Do you buy into diet myths? How much do you really know about good nutrition?
Trendy diets usually don’t cut it long-term in terms of weight loss or creating healthier relationships to food, and can actually trigger obsessive and disordered eating. There are so many diet fads flying around and so much conflicting information that many people don’t know what to believe.
It’s tempting to click on social media ads to find the latest “30-day weight-loss plan,” where we’re given overly simplified answers from someone important who seems to have figured it all out, figuring maybe we can finally figure it out, too. Everyone is a nutrition expert these days, but beliefs about the inherent “goodness” or “badness” about certain foods often overshadow fact and nuance. What’s more, nutrition studies become skewed due to misinterpretation, conflict of interest or blatant self-interest.
Just because a diet is popular doesn’t mean you should assume the facts back it up. So many diet distortions abound that it’s tough to pick just four, but I settled on these biggies for now. Here we go…
Celebrity diets must work for me.
Nope. Even if you admire the celebrity more than anyone else in the world. That celebrity could be nice as spice and believe the product really works, but that might not be her main motivation for endorsing it. Maybe she’s also doing it for publicity reasons. There’s no way to know for sure if the celebrity has even tried the said diet.
The bottom line is that it’s extremely difficult to live up to an airbrushed celebrity image of what’s attractive, and who wants to anymore? Beauty doesn’t fit into a one-body-type-fits-all package, nor should it. We’re wise enough to know that grasping for society’s version of perfection won’t make us happy, and that it’s extremely difficult anyway. Hell, it’s not even real for the celebrity either half the time. So don’t torture yourself trying to fit into the mold of someone who probably has doctors and trainers at her beckon call and all of the resources in the world to literally shape herself into our culture’s fantasy of what’s supposed to be amazing. When it comes down to it, she’s probably going to listen to (and hire) the experts above everyone else, so why shouldn’t you listen to science, as well?
Detox diets work.
Everyone loves to use the word detox, especially fitness gurus and diet companies. We’re trained well: Feeling a little sluggish? A little puffy? A total body cleanse of juices and supplements will do you good.
Detoxes are usually de facto elimination diets. Meaning, people may feel better short-term not because of any detoxifying going on, but because the diet forces them to eat fewer calories and more fruits and veggies, and thus more micronutrients, sans all the crap they might be used to. And the dramatic water weight that participants shed from shunning carbs encourages the feeling that the detox must be working. When we don’t eat carbs, we deplete our glycogen stores, which results in quick water loss. Unfortunately, dehydrating ourselves doesn’t sustain us in the long term, and when our detox concludes and we replenish our glycogen stores, guess what happens?
Our bodies already have beautiful, efficient systems for detoxification (Enter the kidneys, liver, lungs and spleen.) We don’t need to rid ourselves of the “toxicity” of unhealthiness by starving and weakening our bodies, because any excess “build-up” of toxins in our organs is fictional.
Carbohydrates are bad.
Carbohydrates aren’t inherently bad. They don’t naturally make people gain body fat. One nutrient alone doesn’t make people fat. Eating more food than the body needs makes people gain fat.
Major studies found that the restrictive nature of low-carb diets can make them tough to stick to for many, even though initially more weight is often lost than on other diets. More weight is lost initially usually because the diets are lower in calories, not lower in carbs. Interestingly, the results are mostly the same for those who have diabetes, hyperinsulinemia or insulin resistance as for those without these conditions.
After one to three years, it’s common for people on low-carb diets to regain weight. Once people get off their plans, they are faced with even more carb cravings which leads to weight re-gain. If following a low-carb diet helps you to eat healthier, there’s value in that. It depends on if these diets help or hurt your eating habits. If they make you eat worse or feel worse, know that there’s a better way for you.
Carbs found in foods like vegetables, legumes, oats, sweet potatoes, quinoa and whole grains take longer to digest and give you a steady supply of slow-burning energy to keep you full longer–-not to mention tons of nutrition that your body needs. Diets that skip out on these foods deprive you of important health benefits. You can eat carbs moderately as part of a well-rounded diet. Also, choose whole foods over boxed, processed, sugary foods.
Anyone can benefit from a gluten-free diet.
Celebrities endorse gluten-free food for weight loss, claiming increased energy, improved digestion and clearer skin. People believe that gluten-free products are healthier, according to surveys. There is currently no research to support the claim that a gluten-free diet is good for weight loss. Unless you’ve been instructed by your doctor to avoid gluten for a medical reason like celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, you don’t need to eliminate gluten.
Those who have lost weight by avoiding foods that contain gluten–-such as bread, crackers, cookies, cakes, and other baked goods–-have perhaps done so because these foods are high-calorie, not high-gluten.
Just because a food is labeled “gluten-free” doesn’t mean it is healthier. Beware of manufacturers using the gluten-free label on processed food to suck you into buying it. These foods tend to be higher in calories and lower in fiber than regular grain products. For instance, a gluten-free cereal will often have much less fiber and only slightly fewer calories.
In Summation…
If a trendy diet helps you with motivation to change unhealthy eating choices, there is some value in that. But not if they mess with your health or put you right back where you started (or worse) over the long term. You decide.
Is there any particular “diet” that is the miracle answer for healthy eating? Not really. The solution isn’t found in the trendy detoxes, 7 day cleanses, and survive-on-one-food-group plans. Eat real food, preferably from nature, and without a lot of ingredients in it that you can’t pronounce. Listen to your body’s hunger signals and only eat when you’re hungry. Think of your body as a magnificent engine. You wouldn’t fuel it with garbage, would you? Nourish it with fuel that will allow it to thrive. Discover whole foods that taste good to you, and then slowly incorporate them into your eating habits.
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