4 Common Nutrition Myths Debunked

4 Common Nutrition Myths Debunked

To say there’s a lot misinformation floating around out there about health and nutrition would be an understatement. Whether it’s ‘fad’ diets, portion size or calorie counting, there’s ton of bad information that guide people down the wrong path. In an effort to help you separate the truth from the fiction, we’ve covered some of the most common nutrition myths below.

Myth #1 – Eggs Raise Your Bad Cholesterol Levels

One of the most common nutrition myths is that eating eggs will raise your bad cholesterol levels. You might even know someone who eats plain egg whites to avoid the additional cholesterol. While egg yolk does in fact contain cholesterol, studies have found that it doesn’t increase the body’s cholesterol levels; therefore, you can continue enjoying those scrambled egg breakfasts without fear of it harming your health.

Myth #2 – Eating Before Bed Contributes To Weight Gain

Nearly everyone has heard of this myth before: eating an hour or sooner before bed will contribute to weight gain. Well, this is a complete myth with no sound evidence. People have grown to believe this myth is true simply because most bedtime snacks are unhealthy, which does promote weight gain.

If you eat half a bag of potato chips, crackers, pretzels or a bowl of ice cream before bed, you may gradually notice your weight increasing. However, eating a light snack consisting of celery and peanut butter or carrots and light ranch dressing is perfectly fine.

Myth #3 – Saturated Fat Increases Risk of Heart Disease

A third nutrition myth that’s worth noting in this post is that consuming a diet high in saturated fat increases one’s risk of developing heart disease. In all actuality, saturated fat raises your HDL cholesterol (good kind) while changing your LDL (bad kind). The type of fat that you really want to avoid is trans fat, which lowers your good cholesterol while raising your bad cholesterol.

Myth #4 – 64 Ounces of Water a Day

I think we’ve all heard of the eight, eight-ounce glasses of water per day rule. Staying properly hydrated is something that many people overlook. And while mild dehydrated won’t cause any immediate concerning health problems, it can result in headaches, fatigue and other minor side effects.

Rather than trying to follow the eight, eight-ounce glasses of water per day rule, though, you should simply listen to your body and drink when you’re thirsty. The human body is smart enough to tell you when it needs water, so drink when you are feeling thirsty.