4 Dieting Myths You Need To Stop Believing

Dr Handicap - healthy fruit

We’ve sent men to the moon, we’ve photographed the Big Bang, we’ve eradicated smallpox. But yet there is still a ton of confusion, misinformation, and dieting myths about what foods to eat to optimize health, energy, and longevity. Many people using a handicap parking space have to do so because they did not know how to eat to optimally fuel their bodies, and developed health problems as a consequence.

Much of the misinformation about proper nutrition that is doing the rounds today is due to big business interests and their powerful lobby groups putting pressure on governments, propagating lies and funding dodgy studies. There is a silent war waging. Many powerful groups are willing to consign millions of people to bad health in order to make a profit.

Each of us has a responsibility, to ourselves and our loved ones, to try to see through the lies and get to the truth. Our lives depend on it! So, in the spirit of getting nearer to the truth, here are four dieting myths you need to stop believing.

Weight Gain/Loss Is All About Calories In Versus Calories Out

The notion that body weight is controlled solely by how many calories a person takes in versus how many they expend is one of the most widespread dieting myths. It is an oversimplification. It’s true that the amount of calories you take in matters; if you consume far more calories than you expend, then you will (probably) accumulate some extra fat. But many studies suggest that what matters even more than the amount of food you consume is the type of food you consume.

Not all calories are created equal, or have the same effect on body weight. Certain foods cause metabolic reactions that result in inflammation, water retention, and weight gain. The specific foods that cause a body to gain weight vary by individual, but sugar and simple carbs are the main culprits for the majority of people. Even a small quantity of sugar can make many individuals inflamed and overweight – even obese, to the point of needing to use a handicap parking space. The caloric content of a food is less important for weight gain than the metabolic reactions that food instigates.

Dr Handicap - Waistline

“Low-Fat” Diets Will Make You Lose Weight

Many poor souls are today caught in the confusing position of following the advice to eat low-fat foods, while at the same time watching their weight continue to skyrocket. This is another of the most dangerous dieting myths. The advice that “low-fat foods will make you lose weight” has been debunked and yet is still being peddled by ignorant (or worse) nutrition industry professionals. The reality is that ingesting dietary fat does not directly make a person fat. Dietary fat does not just make its way straight to your fat stores and jump on board. It gets processed by the body just like any other type of nutrient.

In fact, the main culprit for making a person gain body fat is simple carbohydrates. Simple carbs induce an insulin spike. Insulin “tells” the body to convert unused glucose into fat for storage. And what are all “low-fat” food options full of? Simple carbohydrates! When you remove fat from a food, the food loses its flavor and becomes unpalatable. So, in order to make fat-free foods taste good, food companies add some form of sugar (and don’t be fooled by labels; sugar goes under myriad other names, all designed to convince consumers that there is no sugar in a product…!). This means that ‘”low-fat” food options are usually highly fattening. A diet consisting of REAL (as opposed to processed) foods that has plenty of healthy fats (eggs, fish, olive oil, avocado etc.), protein, and complex carbohydrates, will lead to weight loss. Eating “low-fat” processed foods will lead to weight gain, bad health, and, potentially, the need to use a handicap parking space.

Dr Handicap - Healthy Fat

Cholesterol Is Bad For You

The idea that cholesterol is bad and must be lowered at all costs is another gross oversimplification. It is also wrong. There are two main substances that people are referring to when they refer to cholesterol: HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. These two types of cholesterol have vastly different effects on the body. LDL is unhealthy and leads to increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and death. HDL cholesterol, on the other hand, is a very important substance that promotes health and longevity by acting as a scavenger, patroling your blood stream and mopping up “bad” cholesterol wherever it finds it. You can increase your HDL cholesterol by eating plenty of healthy fats, not smoking, eating lots of vegetables, and drinking alcohol only in moderation. You can decrease your LDL cholesterol by… increasing your HDL cholesterol!

Fruit Is Fattening

Some people avoid eating fruit due to the fact that it is sweet and contains a relatively large amount of fructose. Fructose is a sugar and therefore is indeed, if ingested in large enough quantities, fattening. But in reality, most people who are struggling with weight gain are not overweight due to the massive quantities of fruit they are eating! Modern processed foods containing super-massive quantities of sugar, simple carbohydrates, and trans fats are the culprit in our obesity epidemic.

Fruit may have a lot of fructose (which, I will state again, is fattening), but it also has a lot of fiber, so the sugar gets released more slowly into the bloodstream – meaning that the resulting blood sugar spike (which leads to weight gain) is far less intense. Also, fruit is not as addictively “moreish” as super-palatable artificial foods such as breakfast cereal, pasta sauce (from a jar), and jelly beans, so it is more difficult to binge on to any enormous degree. Finally, fruit is packed with nutrients which do a body real good. Sure, if you want to lose every last millimeter of body fat and become Miss Universe, then perhaps pass on the fruit and get your nutrients from green vegetables, but for the vast majority of people – fruit is not what is making you fat!

These are merely four of the more common dieting myths that you should stop believing. There are many, many more! Keep searching for the truth. Knowledge is power!