Fact Vs Fiction

Sorting food fact from fiction can be confusing…so I’ve done it for you! 5 common nutrition myths BUSTED…

Fresh veggies are more nutritious than frozen –These days veggies are snap frozen within hours of being harvested. This means that all of their nutrients and vitamins are maintained (they will not be lost when frozen).  Fresh veggies on the other hand usually take a few days to get to the shops and when you buy them they will usually sit in the bottom of the fridge till you decide to use them! During this time some vitamins may be lost due to heat or light exposure. So stock your freezer full of veggies and when you buy fresh try and use them within a couple of days.

Carbs make you fat – poor old carbs, they certainly have got a bad rap lately haven’t they? But the truth…carbs don’t make you fat….and fat doesn’t make you fat either!! Yep that’s right! Eating too much of any kind of food will make you put on weight. If you are eating more calories than your body needs regardless of where they come from you will gain weight. It’s all about finding the balance of the energy you take in (through eating foods) and the energy you expend through normal bodily functions and exercise. Same goes for the time of day you eat carbs or any food for that matter. Calories are calories, it doesn’t matter what time you eat them they will still be calories!

Light, lite and reduced fat products are low in fat – Easy to think that this is the case as it implies it on the packaging. However, the word ‘light’ or ‘lite’ on food packaging can actually mean a whole number of things – lite in colour, light in texture, lite in salt, light in weight…  not necessarily lighter in calories or fat.  Light olive oil certainly isn’t low in fat…however it is LIGHT in color & flavour! Sneaky hey?! ‘Reduced fat’ means the product must have at least 25% less fat than the original product it is being compared to for example…. reduced fat cream means that it will have at least 25% less fat than ‘original’ cream, but it is still high in fat.  

Detoxing will help to ‘clean’ your liver and get rid of ‘toxins’–Companies love this one because they are making big bucks from it! We all have these amazing organs in our body like the liver, kidney, lungs and gastrointestinal system that are constantly working to help remove toxins from our body – they are working right now! It’s their job! There is no evidence to support that any of the popular detox diets will speed up this process. Will you lose weight on these diets? Probably, because usually you are restricted to drinking veggie juice or lemon water! And it’s likely that you will also feel tired, cranky, irritable and have headaches because they are the sings of toxins leaving your body. No I joke! It’s a sign that your body hasn’t eaten real food for a few days! And yep once you stop your detox diet the water and glycogen ‘weight’ that you lost will come right back on.

 Metabolism (aka BMR) myths –Green tea, hot peppers and spicy foods will increase your metabolism. False! Well partly false… Some studies have shown that these foods can ever so slightly increase your BMR for a very short period of time after eating them but it’s not sustained and it’s not enough to have any impact on weight loss. The same goes for all of the ‘metabolism speeding’ pills and potions out there.  Want to really increase your BMR? Hit the weights and do some exercise. Muscle directly relates to BMR, increase muscle = increase BMR. Cardio will help to burn more calories too.