Healthy eating myths you still believe

Healthy eating

Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash

Even though healthy eating is basically all the world can talk about right now, there are still some myths surrounding the topic. People want to crack the mystery that is food and use its maximum potential, but that isn’t always easy. When everyone’s talking about a certain diet fad or a “true” fact, it’s easy to buy into it and start following the same trends. These myths are so widespread that nobody even checks if they’re true anymore. Don’t take things for granted, though. You should always check if what people are telling you is really true. This is your health we’re talking about, and you won’t beable to improve your eating habits unless you put some effort into it.

1. You shouldn’t eat certain things

Cutting out certain things from the food pyramid is always advised, but rarely good. Not eating dairy or going off cereals may seem like the right way to better your nutrition, but don’t be fooled. Cutting things out only leaves you without certain nutrients that your body needs. Calcium deficiency and lack of fibre can cause serious issues, and there’s absolutely no reason to bring them upon yourself.

The key is to have a balanced diet. Instead of cutting things out, you should just change the way you eat them. Cereals and dairys hould be on the menu, but they shouldn’t dominate it. The most common component people cut out is sugar, but even this can stay on your plate if you balance your meals. A little chocolate here and there won’t do you any harm. Humans are omnivores, meaning that we eat everything. Figure out the right balance and you’ll be set.

2. Home-cooked meals are overrated

When there are so many restaurants to choose from, why bother with cooking? In the end, you’ll end up paying the same amount for food each month, but you won’t have to slave over the oven. The thing is, eating out isn’t nearly as healthy as cooking your own food, regardless of how high quality the restaurant is.

Simply put, you have all the control over the meal you make. You know how much oil and spices you put in and where the ingredients came from. It may not be as tasty as in a restaurant, but it will be much healthier. Mass-produced and processed food tends not to be as healthy, and that has nothing to do with the restaurant you choose.

3. Short-term diets work

It seems that there’s a new trendy diet every year. Eat only this, don’t eat that, and so on. It seems that staying healthy and losing weight is easy when you can just eat cabbage for the whole week or drink that weight loss tea. People will tell you they’ve lost a lot of weight and feel much better, and they may even look a lot better, but that doesn’t mean these diets work. As soon as they switch back to their normal eating habits, they’ll gain double the weight they lost.

A diet which lasts for a week or a month will only give you short-term results. You’ll be starving your body for a certain period of time and putting up with hunger, then finish the diet, and it will all be for nothing. To truly make a change, you have to meet the nutritional demands of your body every day of your life. Healthy eating is part of a lifestyle, not a fad.

4. Surgery doesn’t help

One other myth is that weight loss surgery doesn’t help. Formost, this is just a shortcut to the perfect body that doesn’t involve any actual effort. That’s simply not true, though. Weight loss surgery by itself won’t give you the results and health you’re after. It needs to be combined with healthy eating to have an actual effect. Otherwise, you’ll just end up where you started in no time. That also means that weight loss surgery is a boost in the right direction, not the end solution.

Many experienced clinics like Central Coast Weight Loss Surgery even say that “Weight loss surgery can be a viable option for the morbidly obese and may help to reduce the risk of serious health issues accompanying obesity.” This claim just further supports the fact that weight loss surgery does help you on your way to proper nutrition.

5. Eating fewer meals is key

More often than not, you’ll hear people say how the key to proper nutrition is not eating so much food. According to most, skipping meals and counting calories is the way to go. “You shouldn’t eat dinner”, “snacks are unnecessary” or “breakfast isn’t actually that important” are fairly common claims. Skipping meals is actually the worst thing you can do for your body. You’ll basically be starving yourself and then overeating because your stomach has been empty for so long.

Another issue with skipping meals is that it increases your cravings for saturated fats and sugar. Foods with a high  percentage of both are easily digestible and will make your stomach feel full the quickest. It’s no wonder you’ll be craving junk food, then. However, this food has zero nutritional value. You’ll only end up harming your body and gaining fat.

The best thing to do is to have five small meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks in between should be on the menu.Choose only healthy meals and make your portions smaller. This way you’ll keep your stomach full throughout the day, eliminate cravings, and actually eat healthy things.

Conclusion

As you can see, not everything you hear is true. Popular magazines and media will have you believe that these myths are in fact true, but you should know better than to follow blindly what they have to say. Equipped with the right tips, you’ll be able to get your nutrition in order and you’ll be healthier than ever before. We’re confident that you’ll be able to put these healthy eating myths behind you and start living fresh and healthy.

Leave a Comment