Health Informative Council

Nutrition is such an evolving field that new ideas come and go almost every day and leave us completely and utterly confused. Let’s look at some of those and see if they are still standing.

1. You need to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day they said.

- Not such a good advice as far as nutrition is concerned. If you live in a very hot climate you have to make sure you are getting enough water to compensate for what you lost through perspiration. But in normal circumstances – drink when you feel thirsty.

- Any kind of liquid is good to keep the water levels in your body in check. What so much water does is dilutes your electrolytes and makes you feel full. You are advised to drink that amount if you want to lose weight.

2. Do not eat after 7 PM

– The French laugh at it and for a good reason. People live different lives on different schedules. Some work at night. There is no formula that fits all. It’s really about what you eat not when you eat it.

3. Eat as much chocolates as you want, it’s good for you.

- Wrong. The bitter chocolate that contains at least 70% of cocoa has health benefits. The regular milk or filled chocolate is good for your sweet tooth only. It has no health benefits.

4. Another idea that has been popular is that carbohydrates are bad for you and will make you fat.

- That is an idea that gathered speed in the 70’s when Dr. Atkins came out with his revolutionary low carbs diet by avoiding carbohydrates all together.

- Some carbs (as they are called) are indeed bad for you. Sugars, white rice, white flower, pasta are all heavy with simple carbs that get turned to sugar very quickly.

- When there’s excess, this carbs turned sugar will be stored as fat, probably around your middle section.

- There are a lot of healthy complex carbs you should eat and not avoid. Your body needs it. Eat beans, vegetables, fruit, brown rice and whole grain flower and it will take the body a lot of effort (calories) to break it down and won’t raise your insulin levels.

5. Another myth is that you don’t need dairy products after you’ve grown up.

- Look at the calves, they say. When they grow up they stop drinking milk and eat hey instead. Well, we are not cows and our stomachs and bodies work differently.

- We need the calcium that dairy products are full with, and we need the vitamin D they are enriched with to help the calcium be absorbed. Stay away from dairy products that are full of saturated fats (whole milk, sour cream, whipping cream etc.) and keep the ones that are low fat or fat free.

- Recent research showed that Americans, especially children, have very low levels of vitamin D probably because of sun blocks or because they hardly play outdoors. Doctors believe high levels of vitamin D help combat different kinds of cancers. So do make sure you are getting enough calcium to avoid osteoporosis.

6. Don’t eat more than one or two eggs a week is another idea that is rebutted.

- Yes, eggs have cholesterol but they also have a lot of proteins that keep you satisfied and not hungry for a long time. They have B vitamins, iron and minerals that our body needs. There is no risk in eating one egg a day, every day, if you are healthy.