The 15 Worst Health & Diet Myths

DanOhh

Another great article from Yahoo.

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/15-worst-health-diet-myths

DS13

That's a good article. I think I might get me some jerky!

DawniesLife

Thanks for sharing! I love reading this stuff!

MercuryBlue

Thanks! I love articles like this.

Except I turn into the annoying person who passes this information on to people who don't care.... lol


"Hey, did you know that potatoes are actually okay to eat?"

Mindful_Trent

GREAT article - one of the best I've seen. Tons of great information to counter some of the more annoying myths out there. I've actually told people recently that potatoes and steak are NOT "bad" foods, as long as they're eaten in appropriate portions... like most things! I agree with every piece of advice on there.

MercuryBlue

GREAT article - one of the best I've seen. Tons of great information to counter some of the more annoying myths out there. I've actually told people recently that potatoes and steak are NOT "bad" foods, as long as they're eaten in appropriate portions... like most things! I agree with every piece of advice on there.

I absolutely LOVE steak and potatoes. And for a long time banned myself from eating them, until I realized that I just had to learn how much to eat them- and what to put on them.

Mindful_Trent

GREAT article - one of the best I've seen. Tons of great information to counter some of the more annoying myths out there. I've actually told people recently that potatoes and steak are NOT "bad" foods, as long as they're eaten in appropriate portions... like most things! I agree with every piece of advice on there.

I absolutely LOVE steak and potatoes. And for a long time banned myself from eating them, until I realized that I just had to learn how much to eat them- and what to put on them.

And what *not* to put on them! :laugh:

tater8589

Yay!! I like steak and put more salt on my food than some. I'm happy cause I can eat it Thanks for the post.

MercuryBlue

The thing about salt is good to read because, honestly, I love salt. I don't have any blood-pressure problems or anything but haved tended to avoid salt because it makes me retain water.

Recently I've shifted my attitude towards the scale, though. I'm trying to focus on dropping my BF% moreso than losing weight on the scale. So does it really matter if I'm carrying an extra pound or two of water weight, if I'm eating well and taking care of myself?

For me, personally, it's a psychological issue I've just had to learn to get over.

nilisabel

Good article - lots to think about! my thoughts are as follows: I'm seeing obesity not starvation in my neighborhood, so I'm not inclined to believe people are starving energy-wise trying to eat right, but I think they are substituting nutrient poor food for nutrient rich food; that is they are eating empty calories (so, plenty of sugar/high fructose corn syrup and not enough vitamins and fiber). The trouble with that great Italian restaurant is portion size and nutrient to energy ratio. Even like half that eggplant parm is super loaded with fat and calories, and so you're up to a significant portion of your daily allowance in calories before you've hit a significant quota for your daily vitamins and fiber. I'm not sold on that 180g protein daily, either. Research shows you only need 0.8g protein per kg body weight or up to 1.8g protein per kilogram body weight if a person has an increased need due to health condition, or at least that is what is in the nursing textbooks. Too much protein IS hard on the kidneys, in hypertensive people it can push the proteins through the basement membrane impeding proper kidney function, I'm not sure how much more than 1.8g/kg you'd need to eat to get that result, but that is why I keep my protein in the reasonable levels. I totally agree the potatoes and need for potassium stuff is true enough, but poor potassium causes arrhythmias and I'm not certain about BP issues (although it makes sense, I haven't read it or committed it to memory from a textbook yet).

Anyway, awesome article because it made me think! Progress is made in such ways!

nilisabel

@mercury:

I think most people find a psychological component in weight gain/weight loss. It would be nice to know how you got over it, if you'd like to share

nilisabel

for example, it was kinda hinted at in the article that the foods we eat trigger the foods we eat, like diet sodas are sweet so we crave sweet things. I think something similar is true of high fructose corn syrup than sucrose, even though they look the same, taste the same, they are actually quite different in the body. So, I'm still researching this and I'm no grad student or pro, just passionate about this stuff.

Also, I think people ought to consider the similarities between the psychological and biophysical component of diet and exercise. A person is a holistic system of systems; our psyche is our biology. I think it is ignorant to draw a distinction and put these two aspects of the same being either inoppositely or at odds with each other... What do you guys think? Is it time to stop labeling diet a willpower thing and start treating it as a chronic condition?

SHBoss1673

not a fan of this article.

see this post as to why.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/150921-no-your-not-eating-too-much-protein?page=1#posts-2042378

MercuryBlue

@mercury:

I think most people find a psychological component in weight gain/weight loss. It would be nice to know how you got over it, if you'd like to share

I just meant that the weight gain/loss from water retention was a psychological thing for me. Like, if I were retaining water and the scale was up three pounds I would sort of freak out and drink tonnes of water and cut back on salt until the scale went back down again. It didn't matter that I KNEW it was water weight- I just got really upset when the scale went up.

What changed for me was when I realized that a lot of the 'loose skin' I thought I was carrying from my weight loss (fifty pounds so far) is just flab. The last ten pounds that I have lost (going from 145 to 135) was not in the best way. Basically I was working a lot, not paying enough attention to my nutrition, and stopped exercising. So a the weight that I lost wasn't all FAT necessarily- but also some muscle.

It made me realize that I need to focus on getting my fat down, moreso than my weight. So now I'm aiming for a target bf% instead of a target weight because the number on the scale doesn't show everything...