Myths About Diets That You Should Stop to Believe

Dietology is an area where the flight of human fantasy and the amount of prejudice are about the same as in the grim Middle Ages. It’s time to change the situation. We refute the most common misconceptions about nutrition, and you tell your friends about it. Let’s fight ignorance together.

#1 There are special products from which you get thin or fat. The change in weight is affected by the difference between eaten and burned calories. It is not so important from which products you get energy. You can get fat from a strict diet of chicken breast and brown rice, if you really eat a lot of them, and lose weight on burgers.

So-called products with negative calorie content are not magic pills too. They are usually referred to cucumbers, cabbage, celery. Ostensibly, the body spends more energy for processing than it receives. The theory of negative calorie is not confirmed by science. No matter how few calories are contained in the product, the body will spend on its digestion 3-30%  from its energy value.

#2 To lose weight, you need to reduce the intake of carbohydrates. If you are not a professional bodybuilder who painfully tries to reduce the percentage of fat from 8 to 5% before the competition, rehabilitate carbohydrates in your menu.

You will lose weight with a deficit of calories and gain at their excess, and the content of carbohydrates in the diet affects this process insignificantly.

On the other hand, this myth has a basis: carbohydrates retain water in the body, and a sharp restriction of their consumption will actually lead to weight loss – due to liquid. It will come back as soon as you start eating carbohydrates again.

And you will have to return them to the menu because glucose gives the brain energy and is involved in the mechanism of producing a hormone of joy – serotonin. It is no accident that people who go on a long low-carb diet, note that they become less smart and duller. This effect is confirmed by scientific researchers.

#3 Proper nutrition is the key to optimal weight and well-being. The main purpose of food is to supply the body with energy, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, trace elements. And it is not so important, with what products the body is supplied with them.

At the same time, if you follow the principles of proper nutrition as a maniac, you can get sick with nervous orthorexia – a mental disorder in which a person experiences anxiety and guilt for “wrong” products on the menu.

#4 It is necessary to avoid gluten. Gluten is a complex protein found in many cereal plants and products made from them. It is credited with a destructive effect on the intestines, leading to atrophy of the mucous membrane of the colon, a violation of absorption of fats, vitamins, a negative effect on the metabolism. All this is true for patients with celiac disease – gluten intolerance. But only 1% of the world population suffers from it.

In this case, for healthy people, the rejection of gluten not only does not make sense, but it can also be dangerous. It cites to a decrease in immunity and a decrease in the number of beneficial bacteria in the intestine with a simultaneous increase in the number of harmful ones.

#5 Periodically everyone needs detoxification. This myth is a whole industry. We are offered to “clean” the body of toxins with the help of miraculous smoothies, infusions of cucumber, mint and secret additives and so on. Scientists claim that detoxification exists only in its medical aspect when doctors save a victim of poisoning.

As for the other cases, this is a marketing move. The organism removes toxins by itself with the help of the liver, kidneys, and skin. If it does not cope, the help of physicians instead of smoothies is required.

#6 Stopping the diet, you will gain previous weight. Indeed, scientists note the so-called yo-yo effect: people who observed a very strict diet, most often return to their original weight.

But the key fact in this matter is not the very fact of food restrictions. The reason is that person again starts to consume more calories than he or she spends, and weight returns. Scientists point out that the psychological reasons for regaining kilograms after a diet play a more important role than biological ones.

#7 You need to drink two liters of clean water a day. Indeed, water is important for the body. The main marker of its lack is thirst. Therefore, if you do not want to drink, you do not have to force yourself.

In addition, it is not necessary to focus on clean water. Liquid from food and all drinks, including those that contain caffeine, are also valid. Previously, it was believed that the latter remove water from the body, but the study made in 2000 completely rehabilitated them.

Sum Up

The logic of scientists is simple: if you want to lose weight, consume fewer calories than you waste. Remember this yourself and tell your girlfriend (they really like all sorts of diets). The best recipe for losing weight is a hall, a good sleep, and a balanced diet.