Diet Myths

There are lot of myths related to diet, weight loss and some food. Here are the facts about them:

MYTH 1: NO fat diet is good for you FACT: our body needs fats for many body functions like transportation of fat soluble vitamins A,D,E,K, proper functioning of hormones, insulation, etc. minimum 10% of calories should be from fat. We need to control our saturated fat intake and replace them with unsaturated fats like olive oil, rice bran oil, sunflower oil, mustard oil, which are source of MUFA ( monounsaturated fatty acids) and PUFA ( poly unsaturated fatty acids)

MYTH 2: Eating sugar causes diabetes FACT: Eating sugar and sugary stuff doesn’t causes diabetes. It’s sedentary life style and excess weight that put you at risk of getting diabetic. So start doing at least 30 minutes of exercise and control your intake of fried and sugary stuff.

MYTH 3: Eggs are bad for your heart FACT: Eggs contain cholesterol in yolk, is a fatty substance that is mostly made by liver. Yes too much of cholesterol is bad for us as it leads to clogging of arteries but we all need some amount of cholesterol as it required to build some hormones and also cells. The main culprit that raises cholesterol is intake of saturated fats and trans fats. So you can have whole eggs 3 days a week easily.

MYTH 4: Carbohydrate causes weight gain FACT: Carbohydrates are main source of energy to our body. If you want to lose weight then you need to restrict your carbohydrate intake but no need to remove them completely from your diet. Try to include complex carbohydrate like whole wheat bread or pasta, fruits, vegetables, oats, dalia and remove simple carbohydrate like maida, suji, white bread, too much of biscuits.

MYTH 5: Fast foods are always unhealthy FACT: That’s true that most of the fast foods are unhealthy but if we are making them at home we can prepare a healthy version of it like- instead of aloo pattie in burger use tofu or mix vegetable pattie and cook them with little oil rather than frying , use multigrain bun, instead of mayo use green chutney, similarly you can make a healthy variation of frankie. If eating out then done go for mayo,cheese or any fattening dressing, have plain water or some juice rather than cold drink, you can also order salad.

MYTH 6: If you exercise you can eat what you want Fact: even if you exercise you need to keep a check on your calorie intake. Though exercise is vital for body but it’s 80% of diet that make your body. By following a healthy diet you can get all your vital nutrients and trace minerals.

MYTH 7: Crash dieting is good for weight loss Fact: crash diet can show you lighter on your weighing scale but that is only water loss and muscles loss. But when trying to lose weight you need to target fat loss. Muscle loss causes lower metabolic rate which means now you need less calories and once you eat normal diet you will put on all weight. So best is to go slow on weight loss

Source:dietitiannigam