Next time you hear a myth about how to lose weight, stop and take a moment to think about its validity. Here, a leading expert clarifies 10 common weight loss myths.
Paula Werrett, registered nutritional therapist from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition
- Carbs are bad for you.
Although carbs often get bad press, they are a valuable energy source on which the body runs, and even on fashionable diets like the ketogenic diet, carbs are not eliminated completely. When thinking about carbs it’s important to pay attention to the types of carbohydrate foods in your diet. The real villains are refined carbohydrates such as processed foods containing sugar or white flour, as well as white rice or pasta. These foods can de-stabilise our blood sugar and are often described as empty calories because they lack important vitamins and minerals needed for good health. On the other hand, wholefoods such as brown rice, quinoa, pulses, fruits, and vegetables provide many nutrients, fibre and slow-release energy. These make a healthy contribution to the diet as long as they are eaten in appropriate quantities.
- Gluten-free foods are healthier
Gluten-free diets have become quite fashionable over the last decade and this has led to an increasingly broad range of ‘free from’ foods appearing on supermarket shelves. If you have a specific health issue that improves with a gluten-free diet then eating a well-balanced gluten-free diet is likely to be beneficial. Beyond this, however, there is no evidence that going gluten-free is healthier for the population as a whole. What’s more, switching to a diet of ‘free-from foods’ may actually be disadvantageous in many cases, because many of the gluten-free alternatives are highly refined and devoid of important nutrients such as B-vitamins, calcium, zinc, copper, iron and vitamins, K, E and D. Bottom line: avoid gluten if you need to but aim for a wholefood diet rich in nutrient dense natural foods.
- Drinking fruit is as nutritious as eating it
Fruit juice/smoothies offer an alternative and delicious way to increase consumption of fruit and are often considered easier to consume by children and adults on the move. Whilst freshly made juices and smoothies may provide similar nutrients to eating whole fruits, the juices and smoothies purchased in shops often lose many of their nutrients during the production process. Soluble fibre in particular is destroyed meaning that it is easier to drink too much in one sitting, with negative impacts on blood sugar levels. What’s more, other unhealthy ingredients are often added, such as sugar in the form of pre-sweetened juices and preservatives. Finally, the natural vitamins and minerals in fruit (such as vitamin C) reduce once fruit is prepared, meaning that fruit drinks may be lower in these important nutrients unless they are added back in.
- Fruit contains too much sugar
Fruit does contain sugar in a natural form, together with other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fibre. Experts agree that fruit forms an important contribution to a healthy diet provided it is eaten in moderation. The problem comes when fruit is dried or made into juices / smoothies as these make it easier to eat more than is desirable. We wouldn’t for example sit and eat several oranges in one sitting, whereas it would be very manageable to drink a glass of orange juice containing the juice of 3 oranges. Similarly fruit bars made with dried fruits may contain much concentrated sugar than would be ideal.
- You should avoid eggs because you have high cholesterol
Those with high cholesterol often worry about whether it is OK to continue to eat eggs. Eggs are an extremely nutritious food containing excellent levels of protein, healthful fats and many important vitamins and minerals. The yolk of the egg does contain cholesterol, but this doesn’t make a significant contribution to our cholesterol level because we make most of our cholesterol from the saturated fats in our diets, meaning that the cholesterol in foods has a very limited effect on our cholesterol levels.
- Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are less nutritious than fresh ones
Most canned and frozen fruits and vegetables are processed quickly after harvesting meaning that in many cases their nutrient levels may be higher than those of ‘fresh’ alternatives which start degrading as soon as they are picked. On the other hand, however the heating processes used in the manufacture of frozen fruits and vegetables does lead to some loss of certain nutrients such as vitamin C which may be higher in fresh produce depending upon how old the food is and how long it has been stored. Canned fruits may also be high in added ingredients such as salt, sugar and preservatives which are not good for us.
- You shouldn’t skip breakfast
The old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day is no longer borne out by recent evidence which shows that in fact health can be improved by increasing the gap in between meals and especially opting for an extended overnight fast. This intermittent fasting has been shown to improve many aspects of health and aging including blood sugar control, cellular repair, hormone regulation and more.
- Fat free foods are better for you
Fats have been demonised for the last 30 or 40 years based on some research from the 1980s that indicated a link between saturated fat consumption and heart disease. More recent evidence however has shown that an ultra-low fat diet may be more dangerous than a diet high in fats. Interestingly, it has become clear that a diet too high in carbs (rather than fat) can lead to increased levels of fats in our blood and increased levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol. Rather than avoid fats therefore, a healthy balance of important essential fatty acids, some saturated fats and minimal levels of the unhealthy trans fats is recommended.
- You should do Cardio on an empty stomach to lose weight
Although it is often thought that you should do cardio on an empty stomach to lose weight, the problem with this approachis that an empty stomach means that you work out at lower intensity, because you don’t have enough fuel in the tank. This means you perform less work and can’t workout as hard as you would otherwise would be able to. It is never ideal to workout immediately after eating, but making sure that you have enough energy is key for a successful workout.
- Eating celery burns more calories than it takes in
The myth that eating celery burns more calories than it takes in is not strictly true. This myth is based on the idea that we burn a certain number of calories just by doing nothing. These calories are burned because the processes that go on in our body without us thinking about them use up energy. So we need to keep taking food in even if we think we aren’t doing anything. A stick of celery contains about 6 calories but it only uses up about half a calorie to digest and metabolise it. A 2016 study found that a stick of celery provides 19 fewer calories than you normally burn during the time you are eating it, but most of the calories burned are not specifically ‘because’ of eating the celery, they are linked to processes happening regardless.
