I have seen a lot of relatives and friends refuse to eat certain foods because they are convinced that those foods will complicate an illness they have. Equally, I have seen them eat certain things, believing that these are benign or actually good for them. Remember eggs and how they were painted as a villain in the past instead of being recognised as a great source of nutrition? Well, there are a lot of other nutritional myths that are now quite common.
All those ‘baked not fried’, ‘99% fat-free’ labels and ‘diet foods’ can be beguiling. However, these foods are not necessarily healthy. They could be high in calories, sugar, salt or artificial additives and hence could be very unhealthy. Also, fats sourced from nuts, fish etc. are actually very beneficial so fat-free isn't necessarily good.
Cutting out an entire food group is not a good idea. The body needs carbs and carbs are good so long as they are the right carbs from fruit, veg, legumes and whole grains. These are the carbs that also contain vital nutrients and fibre, so cutting them out could be a really bad idea.
It isn't just people with high blood pressure who need to cut down on salt, most of us could benefit from this since the average diet contains too much salt. We can all benefit from seasoning food with herbs instead of salt and by eating fewer packaged foods which tend to contain a lot of salt.
While it is true that red meats and processed meats should be avoided, meat substitutes may not be any better. These are usually made with processed soya, which contains few of the natural nutrients of soya. Lean chicken and fish could, therefore, be healthier than some meat substitutes.
Not true. The process of juicing removes much of the fibre and the natural goodness of fruit. Packaged fruit juices typically have a lot of added sugar and preservatives. It is always better to eat the fruit.
Gluten-free is a bit of a fad rather than an actual dietary requirement. If there is no reason for one to avoid gluten (such as food intolerance or allergy), gluten is perfectly OK to eat.
Simply not true. Food that is hygienically frozen may actually be healthier than having fresh food that is over overripe or beginning to lose some of its nutritional value. Freezing arrests the rotting and may actually preserve some of the nutrients of fruit and veg.
Some of them may have some nutritional value but most are quite similar to chocolate bars. They may be nice and crunchy but could be quite high in fat and sugar.
Coffee isn't some villain. Apart from being delicious, it has beneficial antioxidants, could lower risk of some mental diseases and even help us live longer.
More important than counting calories is examining the source and type of calories one consumes. The quality of the calories – whether it comes from whole, fresh foods or from processed packaged items – is more important than the number of calories consumed.
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]
