6 NUTRITION MYTHS YOU SHOULD NEVER BELIEVE!

When it comes to dieting and nutrition there is a lot of old, outdated and just plain false information floating out there. If you are here in naija like me them the misinformation gets even worse as there’s nothing we love in naija more than old info masquerading as the gospel truth! Just start a casual conversation with family and friends about food and health and you will be amazed how misinformed we all can be! I bet you my last one Naira that you will hear things like “eating fat will make you fat, too much protein will ruin your kidneys” and my personal favourite: “eggs yolks are the Devil”.

My people the truth is much different, so what I want to lay out today is the top 6 nutrition myths you must have been fed from childhood, learn what is true and what is not and apply this new information to make healthier and more informed food choices. My goal is to help you achieve you health and fitness desires, and if you apply this information, I believe you will be well on your way to doing just that!

Thanks and do have a wonderful day!

MYTH 1: EATING FAT WILL MAKE YOU FAT!

This seems logical right? The more fat you consume the fatter you should become abi? Except it isn’t that simple, if you eat too much, rice, yam, potatoes etc you will also become fat. All fats are not created equally, and you actually need fat in your diet if you hope to lose weight, gain muscle or remain healthy. Avoid low fat diets and foods and instead educate yourself on the right kind of fats to eat and the right quantity.fat in your diet will help keep you feeling full for longer so you can fight off food cravings, try to include mono and polyunsaturated fats in your diet. Examples are; olive oil, avocado, nuts and fish. Remember however, moderation is vital in all things.

MYTH 2: EGG YOLKS WILL GIVE YOU A HEART ATTACK!

Eggs have been the bad guy for too long, its time they got rehabilitated! Eggs have been unfairly targeted for increasing cholesterol and raising the risk of heart disease. How did this happen? Well decades ago some reports linked dietary cholesterol like egg consumption to increased blood cholesterol levels and the egg hatred began! However newer information shows that eggs are very important if you want to be healthy, eggs are a great source of protein, and the much vilified yolk is a great source of omega 3, B vitamins and chlorine. A study at the university of Connecticut found that consuming egg yolk helped increase levels of HDL(good cholesterol) so forget that rubbish about eating egg whites only! Eating a couple of whole eggs daily is not bad for you, the problem is some people just love to soak their eggs in unhealthy oils and trans fats and they are the likely culprits in cases of increased bad cholesterol. So to be safe, please eat your eggs hard boiled at least half the time!

MYTH 3: ALL CARBS ARE THE SAME (BAD!)

Let’s get this straight; a carb is not a carb ok? All carbohydrates are not created equally and you don’t have to avoid them like a plague, in fact without carbohydrates in your diet you would grow weaker and weaker till you probably die! I once tried an ultra high protein and very low carb diet and I had to quit after two weeks, I had a beautiful 6 pack but I was as weak as a baby, I couldn’t lift anything in the gym, so I know what I am talking about! Instead of believing that carbs are bad, understand how they work and use them to your advantage. There are two types of carbs, simple and complex carbs. Simple carbs will raise your blood sugar quickly and are best reserved for eating immediately after strenuous exercise as your blood sugar will be low and needs fast replacing. Simple carbs include all white flour products like bread, noodles, semovita etc. they also include grains like rice and all processed foods with sugar.  Complex carbs on the other hand are slow to digest and will raise your blood sugar slowly; these are good for those with trying to lose weight and inactive people who don’t burn enough energy. They contain more dietary fiber, and eating complex carbs makes you feel full for longer and helps reduce the urge to snack. Examples include yam, beans, sweet potatoes brown rice and any whole grain product.

MYTH 4 : CARBS AT NIGHT WILL MAKE YOU FAT!

This one really needs debunking, while it seems reasonable at first glance, your body’s metabolic rate while you sleep and while you are awake but inactive are virtually the same. Your rate of energy burn does not really differ so don’t believe the myth that your body slows down so much that all carb consumption will lead to fat gain. The most important thing to do is listen to your body and make informed choices, if you’ve had a busy day and are actually hungry while its late you can consume carbohydrates. However it’s best to select the slow digesting complex carbs and watch the QUANTITY of food you consume. What started this myth was not people getting fat from eating carbs at night but people getting fat from overeating at dinner after having starved for most of the day! So eat your carbs but don’t go overboard.

MYTH 5: A HIGH PROTEIN DIET PUTS STRESS ON YOUR KIDNEYS!

God has designed your kidneys to be extremely efficient at filtering out unwanted substances from your body, and far as scientists currently know eating more protein is not going to stress your kidneys more than normal. The kidneys has no issue with the extra work created by consuming a little extra protein, what you have to do however is increase your water intake to make the job easier for your kidneys. This is necessary as your body will need to produce more urine to help flush out the broken down protein by products. I will however tell you what could put your kidneys under stress: More alcohol consumption! So if you want to safeguard the future of your organs, you should think about taking it easy with the bottle.

MYTH 6: A HIGH PROTEIN DIET CAN RUIN YOUR BONES!

Finally, we have the myth that a high protein diet can lead to osteoporosis; a loss in bone mineral density. The theory behind this is that a high protein diet will increase the acidity in your body causing calcium to leach out of your bones to counter this acidity. However newer long term studies have shown that this is not true, in fact one study showed that bone health increased with higher meat consumption. Enough said!