Nutrition Myths
marcae70
Posts: 72 Member
I see the same thing over and over on these message boards (not just MFP either) and it boils my blood! I thought these myths were debunked such a long time ago but I still see people regurgitating the same old crap over and over again.
My personal favorites...
-Eat 8 small meals a day! You metabolism will speed up and you'll burn more fat/calories!
-Eat breakfast every day! You metabolism will slow down if you don't eat breakfast and you'll gain weight!
-Fruit is so healthy! The sugar is fruit is "natural" and "healthy" so it must be okay. It's totally different than sugar in soda or candy!
What are your favorite myths that people will argue to the death over?
My personal favorites...
-Eat 8 small meals a day! You metabolism will speed up and you'll burn more fat/calories!
-Eat breakfast every day! You metabolism will slow down if you don't eat breakfast and you'll gain weight!
-Fruit is so healthy! The sugar is fruit is "natural" and "healthy" so it must be okay. It's totally different than sugar in soda or candy!
What are your favorite myths that people will argue to the death over?
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Replies
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Artificial sweeteners are cancer/make your body forget how to process sugar/make you fat0
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OMG you ate under 1200 for 1 day, your body will go into "starvation mode."0
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Oh that weight gain must be all the muscle you're building from that cardio you're doing....0
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What makes fruit unhealthy? Other than eating a ton of it, just like eating a ton of lettuce and carrots would make that unhealthy too....0
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asflatasapancake wrote: »
A lot of people have their own definition of what is "healthy" and what is fact versus myth. For instance, the latest craze is "sugar will murder your sister". I argue that sugar will not murder your sister and that dietary "health" is all about meeting calorie/macro/micro goals. Which one is fact and which one is myth? One could find information either way. It depends on which one each individuals chooses to believe based on the information and evidence given.
What if my sister had it coming?
Definitely seconding the "sugar/carbs are the devil" myth.0 -
Ready2Rock206 wrote: »Oh that weight gain must be all the muscle you're building from that cardio you're doing....
lol yep. the "weight gain is probably muscle" thing. ha even pushing yourself w/ lifting and diet will only MAYBE give you 1lb of muscle/mo.
another one: eating late at night is bad for you/fattening.0 -
What makes fruit unhealthy? Other than eating a ton of it, just like eating a ton of lettuce and carrots would make that unhealthy too....
Some people think that because something is "healthy" you can eat as much of it as you like. Calories from fruit is still calories. Yummy, yummy calories.
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You can lose weight simply by eating low carb- no calorie deficit needed *eyeroll*0
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another one: eating late at night is bad for you/fattening.
Those people just make me mad!!! I want all this free time to be able to have had dinner and everything before 7pm. Who are these people?! I'm not even home from work yet - let alone had time to do all my evening activities and make dinner. I'm just jealous and bitter....
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Adding another entry even though I've already commented...
I think the "starvation mode" myth honestly kept me from losing weight as early as I could have. My mom had me so freaked out about "starvation" and my metabolism that I would panic a little every time I felt really hungry because "oh noes! My metabolism's shutting down!"
I appreciate the fact that some people use it thinking that a hungry person could be malnurished (which in some cases, may be true), but I really think that myth has done a lot more harm than good in the weight loss realm.0 -
The reverence shown for fruit grates on my nerves a bit. I don't care that is has sugar, but yeah the idea that it's not a man-made sugar-bomb bred for consumer preference for candy, not vitamins, kinda gets me. Also the notion that one has to eat fruit for health and to get your vitamins when you really don't. Veg will suffice.0
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asflatasapancake wrote: »I see the same thing over and over on these message boards (not just MFP either) and it boils my blood! I thought these myths were debunked such a long time ago but I still see people regurgitating the same old crap over and over again.
My personal favorites...
-Eat 8 small meals a day! You metabolism will speed up and you'll burn more fat/calories!
-Eat breakfast every day! You metabolism will slow down if you don't eat breakfast and you'll gain weight!
-Fruit is so healthy! The sugar is fruit is "natural" and "healthy" so it must be okay. It's totally different than sugar in soda or candy!
What are your favorite myths that people will argue to the death over?
A lot of people have their own definition of what is "healthy" and what is fact versus myth. For instance, the latest craze is "sugar will murder your sister". I argue that sugar will not murder your sister and that dietary "health" is all about meeting calorie/macro/micro goals. Which one is fact and which one is myth? One could find information either way. It depends on which one each individuals chooses to believe based on the information and evidence given.
What if I don't have a sister?
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@astrampe Well, one could argue that since someone wouldn't recommend eating a couple teaspoons of sugar then maybe we shouldn't eat fruits which also may contain a ridiculous amount of sugar.
For example...1 apple contains 19g of sugar. That equals 4.75 tsps of sugar. No thanks!0 -
@Lourdesong Preach0
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I love fruit.0
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@astrampe Well, one could argue that since someone wouldn't recommend eating a couple teaspoons of sugar then maybe we shouldn't eat fruits which also may contain a ridiculous amount of sugar.
For example...1 apple contains 19g of sugar. That equals 4.75 tsps of sugar. No thanks!
What if someone absolutely would recommend eating a couple teaspoons of sugar? Because I have no earthly idea why they wouldn't.0 -
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TheVirgoddess wrote: »I love fruit.
Stop that. You're killing your sister.
Or something.
None of the myths listed by the OP "boil my blood". They're all pretty benign, to be honest. And fresh fruit can be a beautiful thing when it, like any food substance, is understood and kept in reasonable perspective. Just like the sugar in ice cream or chocolate.
The fake information that "boils my blood" is the BS that's perpetrated by scam artists who are trying to make a buck off of vulnerable people who are desperate to lose weight: the diet "experts" and book and wrap and pill and miracle diet secret and spirulina pushers. Those make me mad.
Thinking that breakfast is important isn't a concept that bothers me much.
I'm a terrible person.
I agree with you on the annoyance of MLM schemes, totally.0 -
It boils my blood reading dieting and health tips that are myths also.
Especially the ones that claim eating apples and bananas are bad because of the sugar!! No foods are bad in moderation. Sugar isn't the debil!!0 -
You'll pry berries from my cold, dead hands.
Okay, nutrition myths...
You just need to eat "clean" and you'll lose weight.
You could eat way too many calories eating the cleanest food in the world and pack on the pounds.
Sugar is stored as fat. (when talking to people eating at a calorie deficit)
Nope. Learn more than some sound bites from an anti-sugar "doctor" about energy balance and the specifics of energy usage in relation to it.0 -
FatFreeFrolicking wrote: »You can lose weight simply by eating low carb- no calorie deficit needed *eyeroll*
Anything where people say words they don't know the meaning of. "Clean", "organic", "GMO", "processed" and "chemicals" come to mind.
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Ohh I hate the term clean eating. It's like nails on a chalkboard.0
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My Mom and I actually got into a mini fight the other day because she swore up and down that eating after 6 pm will make you fat. She simply would not let it go. "A 200 calorie muffin at 11 pm is still 200 calories at 11 am, Mom!" Nope, she wasn't having it.
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But that's not all it has.@astrampe Well, one could argue that since someone wouldn't recommend eating a couple teaspoons of sugar then maybe we shouldn't eat fruits which also may contain a ridiculous amount of sugar.
For example...1 apple contains 19g of sugar. That equals 4.75 tsps of sugar. No thanks!
It's like saying you wouldn't eat a piece of cake because you wouldn't eat 1/3 of a cup of flour or whatever.
Even so, that's not even 80 calories.
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This discussion has been closed.
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