carbohydrates they ingest, it will not cause the disease to form. The main causes of diabetes are obesity and inactivity, which sugar may be an attributing factor to but cannot be the sole cause of.
MYTH 4. Fats are bad for you.
Fact: Along with carbohydrates, fats have also been on the receiving end of bad press. Just like people, fats come in all different shapes and sizes and cannot simply be lumped together into one. The important thing is to differentiate between the different types of fats and to know which type is in the foods you eat.
Healthy fats are essential for good health and have been shown to protect us from a range of diseases such as cancer and heart disease, decrease total cholesterol levels, while omega-3 fats in particular have been shown to have many other health properties, including reducing blood pressure and assisting with inflammatory bowel disease.
Read more about the different types of fat in Nutrition 101 series: Choosing the right fuels, 31/8/11
MYTH 5. Skipping breakfast helps you lose weight
Healthy fats are essential for good health and have been shown to protect us from a range of diseases such as cancer and heart disease, decrease total cholesterol levels, while omega-3 fats in particular have been shown to have many other health properties, including reducing blood pressure and assisting with inflammatory bowel disease.
Read more about the different types of fat in Nutrition 101 series: Choosing the right fuels, 31/8/11
MYTH 5. Skipping breakfast helps you lose weight
Fact: While it may seem logical that skipping a meal and therefore eating less food, will help with weight management, this is not so where breakfast is concerned. Research has shown that people who skip breakfast tend to have higher body weights and a higher chance of weight influx than those who regularly eat breakfast.
The rate at which the body expends energy at rest is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR). When the body is low on fuel the BMR slows down to conserve energy. This means that when you skip breakfast, the body slows down the rate of metabolism to ensure there is enough fuel reserve for vital organs to perform essential functions.
A slower BMR means that breakfast skippers are less efficient at burning up the energy from the food they eat during the day and are actually more likely to snack and overeat later in the day, usually on foods that are less nutritious and have far more kilojoules than a simple bowl of cereal.
If cereal is not your cup of tea, try a piece of wholegrain toast with some scrambled eggs or some fresh fruit with yoghurt.
So there are your 5 biggest nutritional myths BUSTED. I will be continuing the Mythbusters series in the future with more myths about exercise and diet so keep an eye out!
JW
The rate at which the body expends energy at rest is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR). When the body is low on fuel the BMR slows down to conserve energy. This means that when you skip breakfast, the body slows down the rate of metabolism to ensure there is enough fuel reserve for vital organs to perform essential functions.
A slower BMR means that breakfast skippers are less efficient at burning up the energy from the food they eat during the day and are actually more likely to snack and overeat later in the day, usually on foods that are less nutritious and have far more kilojoules than a simple bowl of cereal.
If cereal is not your cup of tea, try a piece of wholegrain toast with some scrambled eggs or some fresh fruit with yoghurt.
So there are your 5 biggest nutritional myths BUSTED. I will be continuing the Mythbusters series in the future with more myths about exercise and diet so keep an eye out!
JW
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