We live in an era where the idea of this or that food being good or bad for your health appear faster than the speed of light. There are countless studies, experiments, and articles on a range of goodies and their impact on our bodies. Many of these, however, have some serious fluxes.
Adding to this, some beliefs on what to eat and avoid with little basis carry on for generations. This means that people restrain themselves from eating cheese omelettes or other delicious treats even though they are not as harmful as they think.
Now here are some common food myths you might not be aware of and which should make you rethink your diet
1. Bananas
Many people trying to lose weight today stay away from this fruit, afraid of how sweet it is. While bananas have a considerable amount of sugar, they do not have any fat content and are full of important nutrients including Vitamins A and C or potassium. A banana has only around 100 calories and its starches keep you full for longer than other snacks, so eating them in moderation is a great idea.
2. Eggs
Few things are more common for me than hearing people say we should only eat egg whites because “the yolks are bad.” Yes, their cholesterol content is pretty high but this does not translate into very high cholesterol levels in blood since most of this comes from the liver and not what you eat.
Besides, egg yolks are packed with polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats which do not pose health threats. Last but not least, studies fail to see a relationship between egg intake and heart disease, so feel free to eat any of the thousands of foods containing eggs, but be moderate.
3. Cheese
Yes, dairy products have saturated fats and are fairly high in calories. You should definitely not add cheddar or mozzarella to all your salads, sandwiches, pasta, etc. However, spending some extra bucks on some good cheese such as grass-fed or European varieties provide more omega-3 healthy fats and is not as bad as others.
Cheese contains an hormone called calcitriol which lowers conversion of sugars to fats, keeping your body fat in check. So do not stay away from cheese, only lookout for the right types and keep an eye on calories.
4. Detoxing
This one has become very popular in recent years. Nothing feels better than drinking one of those veggie, nutrient-packed antidotes to cleanse your body of evil toxins. Except it does not.
In fact, your body does it for you. Not one of the highly advertised methods for getting rid of toxins—diets, juice, shampoos or anything—provides any specific function in terms of cleansing your body from toxins. While some techniques can be good for health such as eating more vegetables, they are not doing what they claim, so do not fall for the detox tale.
5. Fats
“Eating fats makes you fat.” Sounds logical, right? But not all fats are created equal. In fact, you better be careful not to eat too little fat. The problem is eating too much of the wrong kinds of fat to a large extent because they have more calories than proteins or carbohydrates.
However, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are the best types. They help absorb some nutrients and foods like avocado, olive oil or fish can keep cholesterol levels in balance and even help keep your heart healthy.
So now you know that not everything generally believed to be healthy or unhealthy always is. Go ahead and start eating healthy cheese, fats, bananas and eggs without worrying about it. These, of course, are a few of many other food myths, so keep an eye on what studies and experts say, you do not want to miss on some good treats by wrongly thinking they will harm you.