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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Good, clean toilet humor 8/12/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 12 food myths debunked By Gwen Schoen Sacramento Bee You hear a lot of nutrition advice, some good, some questionable. Jeannie Gazzaniga Moloo, spokeswoman for the American Dietetics Association, is on a mission to squelch myths. Here's a list of 12 common beliefs along with the real skinny from Moloo. MYTH: Eating sugar causes diabetes. FACT: Diabetes is the result of the body either not making enough insulin or the body's cells not responding to insulin. Since foods high in sugar are often high in calories, overeating these foods can lead to weight gain, which can increase the risk for developing Type 2 diabetes. MYTH: Eating carbohydrates causes weight gain. FACT: A diet too high in calories -- whether from protein, carbohydrate or fat -- causes weight gain. MYTH: Eating after 8 p.m. causes weight gain. FACT: It's not when you eat, but how much you eat that causes weight gain. MYTH: Fresh fruits and vegetables are healthier than frozen or canned. FACT: Canned or frozen fruits and vegetables are often flash frozen or quickly canned after harvest so they retain most of their nutrients. They do lose some of their nutrients while sitting in grocery stores or in your refrigerator. MYTH: Honey is better than white sugar because it is natural. FACT: Honey does contain antioxidants and some nutrients that white sugar does not, but in very small amounts. Honey has 60 calories per tablespoon compared with 46 calories for sugar. MYTH: Most sodium in diets is from salt added while cooking or at the table. FACT: About 77 percent of the sodium in Americans' diets is from processed foods. MYTH: Brown eggs are more nutritious than white eggs. FACT: Egg shell color has nothing to do with nutrient value of an egg. White hens lay white eggs, and brown hens lay brown eggs. MYTH: Brown sugar is healthier than white sugar. FACT: Brown sugar is refined white sugar with molasses added. The darker the brown sugar, the more molasses it contains. The molasses adds some minerals, but they are insignificant. MYTH: Certain foods, such as grapefruit, celery or cabbage soup, can burn fat and make you lose weight. FACT: No one food can cause your body to burn fat or lose weight. MYTH: A label that says 95 percent fat-free means only 5 percent of the calories come from fat. FACT: A product advertised as 95 percent fat-free means that 5 percent of the total weight is fat. The calories from fat could still be high. For example, 95 percent fat-free ground turkey might have 8 grams of fat per 170 calorie serving, which translates to 42 percent of the calories from fat. MYTH: Consuming extra protein is necessary to build muscle mass. FACT: Research shows that eating more than 30 percent of total daily calories as protein can be hard on the body. A diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. and lean dairy, meats and fish is going to do more for muscle building than just eating more protein. MYTH: Diet sodas cause weight gain. FACT: Studies showing a link between drinking diet sodas and weight gain were not designed to show cause and effect, but only an association. People who drink diet sodas may be compensating for other unhealthy lifestyle habits that cause weight gain.

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