whats the worst "food myth" you have heard?

That a gluten free diet can help cure autism. I want to punch people who say that in the face. Repeatedly.

As someone with autism this one bugs me. The gluten free/dairy free diet that they talk about on autism forums is the biggest crock and is nothing more than more new-age medicine, like healing crystals.

My daughter has autism. My husband has a regular customer who comes in all the time spouting about how when a child has autism it's the mother's fault because she ate gluten while she was pregnant. I want to sell him to Jigsaw lol

Like a few of the others here, there's an odd bit of truth there.

A friend's adult daughter had become very ill; after being diagnosed with various allergies and avoiding those foods had gotten better. After that, my friend had the rest of the family tested for food allergies. Her adult, autistic son had a few strong food allergies, including wheat. Removing those from his diet resulted in major behavioral changes. Not a cure, and in his case, it wasn't just a gluten free diet, but not eating things he was allergic to every day. (My friend also had some major health improvements.)

In no way do I mean to suggest that someone who eats perfectly normal foods while pregnant or that diet causes autism, but food allergies can do bad things. And this is how weird myths can get started.

What about the myth that you have to eat above 1200 calories a day or you will stall and not lose weight. Yeah, tell that one to gastric bypass patients who eat 300-1000 calories a day and lose massive amounts of weight.

*sigh* This got to page 15 and then someone just had to start a totally tangental topic like this - well done!!

that sugar contains only 28 calories per teaspoon (true) and won't have any negative effects on you losing weight (totally false).

I disagree on your totally false. at least, for the vast majority of the population.

in the simplest terms, calories determine weight gain or loss. so too much sugar will hinder weight because of the calorie content, if it goes too high. otherwise ... not so much.

I agree with you disagreeing with the totally false!

Ooooh the Autism thing really boils my p*ss. Im an autism researcher, it has nothing to do with gastrointestinal issues.
Changes in behaviour after sussing food allergies, etc, will most likely be due to a lack of discomfort. ASC children find it harder to communicate, imagine if you had a tummy ache all the time and felt rubbish but couldnt really let anyone know, then suddenly it stops...behaviour is bound to settle.

The 'good calories' vs. 'bad calories' makes perfect sense to me. Are you getting your calories from healthy, filling and nutritious foods, or are you getting them from sugars, fats and drinks like soda and alcohol. NOT all calories were created equal. Seriously, you have a mars bar...around 240 calories for 50g bar, and then you have a chicken stir fry, around the same. Are you telling me that those calories count for the same health wise?

oh and apparently i live under a rock what the hell is a negative calorie food? no doubt a mythical creature of sorts but I've never heard that term until this post

I think they are supposed to be things that take more calories to digest than what they contain.. is that correct, anyone?

I've never really thought much about it, but I thought I heard somone try to argue that once.

I havent looked it up, but I always heard that Celery is at least a calorie neutral. It is virtually calorie free, being mostly water and fiber, and takes quite a bit of work to chew it up, being all stringy and tough.

-dairy makes you congested (not true and not scientifically possible)

While it might not be true for the vast majority, be careful what you say isn't scientifically possible. Food allergies can cause histamine reactions which would increase congestion.

Not a myth:
Babies actually have more alkaline digestive tracts compared to adults, which is why babies can handle dairy

Adults being able to tolerate dairy is supposidly the latest, most recent evolution for humans...but has high genetic variance among races based on how long they have been adapted to an agricultural lifestyle. (Certain african tribes that have raised livestock can handle dairy better than say asians). It's way too gray of a topic to make any conclusions about

margarine is better for you than butter.

Hate that one

"You don't eat beef? How do you get protein?"

... yeah.

Eating cheese before bed means you will have nightmares

'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' Now that would be a cheap health insurance wouldn't it if it worked!