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Here Are The Most Important Five Food Lies That You Shouldn’t Believe
A lot of things we have learned about health and nutrition is wrong. Most of the food we eat contains all kinds of stuff we don’t even know how to pronounce. No wonder it is so easy for the food industry to literally feed us lies about healthy food.
Almost two months ago, I began my no sugar, no dairy detox. I have armed myself with knowledge about how to make better choices for my health. Today, I want to help you do the same. To at least have a choice about what you choose to put in your body without being lied to.
Here Are The Five Biggest Lies About Healthy Food You Need To Know About
Lie #1: Products That Say “Healthy” On The Package Are Good For You
Knowledge is power, sweetie! Ignore the bogus claims on the front of food packages that claim to be healthy. Look at the back to see the list of ingredients and nutrition facts.
Often times, big food brands use confusing labels that lead shoppers to buy ‘healthy’ products which may, in fact, be full of sugar, fat and salt. It’s best to just buy real foods that don’t come in a package.
Lie #2: Gluten-Free Products Will Help You Lose Weight
Eating a gluten-free diet is very trendy these days. Gluten-free foods were created for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. If you have celiac disease or a sensitivity to gluten then eating gluten-free products is essential. Most of us do not need it.
The term “gluten-free” has evolved into a marketing buzzword that equates with being “healthy.” That’s why this is one of the biggest lies about healthy food so many choose to believe.
Lie #3: Low-Fat Products Are Healthy
This is not true at all. Of course, we like to tell ourselves that low-fat versions of our favourite foods are healthier for us. The truth is that the fat in low-fat foods is often replaced with more sugar, salt and highly-processed ingredients.
There are many foods with healthy fats you can eat. Our bodies need good fat to maintain great health. Saturated fats are good for you and critical to your body’s function!
Incorporate healthy saturated fats into your diet, such as coconut oil. Dietary fat actually speeds up your metabolism, while sugar slows it down. Fat actually makes you satisfied and curbs your appetite.
Lie #4: Sugar Is Bad For You
This is one of the lies about healthy food that is so tricky. Not all sugar is bad for you. Natural sugars can provide many health benefits. Refined sugars, on the other hand, are high in calories and affect the production of insulin. Our bodies need a balance of nutrients, including various natural sugars like honey to thrive. Natural sugars are the ones found in whole, unprocessed foods, as well as the fructose in bananas or berries, or lactose in skim milk.
Added sugars, like the ones in cookies and soda, should be avoided. Sugar goes by a lot of different names, so make sure you look out for brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, rice syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, maple syrup, and most of the words ending with -ose. Fructose is only harmful in excess amounts, and not when it comes from fruit.
Lie #5 – You Can Eat Whatever You Want Then Exercise It Away
If you’re relying on exercise to lose weight without changing your diet, you are setting yourself up for a full on fail. When you can change your diet and lose weight, but if you exercise and keep an unhealthy diet but won’t shed a lot of weight.
It takes a lot of effort and time to burn calories. Are you willing to walk 7km (4,5 miles) to burn off a half a litre of soda? I certainly wouldn’t want to.
There is no way to exercise your way out of an unhealthy bad diet. That’s why diets never work in the long run. A lifestyle change is what will get you to the weight you want to be and keep it off.
We have been told too often that if your mom and grandma are both overweight, the likelihood of you being overweight is 95 – 100%. The truth is, your genetics do not dictate future health outcomes.
Numerous factors contribute to obesity, but the least of them is genetics. Make healthy food choices if you want to enjoy delicious foods without counting calories.
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Here’s What You Should Remember About The Lies About Healthy Food You Have Been Told
All calories are not created equal. Our bodies are unique and respond differently to what we eat. Foods have different effects on our metabolism, digestion, hormones and health.
Sugar calories cause fat storage and spike hunger. Protein and fat calories promote fat burning.
