Debunking Food Myths

Debunking Food Myths:
The Truth behind the Science of Food

Contemporary lifestyles are consumed by food. Either we are eating it, reading about it, shopping for it or trying not to eat it; too often our thoughts revolve around what we should or should not eat. Food has shifted from a source of true pleasure and enjoyment to a profound source of stress in our lives, and it is here that we have a fundamental problem. As humans we are programmed to derive pleasure from food, not only by the simple act of eating it, but also preparing it and sharing it with friends and family. What is common today are schedules so full that our meal times are what get pushed aside and often forces us to make unwise food choices; for example fast food or frozen dinners or worse yet we skip meals and simply pick at whatever we find in the refrigerator and call that dinner.

As part of our obsession with food, the science of “Nutritionism” has arisen and along with it every week a new article seems to announce this year’s super food, guaranteed to improve your health. Sorry to disillusion you but there are no such things as super foods. There are no doubt certain foods that have more nutrient value than others but if you truly want to take care of you body as a whole and use nutrition as a tool to guide it on the road to wellness, than think diversity and think vegetables. Part of what you will take away from this workshop is that we need to spend more time adding new and different foods in to our daily food regimen and not just worrying about what foods to take out.

So let’s start by tackling some of the more common myths that you may have heard about and for some reason you can’t figure out why they are not working for you.

1. Milk does a body good. It is hard to argue with such a successful ad campaign but think hard about the fact that no other species on this planet consumes the milk of another being. Than look at other human cultures around the globe, outside of the U.S., Western Europe and Australia, and you’ll see that dairy plays a very small role in daily food intake. This is not to say that an occasional piece of cheese, a bit of ice cream or even a bowl of yogurt and granola is horrible for you, rather dairy needs to be drastically reduced in most of our diets, and for some it is best avoided except for the occasional treat. As far as those claims that a diet which includes 24 oz. of lowfat milk will help you shed pounds quicker, it may work for some simply by displacing other more caloric foods with milk. Water will fill you just as well and has far more health benefits for the human body than milk does.


2. Supplements are a great way to make sure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need. There is a lot of discussion when it comes to supplements but the simple fact is that we often don’t understand all the components in foods that make them healthy for our bodies, making it impossible for us to mimic benefits of eating certain foods using supplement form. The best way to ensure you get enough of the nutrients you need, is to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins, and by all means take a good multi-vitamin to help make sure you are getting all that your body needs.

3. Avoid eating fats. I blame this notion as one of the major causes of our country’s current obesity epidemic. In the 1980’s we viewed fat as the cause of all dietary problems, so companies started concocting everything from cookies to ice cream that was miraculously fat free. What those food scientists forgot to mention was that they were replacing all the fat with sugar, because you have to get flavor from somewhere. There are many man-made fats that are very unhealthy, the Trans (hydrogenated) fats, but thankfully most of these are being eliminated from most processed foods and eateries. On the flip side, there are many healthy fats, primarily mono-unsaturated fats that reap huge benefits in our bodies. Fats play a critical role in curbing inflammation, proper nerve development, and overall cell growth. The fact is enjoying food is an important part of all our lives, and you will be much more likely to adhere to a diet that allows copious amounts of healthy mono-unsaturated fats.

Below is a chart to help inform you on which fats are healthy and which are best avoided or used only minimally.

GOODFATS
Avocados

Expeller pressed Canola Oil
Fish Fat

Flaxseeds/Oil
Nuts
Nut Oils Palm
Olive Oil
Olives
Peanut Butter
Peanuts

NEUTRAL FATS**

Soybean Oil

Sunflower Oil

Safflower Oil

Corn Oil

Grapeseed Oil

BAD FATS

Coconut Oil

Dairy Fat

Meat Fat

Palm Oil

Palm Kernal Oil

Hydrogenated Oils/Trans Fats

** These fats should be consumed in moderation. They upset the balance between the Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids. Prepared foods are almost entirely made of the omega 6 polyunsaturated fats and consumption of these products further upsets this delicate balance.

4. Cereal is part of a wholesome breakfast. You may not want to hear it but there are very few cereals that can truly be called healthy. Read any label and the second ingredient is almost always sugar, or evaporated cane juice or brown rice syrup or any other fancy names which simply mean sugar. Cereal is also a processed wholegrain, meaning many of the nutrients inherent in the grains have been stripped during the processing and the cereals are then enriched, not ideal. You are better off with some old fashioned oatmeal or an egg with a slice of sprouted whole grain toast.

5. Juice is a great way to increase your daily fruit and vegetable intake. Juice by no means acts as a replacement for eating plentiful amounts of fruits and vegetables. The simple fact is that when you press juice out of the fruit all you are getting is the water and sugar from that fruit. All of the fiber and most of the nutrients, many of which are found in the colorful skins, are left behind. If you like to drink juice opt for some of the fresh fruit juices like Odwalla and Naked which are often made with purees as well as juices, but try not to use juice as a substitute for the real thing.

