Is coffee good for you or bad? Will I live longer if I stop snacking? Should I be eating carbohydrates? Arrrggghhhhhh! We are bombarded with information about what we should be eating every day, and it is so hard to know what is right and what is wrong. Enter Navigate Nutrition.
Navigate Nutrition is my nutrition business which aims to help people navigate through all of the information that we see in the media, to determine what is best for them. There are so many nutrition myths out there, so I thought I might set a few straight for you.
Busting the big 4 nutrition myths
1. “Carbohydrates make you fat”
Wrong!!! Not all carbohydrates are the same, infact a lot of people don’t realise that carbohydrates come in many forms, from refined sugar, fruit, vegetables, legumes and dairy food.
Sure, if you cut all of these out then you will probably lose weight simply because you are cutting out a huge chunk of food options from your diet.
Carbohydrates are extremely important macronutrients in your diet, providing energy and if you choose these foods in their most natural form carbohydrates will provide an important source of fibre too.
2. “Snacking is unhealthy”
Wrong again! There is no direct link between snacking a body weight. In fact, snacking might help to control weight because it ensures that you are not starving by the time you eat your next meal and then overeat.
Planned healthy snacks are the key. If you choose to snack on a handful of carrots at 4pm, then you are getting a great hit of fibre and Vitamin A and curbing your hunger until the next meal.
If you choose to have two chocolate bars and a milk shake for afternoon tea every day, you are less likely to control your weight.
3. “Potato chips, popcorn and rice have gluten in them”
And wrong again!! Next time you see a packet of chips, popcorn or rice with the words “gluten free” laugh at it because gluten is only found in wheat, rye or barley products.
Marketers are enjoying the trend of gluten free, and by pasting the words “gluten free” on a product it actually increases sales, leading people to believe they are healthy for you.
4. “Plain low-fat milk has added sugar”
You guessed it, wrong! While it is true that many low-fat products have added sugar to enhance the flavour, that is lost when removing the fat, low-fat milk is simply pure milk that has had the fat removed.
Cup for cup, full-fat milk contains less carbohydrates than low-fat milk simply because full fat milk has the fat to make up the volume. However, the difference is not significant and should not be a concern.
So, now these myths are busted!
If you want any more scientific based nutrition information or advice head over to my website – Navigate Nutrition.