Forget about the eat less, exercise more bla bla. It’s a bunch of nonsense. When I cut sugar out of my diet and replaced means with high-quality food, my appetite and weight automatically regulated itself.
Enjoy real food. Don’t fall for the lie that you have to deprive yourself to lose weight.
Learn to recognize these five healthy food lies when you see them so you can set yourself up for a lifetime of better health.
Are you aware of any of these lies about healthy foods? What do you think of them? Share with me in the comments section below.
21 comments
Very informative post and making aware of food items is really helpful. Thanks for sharing this post.
It’s so crazy how companies are willing to confuse consumers over what’s healthy. I know a lot of people who fall for the labels that say “healthy” and “low fat” and wonder why they’re not making any progress!
Like you, I started the year with a dairy and sugar free cleanse. I’m lactose sensitive but like cream and cheese and end up feeling it. I felt so good after that cleanse so I went on a juice cleanse which helped with my sugar cravings. I am now on a maintenance program. I exercise and take good care of myself but sugar is my weakness and I know to monitor my intake. I believe that eating everything in moderation is key and it does not hurt to periodically do a cleanse to boost the immune system. Loved your post … So true!
Thanks for smashing those myths, that’s some really interesting insight for sure!
Yes to all of these food lies/myths! I can’t even tell you how many people I know think that by cutting out gluten or just working out after eating junk constantly that they’ll lose weight!
Wow! I’m quite surprise on this statement: Gluten-Free Products Will Help You Lose Weight. I believe it before that it helps lose weight but it also depends on your genetic make-up. I have to be careful next time in picking my food items in the grocery.
this post is very helpful! We should definitely pay a lot of attention to what we eat and take care of our bodies more. Lies are easy to believe when it goes to food
Great tips! I want to start cooking more regularly but there is so much going on in our live that I haven’t been able to make it happen. Once I get that started, a lot of issues with our diets will end. That is a goal for this year!
This is really useful points. Yes not all diets are healthy, I think eating minimal and everything will be good. Including more protein, fiber and less carbs make it good.
I’ve fallen for the #5 trap in the past, but quickly realized it didn’t work that way lol. Staying healthy is definitely a deliberate effort.
Great post! I find this well-researched as well. Haha, I must say that I’m having difficulty with my own health and me dieting is not really geared yet to my lifestyle change, this just gives me an eyeopener of what to really do now that March “marches” in!! I have to keep my diet well-balanced to make things work.
I’ve seem many falling for the 5th myth. People wille at as they want; especially junks then gym it all. I haven’t seen that helpting them in any way.
We eat gluten free at our house because of an allergy. I know from personal experience that eating gluten free does not mean you are eating healthy. There are plenty of full-fat, full-sugar, high calorie processed gluten free foods that are just as unhealthy as the regular stuff.
The one that affects me the most is sugar. There are so many names for it and just as many theories about it. I get so tired of trying to figure things out that I just eat whatever I want. However, I try to do so in moderation.
So true and about the “healthy foods” . As a runner, I read an article once that most healthy labeled foods aren’t all that good for you. Usually they have added sugars! It’s important to keep the fats in things like peanut butter and jelly.
All those points are true as I follow the same thing. Natural sugars are really helpful in balancing body. I also believe exercise is important but only balancing calories itself can do wonder.
Thanks a lot for the awesome insights and yes i agree with all the points, everyday we read conflicting info it is insane. Thanks a lot.
These are very helpful. I usually try to limit my portions in additions to limit my fried foods. I love all the info about the sugars, I never knew the differences.
So true. I lie to myself and say jogging everyday allows me to eat my junk food, but I know it’s not true 😉 I just don’t panic unless my pants don’t fit though. I try to limit my junk food at least, so it’s something!
What is considered healthy food, however, are foods that should be known to eat and combine otherwise weight gain is still around the corner!
This is very helpful and true. I know friends who think many of these are true so I will be showing them this post. It’s nice knowing the reality of things before trying something.