Healthy Living
Eat This , Not That!
15. MYTH #1: High fructose corn syrup is worse than table sugar:
Whether or not added sugar is bad for you has never been in
dispute. The less sugar you eat, the better. But whether HFCS is worse
than plain ol' table sugar has long been a contentious issue. Here’s
what you need to know: Both HFCS and table sugar, or sucrose, are built
with roughly a 50-50 blend of two sugars, fructose, and glucose. That
means in all likelihood that your body can’t tell one from the
other—they’re both just sugar. HFCS’s real sin is that it’s supercheap,
and as a result, it’s added to everything from cereal to ketchup to
salad dressing. Plus it may be affecting your health in ways not yet
fully understood by the scientific community. Is it a good idea to
minimize the HFCS in your diet? Absolutely. It’s best to cut out all
unnecessary sugars. But HFCS’s role as nutritional enemy #1 has been
exaggerated.
14. MYTH #2: Sea salt is a healthier version of regular salt:
Everyday table salt comes from a mine and contains roughly
2,300 milligrams of sodium per teaspoon. Sea salt comes from evaporated
seawater, and it also contains roughly 2,300 milligrams of sodium. That
makes them, well, roughly identical. Advocates point to the fact that
sea salt also contains other compounds like magnesium and iron, but in
truth, these minerals exist in trace amounts. To obtain a meaningful
dose, you’d have to take in extremely high and potentially dangerous
levels of sodium. What’s more, traditional table salt is regularly
fortified with iodine, which plays an important role in regulating the
hormones in your body. Sea salt, on the other hand, gives you virtually
zero iodine. The bottom line is this: If switching from table salt to
sea salt causes you to consume even one extra granule, then you’ve just
completely snuffed out whatever elusive health boon you hope to receive.
Plus you’ve wasted a few bucks.
13. MYTH #3: Energy drinks are less harmful than soda:
Energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster, and Full Throttle
attempt to boost your energy with a cache of B vitamins, herbal
extracts, and amino acids. But what your body’s going to remember most
(especially around your waistline) is the sugar in these concoctions; a
16-ounce can delivers as much as 280 calories of pure sugar, which is
about 80 calories more than you’d find in a 16-ounce cup of Pepsi.
What’s more, a University of Maryland study found energy drinks to be 11
percent more corrosive to your teeth than regular soda. So here’s the
secret that energy drink companies don’t want you to know: The only
proven, significant energy boost comes from caffeine. If you want an
energy boost, save yourself the sugar spike and drink a cup of coffee.
12. MYTH #4: Diet soda is harmless:
The obesity-research community is becoming increasingly
aware that the artificial sweeteners used in diet soda—aspartame and
sucralose, for instance—lead to hard-to-control food urges later in the
day. One Purdue study discovered that rats took in more calories if
they'd been fed artificial sweeteners prior to mealtime, and a
University of Texas study found that people who consume just three diet
sodas per week were more than 40 percent more likely to be obese. Try
weaning yourself off by switching to carbonated water and flavoring with
lemon, cucumber, and fresh herbs.
11. MYTH #5: Low-fat foods are better for you:
As it applies to food marketing, the term “low fat” is
synonymous with “loaded with salt and cheap carbohydrates.” For
instance, look at Smucker’s Reduced Fat Peanut Butter. To replace the
fat it skimmed out, Smucker’s added a fast-digesting carbohydrate called
maltodextrin. That’s not going to help you lose weight. A 2008 study in
the
New England Journal of Medicine found that over a 2-year
span, people on low-carb diets lost 62 percent more body weight than
those trying to cut fat. (Plus, the fat in peanut butter is
heart-healthy monounsaturated fat—you’d be better off eating more of it,
not less!)
10. MYTH #6: “Trans-fat free” foods are actually trans-fat free:
The FDA’s guidelines allow companies to claim 0 grams of
trans fat—even broadcast it on the front of their packages—as long as
the food in question contains no more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per
serving. But here’s the deal: Due to an inextricable link to heart
disease, the World Health Organization advises people to keep trans fat
intake as low as possible, maxing out at about 1 gram per 2,000 calories
consumed. If your cupboard’s full of foods with almost half a gram per
serving, you might be blowing past that number every single day. The
American Journal of Health Promotion
recently published an article urging the FDA to rethink its lax
regulations, but until that happens, you should avoid all foods with
“partially hydrogenated oil” (meaning, trans fats) on their ingredients
statements.
9. MYTH #7: Foods labeled “natural” are healthier:
The FDA makes no serious effort to control the use of the
word "natural" on nutrition labels. Case in point: 7UP boasts that it’s
made with “100% Natural Flavors” when, in fact, the soda is sweetened
with a decidedly un-natural dose of high fructose corn syrup. “Corn” is
natural, but “high fructose corn syrup” is produced using a centrifuge
and a series of chemical reactions. Other "natural" abusers include
Natural Cheetos, which are made with maltodextrin and disodium
phosphate, and “natural advantage” Post Raisin Bran, which bathes its
raisins in both sugar and corn syrup. The worst part is, you're likely
paying a premium price for common junk food.
8. MYTH #8: Egg yolks raise your cholesterol:
Egg yolks contain dietary cholesterol; this much is true.
