6 Nutrition Facts That Should Be Common Sense (But Aren’t)
You expect it to be there. But sadly, in the crazy word of Nutrition, all kinds of misconceptions and myths are being peddled around by armchair enthusiasts and weekend warriors.
Here we aim to break the back of 6 Nutrition Facts that Should be common sense but aren't.
1. Meat Does Not Rot In Your Colon.
It is completely false that meat rots in the colon
The human body is well equipped to digest and absorb all the important nutrients found in meat.
The protein gets broken down in the stomach by stomach acids, then the rest of it gets broken down in the small intestine by powerful digestive enzymes.
All the fats, proteins and nutrients are then moved past the digestive wall and into the body. There is simply nothing left to "rot" in the colon.
2. Eggs Are Among The Healthiest Foods You Can Eat
Eggs are unfairly demonized because the yolks are high in cholesterol.
However, case studies show that cholesterol from eggs doesn't raise blood cholesterol in the majority of people.
New studies that include hundreds of thousands of people show that eggs have no effect on heart disease in otherwise healthy individuals.
The truth is, eggs are among the healthiest and most nutritious foods you can eat.
Almost all the nutrients are found in the yolk, and telling people to avoid the yolks (or eggs altogether) is a major mistake :)
3. Did You Know That You're Only 10% Human?
Feeding Your Gut Bugs is Critical.
Did you know that you are actually just 10% human?
The bacteria in the intestine, known as the gut flora, actually out-number human cells 10 to 1!
In recent years, research has shown that the types and number of these bacteria can have profound implications for human health, affecting everything from body weight to brain function.
Just like your body's cells, the bacteria need to eat, and soluble fibre is their preferred fuel source.
This may be the most important reason to include plenty of fibre in your diet, to feed the little guys in the intestine.
4. Cholesterol is Not The Enemy.
What people generally refer to as "cholesterol" isn't really cholesterol.
When people talk about the so-called "bad" and "good" cholesterol, they're actually referring to the proteins that carry cholesterol around.
LDL stands for Low-Density Lipoprotein and HDL stands for High-Density Lipoprotein.
The truth is, cholesterol is not the enemy. The main determinant of heart disease risk is the type of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol around, not cholesterol itself.
5. Calories Count. But You Don't Necessarily Need To Count Them.
Obesity is a matter of excess stored energy (calories) accumulating in the form of body fat.
However, this does not mean that people need to track or count calories or monitor everything that enters their bodies.
Although calorie counting works for a lot of people, there are many things that people can do to lose weight, without ever having to count a single calorie.
For example, eating more protein has been shown to lead to automatic calorie restriction and significant weight loss. Without restricting calories.
6. Fat Doesn't Make You Fat, But Neither Do Carbohydrates.
Fat has often been blamed for obesity because fat contains more calories per gram than protein and carbs.
However, this doesn't really have any practical meaning. People who eat a diet that is high in fat (but low in carbs) actually end up eating fewer calories than people on low-fat, high-carb diets.
This has conversely led many people to blame carbs for obesity, but this is a mistake as well. Plenty of populations have eaten high-carb diets but remained healthy.
As with everything in nutrition, this depends on the context. Fat can be fattening, carbs can be fattening.
It all depends on the rest of the stuff you are eating and your overall lifestyle.
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