DailyDirt: Diet Myths

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The general public knowledge when it comes to diet and nutrition is an absolute mess, and it's no surprise given the number of mixed messages, bad scientific studies, deceptive marketing slogans and pseudoscientific quacks out there making noise. Even in the true scientific community (once you find it underneath the sensationalist journalism), there are a lot of unanswered questions about fueling a human body. One of the most notable things about the world of nutritional science is how fast myths are adopted and how frequently the common wisdom is genuinely overturned — here are just a few recent examples:

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Filed Under: calories, diets, fat, gluten, nutrition


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  • icon
    madasahatter (profile), 23 May 2014 @ 6:19pm

    Diets

    My diet is based on the following rules:
    1. I like how it tastes.
    2. it is nutritious
    3. the meal is balanced.
    4. the food or additives do not make me sick.
    5. try to get plenty of exercise.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Lawrence D’Oliveiro, 23 May 2014 @ 11:02pm

    Dairy Fat Is Less Fattening Than Non-Dairy Fat

    The high calcium content seems to inhibit fat absorption by the body.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 24 May 2014 @ 4:05am

    1. It is a good idea to count calories for a limited time to get a feel for what numbers different items give. It is also important that you find out what you need of daily calorie intake. It will give you a feel of what you have to be careful about eating too much of later on, which is a very useful skill! Knowing how much soda you can drink and chips you can eat while still keeping an overall healthy diet is pretty handy when you start getting tired of the dieting.
    2. Most important of all, eat very diverse.
    3. Exercise is extremely important if you want to diet in a healthy way. Several calorie restriction diets are shown to be pretty unhealthy without it.
    4. How you like food is crucial for a longer diet/ life style change. Never underestimate motivation! Don't go nuts with a "healthy food"- or foodtype-restrictive- diet. You might end up quitting that program which is far worse than you using a less effective diet/lifestyle change!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      ChrisB (profile), 24 May 2014 @ 6:48am

      Re:

      Exercise has little or nothing to do with weight loss. In fact, it has been negatively correlated to weight loss, mainly due to an increased appetite that accompanies exercise.

      The main problem is sugar, especially fructose, the sugar from fruit. Sucrose (table sugar) is 50/50 glucose and fructose. Glucose can be used by the muscles directly; that is why insulin regulates its level in your blood. Fructose must be converted in your liver, however, the bad news is some of it goes directly to fat without even becoming usable by your body (this percent increases when the liver is overwhelmed). Diets with high fructose (fruit juice, soda) lead to obesity because you are basically drinking fat. Plus, it strains your liver to be digesting fructose.

      The reason fruit is fine is it contains fibre which regulates the release of fructose in your bloodstream, which helps it not overwhelm your liver.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        JEDIDIAH, 25 May 2014 @ 1:23pm

        It's a very complex machine.

        Without exercise, a body is likely to crash it's metabolic rate if it has a calorie shortfall. Your attempt to starve yourself will be moot because your body adjusts itself to survive.

        Exercise is necessary as "maintenance" quite separate from the issue of diet and weight.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 25 May 2014 @ 9:53pm

          Re: It's a very complex machine.

          Without exercise, a body is likely to crash it's metabolic rate if it has a calorie shortfall. Your attempt to starve yourself will be moot because your body adjusts itself to survive.

          If your body has a long-term calorie shortfall (without exercise), you could cause your body damage and distress over and above lowering the metabolic rate if you persistently exercise as well.

          Exercise is necessary as "maintenance" quite separate from the issue of diet and weight.

          This is categorically correct. There are multiple good reasons to exercise and few if any reasons not to exercise... but weight loss tends to be orthogonal to exercise.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • identicon
            Anonymous Coward, 25 May 2014 @ 9:54pm

            Re: Re: It's a very complex machine.

            This is categorically correct

            By which I of course mean "I categorically agree with this" :-) I do of course reserve the right to be wrong (on the internet).

            link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 26 May 2014 @ 12:41pm

        Re: Re:

        Of course all weight is demonstrably /not/ created equal. It is better for the weight to be muscle which consumes more than keeping the same ratio of fat to muscle and losing a few pounds.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Mark Gisleson (profile), 24 May 2014 @ 7:28am

    You should still avoid glutens

    The gluten study did not REVERSE its previous findings, it simply discovered that almost all food with gluten in it also has other compounds that cause the inflammations. But for all practical purposes anyone who has gained joint pain relief from avoiding glutens should still do so.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous, 24 May 2014 @ 11:01am

    Eat healty, stay fit, die anyway.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Adam, 27 Apr 2020 @ 6:51am

    I'm pretty sure it still works. In particular, it is important to take quality products in a complex of different exercises to achieve your goals. It is also important to undergo various consultations so that the intake of vitamins or supplements is well perceived by your body. I am now looking for a quality product that will help me achieve my goal of weight loss. I remember the review https://ahealthyjuicer.com/phen375-reviews/ who talked about a good product. I think together with a small diet, they will help me quickly lose extra pounds

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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