Myths About Healthy Food
It’s easy to be fooled by commercials when they promote a product as being “healthy”, but you don’t know anything else about it.
Here are a few myths about healthy products sold in supermarkets and health-food stores.
Myth: Cereal bars are healthier than chocolate bars
Fact: Don’t count on that. Cereal bars can be as high in sugar as chocolate and you can end up eating the same amount of calories or more.
Myth: Fruits are good for desert
Fact: You should not mix fruits with anything else. The best time for a fruit snack is 30 minutes before a meal. During this time, the fruit will be digested and you will not have a stomach ache or gas problems.
Myth: A low or reduced fat product will always be healthy
Fact: Low-fat products must contain less than 3g of fat per 100g, but there are no other rules. According to the Food Standards Agency, products labeled “low fat” or “reduced fat” are not necessarily low in calories. The fat is replaced by other ingredients, usually sugar or starches, so the product can end up with the same or even higher calorie content.
Myth: Fresh fruit and vegetables are always better than frozen
Fact: The fruits and vegetables are usually frozen as soon as they have been picked, which preserves essential vitamins. The so called “fresh fruits” sit on the shelf several days before you buy them and vitamins, particularly Vitamin C, are lost during that time.
Myth: Dried fruits are a healthy snack
Fact: A dried fruit is a fresh fruit with all its water content removed. What’s left? Just fibers and pure fruit sugar which make a dried fruit very high in calories. For example, fresh apricot has 48 calories/100 g, while dried apricot has 240 calories/100 g.
Myth: Nuts and seeds are good for me
Fact: All seeds and nuts are an excellent source of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, but only if they are raw. The heat destroys most of the vitamins leaving you with a hand full of empty calories. Even if they eat raw nuts and seeds, many people are unaware of how many calories they contain. If you want to enjoy their benefit without worrying about weight gain, limit your intake to 25-50 g a day, which equates to 150-300 calories.
Myth: Dry roasted nuts are better for you than oil roasted ones
Fact: No, they are not. Dry roasted mixed nuts have 597 cal/100 g and oil roasted nuts have 617 cal/100 g. 20 calories less/100 g will not make you thinner.
Remember
Commercials cannot fool you unless you allow them to. Read the label before buying the product!
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RSS Trackback URL 24. October 2008 (16:34)Filed under: Nutrition by Nessie
1 Comment»
Brian
5. April 2009 | 19:11 hI think a good rule of thumb is to consider anything you see advertised on TV as fictitious. Especially since most of the “studies” are financed by the companies themselves. Do your own research and be weary of anything that sounds too good to be true.