Want to eat healthier?

You should stop believing in these myths

"Detoxifying" after a night of festivities?

Think carbs are the enemy?

Avoid canned food?

Here are some things you should know about some of the most common habits of those who want to maintain a healthy diet - but in practice may do more harm than good

In collaboration with Starkist

05/12/2021

Sunday, 05 December 2021, 12:24 Updated: 12:37

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Scientific knowledge in the field of healthy eating is constantly changing and evolving.

Today we know that many of the things we believed in a few decades ago in this context are not really true or accurate - and we mostly understand that there is much more that we do not know about this all-too-fascinating and complex field that affects the lives of all of us.

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In collaboration with Starkist

This is exactly why it is sometimes worth stopping for a moment and asking ourselves whether the perceptions we believe in and shape our menu, really reflect what emerges from professional research in the field.

Here are some of these perceptions, which are worth re-examining.

1. "Dairy products cause inflammation in the body"

Many people believe that in order to fight infections and reduce their rate in the body, they must avoid dairy products.

In practice, research conducted on the subject shows that the exact opposite is true.

The study, published in 2017 in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, is in fact a comparative review that examined 52 previous studies on the subject.

The conclusion was that dairy products have a neutral and in some cases even positive effect on the inflammation index.

Dairy products also have nutrients that are beneficial to health - and this is especially true when talking about white yogurt or cottage cheese, which contain a high percentage of calcium, B vitamins, phosphorus and potassium.

However, of course it is not recommended to consume dairy products if you have a sensitivity to lactose or other medical conditions that will be adversely affected.

2. "Fatter dinners"

In our body there is no "magic switch" that is activated when the sun goes down and causes us to store more fat from food during these hours.

In practice, the reason why it is not recommended to eat at night is that during these hours the digestive system slows down and the food is digested less well.

Another reason is that a large meal can create a feeling of heaviness, thus interfering with good sleep.

To avoid this, just try not to starve yourself earlier in the day.

Prepare nutritious and healthy meals at regular hours so that you will not suffer from these extreme hunger pangs at night, which only make you want to eat as much as possible, in the shortest possible time.

"Canned food contains a lot of harmful preservatives"

One can certainly understand the connection that most people make between cans and preservatives that are best avoided.

In practice, most of the foods in these boxes, such as tuna starch, are preserved by heat sterilization.

This is a method that preserves the nutrients of the contents, without the need for preservatives.

Similar processes occur in the preservation of peas, chickpeas or corn.

The preservation process preserves the nutrients.

Salad with tuna (Photo: Alon Mesika, Styling: Yael Magen)

4..

"To lose weight, you must eat less fat"

Like the connection between cans and preservatives, it is very easy to make the connection between eating fats and storing body fat.

In practice, there are studies that show that people who eat less fat than average, suffer more from the metabolic syndrome, which is a common medical condition characterized by obesity, high blood pressure, excess triglycerides (blood lipids) and an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

On the other hand, when you eat a lot of good fats, you can actually prolong the feeling of satiety and improve your health in a long list of aspects.

Good fats include omega 3 and omega 6. They can be found mainly in fish, eggs, avocados, nuts and seeds.

5..

"Carbohydrates are the enemy of a healthy diet"

We all learned in school about the five ancestors of food - carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

The reason they are so named is that each of them is essential to our diet in some way.

Trendy diets that require removing a whole set of foods from the menu do not really work for two reasons.

First, it is difficult to impossible to persevere with them over time.

Second, as mentioned, our body needs all of these components to function.

Carbohydrates provide available energy.

Flakes stew with tuna (Photo: Alon Mesika, Styling: Yael Magen)

Carbohydrates provide available energy and also contribute to a long line of biological processes.

And they too, like the fats, can be divided into those that contribute more and less.

Of course it is better to reduce the consumption of cakes, pastries and chocolates, but there are also quite a few complex carbohydrates that contribute to prolonging the feeling of satiety, maintaining health and weight loss.

Such foods include whole wheat products, grains, legumes and oats.

6. "Detoxification is an important and vital action"

Did you celebrate a special occasion last night and drink too much?

Have you eaten unhealthily for too long and you feel your body needs a thorough cleansing?

How lucky are you to have just bought a dietary supplement or a special smoothie that promises to do a thorough detox for you that will make you feel much better, right?

The truth is that in practice, most of the products marketed as detoxifiers have not really been proven to be effective for this purpose.

What will help?

Healthy and varied diet, lots of fluids and rest.

The good news is that our body is very good at cleansing itself of toxins - without any special help from you.

The liver, kidneys, lungs and digestive system are constantly working to cleanse themselves of toxins and do so excellently, as long as they do not suffer from disease of course.

• health

Tags

• Cans

• Detoxification

• Fats

• healthy nutrition