There are many myths surrounding these five foods and we’re here to set the record straight.
1. Eggs are bad for you
Eggs have long been blamed for raising dietary cholesterol levels and coronary heart disease, but if you’ve been avoiding eggs you can now rest easy. Blood cholesterol levels shoot up when a person eats too much saturated fat or trans fat, found in deep-fried and commercially prepared foods. One egg contains only about 1.5 grams of saturated fat and no trans fat at all. The Heart Foundation of Australia says that a person can enjoy six eggs per week without increasing their risk of heart disease.
Read more at Heart Foundation.
2. Apples are healthy
An apple a day keeps a doctor away. This may have been true in the good old days, but due to the continuous growing of the same crops in the same soils – which leeches the nutrients from the earth – the nutritional quality of apples has decreased. This is why soil rotation is so important. Apples remain beneficial for their essential nutrients, such as fibre, but they also contain more sugar these days, as they are grown to be sweeter. Research conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that modern apples can contain a sugar content of up to 15 per cent – the equivalent of four teaspoons of sugar.
Read more at Daily Mail.
3. Bread makes you fat
Bread is one of the oldest processed foods around, and is made from a number of grains, including wheat, spelt, rye, oats and barley. Contrary to popular belief, bread actually contains very little fat, and eating the right kind of bread in controlled amounts can actually help you prevent weight gain. When it comes to eating bread, it’s all about the quality. Wholegrain and multigrain breads are best because they have a low glycaemic index and contain large amounts of natural fibre. The health benefits of eating wholegrain and high cereal fibre bread include reduced risks of heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes and bowel cancer in adults.
Read more at MyDr.
4. Chocolate makes you happy
Chocolate has long been giving chocoholics an excuse to indulge, with its list of alleged health benefits, including being an antidepressant. The claim that chocolate boosts serotonin levels (a natural antidepressant produced by the brain) may be false, with researchers from The Black Dog Institute in Sydney, finding that even if a patient’s mood changed after eating chocolate, their serotonin levels remained the same. The researchers do agree, however, that chocolate is a psychoactive food, and can positively affect a person’s mind in the short term. Like bread, the value of chocolate lies in the quality. Dark chocolate – containing at least 70 per cent cocoa, is better for you than milk chocolate, as it contains high concentrations of antioxidants called flavonoids, which boost the body’s endorphins, the temporary pleasure drug.
Read more at Black Dog Institute.
5. Artificial sweetener is better than sugar
Artificial sweeteners are synthetic sugar substitutes, and can be found in many processed foods such as soft drinks, as well as being used for tea and coffee. The sweetening ingredient in most artificial sweeteners is called aspartame and it is 200 times sweetener than normal sugar. While artificial sugar provides a good option for those wanting to cut down their sugar intake, the risks of synthetic sugar may outweigh the benefits in the long run. Studies have linked high-dose artificial sweeteners with cancer in animals, though there is yet no evidence that the same is true for humans. However, it is important to limit your consumption of artificial sweeteners, as it is difficult for your body to process the chemicals they contain. This is particularly true for people with phenylketonuria disorder (PKU), who are unable to metabolise phenylalanine.
Read more at WebMD.
