Food Myths BUSTED!!

It's always interesting to me how myths and misconceptions of healthy eating are so strongly embedded in people's opinions, thoughts, and actions. A couple of weeks ago Eating Well Magazine published this great article on The 13 Biggest Nutrition and Food Myths Busted. Take a read; it's great. Of course, continue reading for a few of my comments.

1. Eggs are bad for your heart. One moment we hear don't eat eggs and the next we hear it's okay. How does one decipher all of the information? It can be challenging; I agree. However, look at the big picture. An egg is a great source of protein AND the amount of the saturated fat in the yolk is a lot less that all of that butter on your toast, 4 slices of bacon, and the dash of cream in your coffee combined. As for the cholesterol part of it, saturated and trans fats likely are worse for you than cholesterol per se. So I say go ahead, enjoy those eggs (sans bacon, cream, and butter!)

2. HFCS HFCS HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) OY VE! This is a complicated one. When it comes to extra non-nutritional calories, HFCS is the same as sugar as brown sugar as honey as agave nectar. When it comes to the true sense of natural, well, that's where the issue lies. HFCS is man made and there have been traces of mercury found in items containing HFCS (another bag of worms, yes.) If your looking for food that doesn't contain man made items- then skip the HFCS; however, if your cookies and bread and soda are made with sugar- it's still extra non-nutritional calories. Less sugar in your daily diet is the goal, whether it's from honey, conventional sugar, brown sugar, or HFCS.

3. Carbs make you fat. Fat makes you fat. [Insert your taboo food item that] makes you fat. At the end of the day, we gain weight because we consume too many calories than which we burn. Yes sometimes it is a bit more complicated than that BUT it's a great place to start. Too many of anything can make you gain weight!

So those are some of my favorite myth busters. Read the Eating Well article for more. And happy healthy eating!! :)