But research has proven that dietary cholesterol has almost nothing to
do with serum cholesterol, the stuff in your blood. Wake Forest
University researchers reviewed more than 30 egg studies and found no
link between egg consumption and heart disease, and a study in Saint
Louis found that eating eggs for breakfast could decrease your calorie
intake for the remainder of the day.
7. MYTH #9: Eating junk food helps battle stress:
You’ve been there: Stressed out and sprawled across your
sofa with one arm elbow deep in a bag of cheese puffs. In the moment, it
can be comforting, but a study published in the British Journal of
Psychiatry found that people who consumed the most highly processed
foods were 58 percent more likely to be depressed than those who ate the
least. Your move: Find a healthy stress snack. Peanut butter and
Triscuits do the trick, or check out the next myth …
6. MYTH #10: Chocolate is bad for you:
Cocoa is a plant-based food replete with flavonoids that
increase blood flow and release feel-good endorphins. Plus, it contains a
healthy kind of saturated fat called stearic acid, which research has
shown can increase your good HDL cholesterol. But here’s the rub: When
most people think of chocolate, their minds jump immediately to milk
chocolate, which contains far more sugar than actual cocoa. Instead,
look for dark chocolate, specifically those versions that tell you
exactly how much cocoa they contain. A bar with 60% cocoa is good, but
the more cocoa it contains, the greater the health effects.
5. Myth #11: Granola is good for you:
Oats are good for you, and the same goes for oatmeal. But
granola takes those good-for-you hunks of flattened oat, blankets them
in sugar, and bakes them in oil to give them crunch. The amount of fat
and sugar added to each oat is at the discretion of food processors, but
you can bet your last cup of milk it’s going to far sweeter and more
fatty than a bowl of regular cereal. Take this example: A single cup of
Quaker Natural Granola, Nuts & Raisins has 420 calories, 30 grams of
sugar, and 10 grams of fat. Switch to a humble cup of Kix and you drop
down about 90 calories, 2.5 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of fat.
4. MYTH #12: Bananas are the best source of potassium:
Your body uses potassium to keep your nerves and muscles
firing efficiently, and an adequate intake can blunt sodium’s effect on
blood pressure. One 2009 study found that a 2:1 ratio of potassium to
sodium could halve your risk of heart disease, and since the average
American consumes about 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day, your goal
should be 6,800 milligrams of daily potassium. You’re extremely unlikely
to ever reach that mark—and never with bananas alone. One medium banana
has 422 milligrams and 105 calories. Here are the sources that earn you
roughly the same amount of potassium in fewer calories:
* Potato, half a medium spud, 80 calories
* Apricots, 5 whole fruit, 80 calories
* Cantaloupe, 1 cup cubes, 55 calories
* Broccoli, 1 full stalk, 50 calories
* Sun-dried tomatoes, a quarter cup, 35 calories
3. MYTH #13: Oranges are the best source of vitamin C:
Far more than a simple immune booster, vitamin C is an
antioxidant that plays a host of important roles in your body. It
strengthens skin by helping to build collagen, improves mood by
increasing the flow of norepinephrine, and bolsters metabolic efficiency
by helping transport fat cells into the body’s energy-burning
mitochondria. But since your body can neither store nor create the
wonder vitamin, you need to provide a constant supply. An orange is the
most famous vitamin-C food, and although it’s a good source, it’s by no
means the best. For 70 calories, one orange gives you about 70
micrograms of vitamin C. Here are five sources with just as much vitamin
C and even fewer calories:
* Papaya, ¾ cup, 50 calories
* Brussel’s sprouts, 1 cup, 40 calories
* Strawberries, 7 large fruit, 40 calories
* Broccoli, ½ stalk, 25 calories
* Red Bell Pepper, ½ medium pepper, 20 calories
2. MYTH #14: Organic is always better:
Often, but not in every case. Organic produce is almost
nutritionally identical to its conventional counterpart. The issue is
pesticide exposure—pesticides have been linked to an increased risk of
obesity in some studies. But many conventionally grown fruits and
vegetables are very low in pesticides. Take, for example, the
conventional onion: It’s got the lowest pesticide load of 45 fruits and
vegetables tested by the Environmental Working Group. Also in the
safe-to-eat-conventional group are avocados, sweet corn, and pineapple.
In general, fruits and vegetables with impermeable skins are safe to buy
conventional, while produce like celery, peaches, apples, and
blueberries are better purchased organic.
1. MYTH #15: Meat is bad for you:
Pork, beef, and lamb are among the world’s best sources of
complete protein, and a Danish study found that dieting with 25 percent
of calories from protein can help you lose twice as much weight as
dieting with 12 percent protein. Then there’s vitamin B12, which is
prevalent only in animal-based foods. B12 is essential to your body’s
ability to decode DNA and build red blood cells, and British researchers
found that adequate intakes protect against age-related brain
shrinkage. Now, if you’re worried that meat will increase your risk for
heart disease, don’t be. A Harvard review last year looked at 20 studies
and found that meat’s link to heart disease exists only with processed
meats like bacon, sausage, and deli cuts. Unprocessed meats, those that
hadn’t been smoked, cured, or chemically preserved, presented absolutely
zero risk.
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