Common Myths about Food

In our modern era of technology and information, we are prone to get overly informed about many simple things, including food. Often we take a role of receiver, where we passively without much filtering, accept untested statements about nourishment. It is not that our ability to judge and filter information decreased, but rather the enormous flow of information finds its way through the cracks of our filtering system. In this way, the new evidences promptly replaced the old facts, and the newly revealed truths rapidly change our former beliefs, and so on. The food, we once learn as highly nutritious, suddenly becomes banned. Maybe it would be wise to step back in order to listen our body, or let time to show us which food facts will pass the reality check before we decide what to avoid. In order to help us distinguish food facts from common myths, the article “10 Healthy Food Facts You Always Thought Were True (but Aren’t)” addresses the frequent misconceptions about food.

Myth #1: Brown eggs are more nutritious than white ones.
The only thing the color of an eggshell indicates is the color of the feathers of the bird it came from. White hens lay white eggs, and red hens lay brown eggs. Since brown eggs often cost a bit more than white eggs, you can now save your money without sacrificing nutrition.

Myth #2: Fresh is always better than frozen.
Freshly-shelled peas have more vitamins than frozen ones, right? Not exactly. “Fresh” produce often travels far distances and sits on grocery shelves — also, heat, air, and water can cause it to lose nutrients along the way.

Myth #3: Sea salt has less sodium.
There are several varieties of salt available, but one isn’t better for you. Pretty packaging and terms like “natural” can be deceptive. Gram for gram, sea salt contains as much sodium as table salt. However, because of its larger crystals, you may be inclined to use less of it.

Myth #4: Red wine is good for you.
Doctors agree that one glass of vino a day can be chock-full of health benefits, but there’s a key word in that sentence — “one!” Once you drink more than one serving, you may actually counteract the health benefits.

Myth #5: Brown sugar is healthier than white sugar.
Brown sugar is simply white sugar that has had molasses reintroduced to it. Because of its molasses content, it does contain minerals, but only in small amounts so the health difference is miniscule.

Myth #6: 100% fruit juice is best for you.
It counts as a serving of produce, but ideally, you should opt for whole fruit over a glass of juice. A glass of juice has more calories than a piece of fruit and lacks fill-you-up fiber. Because whole piece of fruit provides vitamins and fiber it tends to curb your intake of other food.

Myth #7: Organic food is healthier.
Organic foods are guaranteed to be grown without synthetic flavors, colors, sweeteners, most preservatives, and toxic or long-lasting pesticides and fertilizers, and they have not been genetically modified. Are they better for the environment? Yes. Are they more nutritious? Not necessarily. The USDA makes no claims that organic foods are healthier than non-organic foods.

Myth #8: It’s okay to have a sports drink after you exercise.
Unless you’re exercising intensely for more than an hour or in extreme heat, plain old water is sufficient to quench your thirst and replenish any fluids lost. After your typical 30-minute speed walk or treadmill jog, consuming a sports drink is just added calories.

Myth #9: Dark bread is always better than white.
If a loaf of bread is darker, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s made with whole grains — it could simply contain caramel coloring or a little extra whole wheat — and be no healthier than white bread. Look for the words “whole grain” or “100% whole wheat” on the package, and make sure the first ingredient listed is: whole wheat, oats, whole rye, whole-grain corn, barley, quinoa, buckwheat, or brown rice.

Myth #10: If the label says “all natural,” the product must be healthy.
Unless the label is on meat or poultry (indicating no artificial flavorings, colorings, or irradiation), the term “natural” holds no meaning — it’s unregulated and undefined.

If we look at our diet from another perspective, a perspective based on a holistic approach, where our body, mind, emotions, and spirit represent inseparable parts of our health, we can get better insights on this issue. From this point of view, it is not sufficient for our good health to eat nourishing and high-quality food, but what matters are emotions that lie behind our eating habits. According to Anita Moorjani, a woman who beat the cancer in its last phase, the emotion with which we eat the food is the most important factor in our overall health. Even before she got cancer, she ate healthy food and followed all the advices on its storage, preparation, and food combinations. However, the decision to eat healthy, according to her words, she made motivated by fear. In this way, she nourished her cells not only with the proper food, but also with fear. Her experience does not have to prevent us from eating healthily as we can, but the idea is to enjoy the food, even we sometimes choose to eat junk food. Junk food occasionally taken cannot do as much harm as a strong negative emotion behind it.