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.

The reason, scientist think, lies in the balanced nutrition the French consume compared with the American diet.

Americans eat meat in the morning, in the form of bacon, ham or sausages with eggs, another animal protein. They eat meat at lunch, when they are pressed for time and grab a hamburger (again meat and white flower bun) and they eat meat at dinner as well. All the while drinking coke and other sugar laden drinks.

The French eat croissants in the morning. They do not drink huge amounts of carbonated sweet drinks but they drink red wine which has, as it been discovered lately by the Americans, antioxidant and Resveratrol which is beneficial to the cardiovascular system and protects the body against tumors. On top that the Americans are more stressed and work harder and longer than any other nation except Japan.

Because of that, proper nutrition is of the utmost importance. Proper nutrition help in reducing the risk of illness, it improves the body’s immune system, it help us maintain optimal weight (optimal for our bodies that it, not for the pages of fashion magazines). It’s hard to get fit or exercise when you do not eat right and your body works twice as hard to muster the energy to break down harmful additives and not much is left as fuel for the muscles.

When we are eating a balanced and nutritional meals our skin looks better, nails grow stronger and hair becomes shinier. When we look good, we feel good, we are happier, and the brain is clearer. Our memory benefits, our vision gets better and over all we improve the quality of our lives.