Debunking Top 10 Nutrition Myths

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You have come to the decision that you want to change your eating habit. You may be wanting to regain energy and mental focus, or you have just found out you have a food intolerance. Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that it can be a confusing and challenging task to understand nutrition. You may be feeling overwhelmed with every new artice and magazine giving the latest diet fad or nutrition advice. Where can you find the truth?

Evidence-Based Nutrition
When reading through articles, blogs, or any other source and trying to find reliable nutrition information, it is important to find out if the nutrition information, it is important to find out if the nutition claims are backed up by scientific evidence. Evidence-based nutrition is nutrition that has been researched, and the research has shown significant proof that the nutrition claim is accurate. The following nutritional advice is designed to help debunk some of today's top nutrition myths.

Cutting Down to The Chase 

• Nutrition Myth #1: Fresh fruit and vegtables are always better than frozen 
• FALSE! Numerous studies have shown that purchasing forzen fruit and vegetables can have the same nutrition content as fresh produce. In fact, a study done in California, examined four vitamins in eight different fruits and vegetables, and compared the vitamin content. Suprisingly, results showed higher amounts of alpha tocopherol, a form of the vitamin commonly refer to as Vitamin E, in the frozen produce. Don't shy away from buying frozen when a fruit or vegetable is out of season. Just remember to read food labels, and make sure they haven't been heavily processed before the freezing. Simple check the vitamin and mineral levels on the labels and compare the percentages of each vitamin on different brands to help you decide which is the better purchase.
• Nutrition Myth #2: Organic means healthy
• While buying organic fruit, vegetable, dairy, and animal products does provide some health benefits, many processed foods that are labeled as organic are not as healthy as believed. The issue that comes into play, is that these organic processed foods can have sugar, salt, fats, and can be high in calories. Remember that the nutritional content within food is equally important to it being organic. 
• Nutrition Myth #3: At the first of a cold, better load up on the vitamin C to recover faster
• I'm going to have to stamp this with a big fat "I WISH". Although it would be nice to have a simple magical cure to help shorten your cold, a systemic review has shown that vitamin C supplementation alone will not prevent or reduce duration of a cold. One study tested the regular use of vitamin C supplementation in subjects, and it only made an 8% difference in chances of getting a cold. Save yourself the time and money; don't run to the nearest drug store for that vitamin C cold cure. Instead, get rest and let the cold run its course. 
• Nutrition Myth #4: Stay away from eggs if you have high cholesterol 
• Current research suggest that consuming foods in high cholesterol is not as harmful as made out to be. Without cholesterol, we wouldn't have life because cholesterol has many viral functions within our bodies. A study done in Korea, provided evidence that eating 4-7 eggs per week showed a reduction in cholesterol levels. Eggs are also a great source of protein anc certain nutrients difficult to find in other foods. 
• Nutrition Myth #5: If you want to lose weigh eat a low-fat diet
• This is ill-advised because fats are key macronutrients in countless physiological mechanism within the human body. In fact, the human brain is virtually 60% fat. Not only are low-fat diets not the best weight loss strategy, but not consuming the daily recommended amount of fats can have a negative impact on health. Fats are esstential for cell membrane structure and other functions, namely tranferring fat-soluble vitamins throughtout the body. Digging into the researc, a review comparing 53 studies on low-fat diet intervention compared to other weight loss approaches was organized. The results concluded that higher-fat interventions had greater long-term weight loss results. Understand that avoiding fats altogether is not the healthiest option. Choosing healthier fats such as, unsaturated fats in fish, avocados and nuts can be beneficial. Keep in mind, that the average American diet is vastly high in saturated fats. Rather than avoiding fats keep an eye out for the type of fat and amount consumed. 

Mandy Johnson is a senior at the New Mexico State University studying Human Nutrition and Dietitics. She is the president of the Student Association of Nutrition and Dietitics. 

References can be made available upon request