The five food lies that make us sick and overweight

We live in a society where information is at our fingertips, especially regarding issues like weight loss.  Is all these information true though? Here are five statements that appear to be common knowledge, but are, in fact, false:

1. IT IS IN MY GENES

Whether you’re talking about the excess weight you are carrying or a disease that you have, it is very likely that you caused it. Harsh, but true. The fact is that your health is in your hands.

This means that you should not blame the massive tyre around your waist on your overweight mother or grandmother. The truth is, there are a number of factors that cause obesity and many other illnesses, and genetics is very low down on that list.

2. FATTY FOODS MAKES ME FAT

While deep-fried foods are full of unhealthy trans-fats, a diet rich in good fats won’t make you fat. Good fats are critical to health and weight loss. Studies have shown that a higher fat diet actually aids to burn an extra 300 calories a day.

Let me translate that: 300 calories is what you would burn if you ran for an hour without performing any other exercise. Simply put, fat speeds up your metabolism.

It is sugar and carbohydrates that slows it down. Get your good fats from sources such as olive oil, coconut butter, avocado and nuts.

3. I CAN LOSE WEIGHT IF I EXERCISE

My patients laugh when I tell them that gyms are like casinos: the house always wins! Yes, you’ll tone your body, improve cardiovascular function and release endorphins (feel-good hormones) at the gym but if your diet is the same, you won’t lose weight.

Again, let me translate this: you’d have to run more than two miles to burn off a 300ml soda.

And then there’s the compensation effect: taking a sports drink or ‘healthy’ snack after a workout which, not only undoes your hard work but, very often, gives you even more to work off.

4.DIET SODA IS BETTER THAN REGULAR SODA

Let’s look at the facts: In a 14-year study of over 66,000 women, it was found that diet sodas raised the risk of diabetes more than sugar-sweetened sodas. Researchers found that one diet soda increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 33 per cent.

What’s going on? Well, diet soda actually slows down your metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories) and makes you crave sugar and carbs, which then add to your abdominal fat.

Avoid artificial sweeteners (even natural ones), just add a little real sugar to your dessert if you have to.

5. MILK IS GOOD FOR ME

There is only one type of milk that is good for you: breast milk. It’s perfectly formulated for a baby to grow and after a certain point, the baby stops taking it. Why then do we continue taking it? By continuing to drink milk, we set ourselves up for illness.

This is why Hippocrates, considered by many to be the father of modern medicine, swore by milk-exclusion diets for curing all sorts of chronic health problems, from allergies and sinus congestion, to arthritis, eczema and an irritable bowl. In fact, a child with eczema should be considered to be intolerant to milk until it is proven otherwise.

The writer is a clinical nutritionist and certified by the Nutritional Therapy Council in the UK. Please direct any questions about family nutrition to her on [email protected]