6. Eat three square meals a day. Culture tells us that there are three distinct times of the day we are supposed to eat, when in reality our bodies function much better when we feed it smaller amounts throughout the day, say five or six times. Let me stress that I believe meals are very important on a social level, dinner is a great time for a family to catch up, however if you are hungry at 3 or 4 in the afternoon, eat something, don’t wait until dinner at which time you’ll be ravishing and tend to overeat. Also in line with this, try to consume the majority of your calories before 5 or 6pm. The simple truth is that any food you consume within 3 hours of going to sleep commonly gets turned to fat because we simply are not active enough to burn off all of the calories.

7. All meats are created equal and have similar effects on your health. This is an area I often find shocks people. One major reason that eating red meat these days is unhealthy is because our cattle are grain fed. By feeding cows corn and soy, instead of their natural diet of native grasses, we upset the delicate balance of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids in their body. Therefore when we consume the meat we are further upsetting that same balance of essential fatty acids in our bodies. The same goes for grain fed poultry and even farm raised fish. You also can’t negate the prolific use of hormones and antibiotics on these cattle and poultry farms, all of which are nest avoided.

8. Organic means it’s healthy. Nothing could be further from the truth and I fear the organic craze will manifest itself much in the same way as the fat free revolution. People are often under the assumption that just because something says organic than it must be good for you. A cookie is still a cookie whether it was made with all organic ingredients or not. Eating organic is definitely the way to go but in the form of whole foods, not processed foods.

9. Fruit is an ideal dessert. Fruit is no doubt a great food for us all to eat, however since fruit is digested so quickly if we eat fruit after a meal that consisted of protein and complex carbohydrates which digest more slowly, we sort of gum up the works and throw our whole digestive process off balance. Fruit is always best consumed on its own, preferably first thing in the morning while you still have last night’s dinner digesting in your system.

10. It takes too much time and money to prepare healthy foods. This is the greatest myth of all! I won’t lie about the fact that you will need to spend some time in the kitchen and actually do some cooking from scratch, but there are efficient ways of cooking and you’ll be amazed that when you stop buying processed foods, and less meat and dairy, how much money you can actually save. Here are some key tips to help you keep healthy food on the dinner table.

Stock your pantry well with healthy items like Olive oil, canned beans, whole grains, chicken or vegetable stock, canned tomatoes, tuna, anchovies, etc.

The same goes for your freezer, always have some frozen vegetables in the house

If you tend to buy in bulk to save money, package it in smaller containers before freezing so you can pull out only what you need

When cooking most anything, a soup, a casserole, or whatever you like, make twice as much as you need and freeze some, or pack leftovers to bring to work for lunch because work lunches are an area of our diet that we tend to neglect and lead us to making un wise food choices.

Pick one afternoon or evening a week to cook; spend a few hours in the kitchen making a few different dishes you can enjoy all week. Be sure to choose dishes which share some of the same ingredients which will make both shopping and cooking much easier.

As silly as it may sound, switch to square Tupperware. It fits in the refrigerator more easily and if you keep your fridge neat you won’t end up with a bunch of forgotten leftovers which just end up going bad and wasted.

Here are some easy and healthy recipes to help you get started on a path towards improved health and wellness through good nutrition.

Recipes

Ginger Sesame Mixed Grill

This is a great marinade for Salmon, Tuna, Chicken, Shrimp or Beef
Marinade

¼ cup Sesame oil

¼ cup Good quality soy sauce

¼ cup Honey

¼ cup Orange juice (optional) J

uice of one lemon

3tbs. Toasted sesame seeds **

1 tsp. Crushed red pepper

Combine all of the marinade ingredients and whisk together
Both the Steak and the Chicken can be put in the marinade the day before to soak up all those yummy flavors; one hint, to make clean up easier marinate in freezer bags being sure to use separate bags for the beef and chicken

Shrimp and fish should not sit in the marinade for more than 1 hour
Grill you meats until proper doneness and serve with Lime Curry Sauce

Lime Curry Sauce
½ Cup Greek Yogurt or Plain Yogurt drained
Juice of 2 Limes
1 tbs. Good quality curry powder
½ tsp. Nutmeg
½ tsp. Cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth, keep chilled and set aside until serving

Tropical Fruit Salsa

This is a great accompaniment to grilled meat or fish because the enzymes in most tropical fruits help the digestive system to properly break down proteins. Bromelain, which is abundant in Pineapple and other tropical fruits, also helps relieve joint pain.
1 Medium Red Onion finely chopped

1 Medium green, yellow or red pepper, chopped

1 Ripe Mango or ½ Pineapple cubed

2 tbs. Freshly chopped Cilantro Juice of 1 or 2 Limes

1 tsp of Habanero Hot sauce (or more to taste)

Combine all ingredients and let sit for at least 1 hour before serving so the flavors can combine


Vietnamese Fresh Rolls
1 cup Various Vegetables, Cucumbers, Peppers, Carrots, Daikon and Bok Choy are all good choices,
julienned (choose vegetables that are crisp and do not give off a lot of water)
*you can also add thinly sliced herbs, mango, grilled chicken, cooked shrimp or beef
1 package of Rice paper Wrappers
1 Package of Mai Fun (Mung Bean threads)

Thinly slice vegetables and set aside
Soak Noodles in hot water until soft, drain and set aside
Soak each rice sheet as you are making the rolls, keep wrapped in a damp towel
Fill rice sheet with some vegetables, or shrimp and some mai fun and roll tightly