There are many fads and uncertainties when it comes to health and nutrition. Below we have compiled five nutrition myths that you may have heard about, but weren’t sure what to believe!
1. Eggs (Are Bad Due to Cholesterol)
In our first of five nutrition myths, we will discuss a wonderful source of protein that is often misunderstood…Eggs!
There is one huge factor associated with eggs that tend to make people skeptical of their health benefits, and that is cholesterol. Eggs, however, contain a type of cholesterol called high-density lipoprotein (HDL). This cholesterol is what is primarily raised in the blood, and it actually helps in lowering your body’s chances of heart disease. They call it the “good cholesterol” for a reason!
Plus, all of the cells in your body require cholesterol for their cell membrane. It helps to make the membrane more rigid and provide fluidity.
In addition to HDL, eggs contain an abundance of protein, vitamin D, an assortment of minerals, and healthy fats. The multi-use of eggs makes it easy to incorporate into your daily diet.
2. Calories (Weight Loss Centered Around Them)
Weight-conscious people consistently worry about how many calories they take in and how many they can manage to cut out. Although awareness of daily caloric intake is significant, it’s important to note that our bodies utilize calories differently. One food item may not convert through our bodies in the same way as calories in another food item.
According to a recent study, increasing your protein intake is one way to stimulate your metabolism. It can also help to burn calories through thermogenesis (the production of heat in the body).
Glucose is another substance that has proven to metabolize at a favorable rate, whereas fructose is stored in the liver and can cause an increase in appetite and other health problems in the future.
3. Coffee (No Health Benefits From Drinking It)
Coffee has been frowned upon in the past due to the effects it can have on raising blood pressure. However, drinking coffee regularly comes with a lot of benefits, such as lowering the risk of diseases, improving brain activity and stimulating metabolism.
Another advantage of coffee is the abundance of antioxidants it contains. It surprisingly contains more antioxidants than fruit and vegetables, according to The Journal of Nutrition. This gives even more of a reason to drink coffee regularly!
4. Meat (Eating any Type of Meat can Lead to Health Problems)
Just like with most things…not all meat is the same. There is a vast difference between processed meat and unprocessed red meat and the effect it has on your body.
Some examples of processed meat include bacon, sausages, deli meats, and hot dogs, and they have been either cured, salted, dried, smoked or canned.
Processed meat is linked to heart disease, hypertension, certain types of cancer, and various other diseases.
Unprocessed red meat, on the other hand, is chock full of an abundance of protein, vitamins, and minerals. This study shows it does not increase your chances of disease like processed meat does, and as long as it is not overcooked, unprocessed red meat is entirely safe.
5. Sodium (Sodium Restriction is Essential for Everyone)
The only real discovery of sodium and its impact on health is that reducing sodium intake can help lower blood pressure rates in people with regularly high blood pressure. Other than that, sodium does not necessarily cause any diseases in healthy individuals.
In fact, studies have shown that not getting enough sodium in your body can eventually lead to health problems. A few of these include an increase in low-density cholesterol, insulin resistance and high triglyceride levels.
Five Nutrition Myths Debunked
For even more common misconceptions regarding healthy versus unhealthy, check out this link.
Listen, it is hard to be healthy. And that is unfortunate. But we need to take care of ourselves. We only have one body so we have to take care of it. This includes eating well, exercising, drinking lots of water, taking care of your spine and nervous system, and many other things. Don’t fall into these five nutrition myths!
We at Express Chiropractic of Frisco are pretty good at helping maintain the health and wellness of your spine. We can also give you some other ideas about helping you stay healthy on an overall wellness level. So check us out if you have any questions or concerns and we will help in any way that we can!