Health and Fitness Help

We all think we know what is good for us, but some of these facts may surprise you.

Food and nutrition are topics on which many people have an opinion. We all have to eat, so we have all formed views about what we think is best to eat. Some of this taught to us by our parents, some is picked up via the internet, magazines or other information sources, and plenty comes from conversations with people. With so much information flying around, it is not surprising that some of it gets muddled.

Here are six of the the most common myths about food:

1. You Can Eat As Much Fruit As You Like
While fruit is exceptionally healthy due to its relatively high fibre, vitamin and mineral content, unlike most vegetables it also contains a significant calorie load and can be over-consumed. The average piece of fruit contains a similar number of calories as a slice of bread.

In general, adults need just two to three pieces of fruit each day unless they are participating in more than an hour’s physical activity. Also keep in mind that processed fruit options, such as dried fruit, fruit bars, fruit juices and even tinned fruit, are generally more concentrated in energy than fresh fruit and can have up to double the number of calories as the equivalent piece of fresh fruit. For this reason, fresh is always best.

2. Low GI White Bread Is As Good As Multigrain Bread
While low GI (glycaemic index) varieties of white bread are better nutritionally than plain white breads, wholegrains offer a number of key nutrients, including zinc and vitamin E. Wholegrain breads also tend to have the lowest GI.

3. You Can Have As Much Good Fat As You Like
While relatively high-fat foods, such as vegetable oil, nuts and avocado, have some health benefits when consumed in small amounts, too much is not so good. An adult requires just a teaspoon of oil, 10 to 15 nuts, some tuna or salmon and a spread of avocado to get all the good fat they need in one day. If you are having trouble shifting a few pounds, go easy on the olive oil.

4. Potatoes Are Bad For You
Spuds contain less than half the calories of a cup of cooked rice. Potatoes copped a bad rap when it was found that they have a high GI, which means they are digested quite quickly. But consumed with meat, chicken or fish and vegetables, a potato without butter is fine.

5. Nuts Are Too High In Fat To Eat Regularly
Yes, nuts are high in fat, but the good news is that the type of fat is primarily unsaturated, which means that a small serve of nuts can be enjoyed daily. In fact, studies have shown that up 10 to 15 nuts can be added to a persons diet without any negative weight consequences – just make sure you don’t eat the whole bag.

6. Avoid Carbs For Weight Loss
Reducing your intake of energy-dense carbohydrates, such as large slices of bread, rice, pasta, cakes and biscuits, can help weight loss. However, eating too few carbohydrates can starve the muscles for long periods of time and reduce metabolic rate, so the body becomes less effective at burning energy. If you have been cutting back on the carbs for a while, it may be time to increase them a little, particularly during the day.