Nutrition is full of all kinds of nonsense.
The worst examples are listed here, but unfortunately this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Here are the top 13 nutrition lies that have made the world both sick and fat.
1. Eggs Are Bad For Your Health
Eggs are so incredibly nutritious that they’re often called “nature’s multivitamin.”
The nutrients in them are enough to turn a single cell into an entire baby chicken.
However, eggs have been demonized in the past because they contain a large amount of cholesterol, which was believed to increase the risk of heart disease.
But the truth is that despite being high in cholesterol, eggs don’t really raise the bad cholesterol in the blood. In fact, eggs primarily raise the “good” cholesterol (1, 2, 3, 4).
Despite all the warnings about eggs in the past few decades, studies show that they are NOT associated with heart disease (5, 6, 7).
If anything, eggs are pretty much a perfect food for humans. They’re loaded with protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and unique antioxidants that protect the eyes (8, 9).
They are also an excellent source of Choline, a nutrient that is very important for the health of the brain and about 90% of people aren’t getting enough of (10, 11).
Despite being a “high fat” food, eating eggs for breakfast is proven to cause significant weight loss compared to a breakfast of bagels (12, 13).
Bottom Line: Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet and do not raise your risk of heart disease. Eggs for breakfast can help you lose weight.
2. A Calorie is a Calorie
It is often said that the only thing that matters for weight loss is “calories in, calories out.”
The truth is that calories matter… but the types of foods we eat are just as important.
That is because different foods go through different metabolic pathways in the body (14).
Additionally, the foods we eat can directly impact the hormones that regulate when and how much we eat, as well as the amount of calories we burn.
Here are two examples of why a calorie is NOT a calorie:
- Protein: Eating protein can boost the metabolic rate and reduce appetite compared to the same amount of calories from fat and carbs. It can also increase your muscle mass, which burns calories around the clock (15, 16).
- Fructose vs glucose: Fructose can stimulate the appetite compared to the same number of calories from glucose (17, 18).
Even though calories are important, saying that they are all that matters when it comes to weight (or health for that matter) is completely wrong.
Bottom Line: All calories are not created equal. Different foods go through different metabolic pathways and have varying effects on hunger, hormones and health.
3. Saturated Fat is Unhealthy
For many decades, people have believed that eating saturated fat can increase the risk of heart disease.
In fact, this idea has been the cornerstone of mainstream nutrition recommendations.
However, studies published in the past few decades prove that saturated fat is completely harmless.
A massive study published in 2010 looked at data from a total of 21 studies that included 347,747 individuals. They found absolutely no association between saturated fat consumption and the risk of heart disease (19).
Multiple other studies confirm these findings… saturated fat really has nothing to do with heart disease. The “war” on fat was based on an unproven theory that somehow became common knowledge (20, 21).
The truth is that saturated fat raises HDL (the “good”) cholesterol. It also changes the LDL cholesterol from small, dense LDL (very, very bad) to Large LDL, which is benign (22, 23, 24, 25, 26).
There is literally no reason to fear butter, meat or coconut oil… these foods are perfectly healthy!
Bottom Line: New studies show that saturated fat does not increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. It raises the good cholesterol and changes the “bad” cholesterol to a benign subtype.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider