Posted on September 28, 2015 by Kate Halsall

Without really thinking about it, I guarantee you’ve heard some of these, worst still – you’ve probably told someone a myth whilst firmly believing in its authenticity. Don’t eat after 7pm; carbohydrates make you fat; toast is better for you than cereal and so on and so on. The question with a blog like this is where to start! So here are two of the most common things that as personal trainers we hear:

Eggs Are Bad For You And Your Cholesterol Levels

There are two types of cholesterol:

1. The kind your body produces. Yep that’s right – your body naturally produces cholesterol – so we need some in our bodies. The types of food you eat will either increase or decrease this cholesterol production. Too much saturated fat, refined carbs and sugar increases the amounts we produce, and foods such as meats and eggs actually reduces the amount produced.
2. The kind you eat. Cholesterol containing foods include animal produce and trans fats and it’s these that can influence the amount of bad cholesterol in your body.

Studies have shown that eggs do not significantly contribute to the bad cholesterol in your blood. In fact, studies show that if you are an already healthy individual, it is perfectly ok to eat 3 eggs a day (there’s not a lot of studies for more than 3 eggs but you can probably eat more than 3 eggs a day without any impact on your cholesterol!). Plus don’t forget about all the protein and vitamins which are also in eggs! If you’re still not convinced, have egg whites instead.

 

Low Fat Foods Are Better/Healthier Choices

The problem is that “Low Fat” products aren’t always that! Don’t think that just because something advertises itself as low fat that it’s good for you. Something can be low in fat but have a high sugar content, or have a lower fat content than it’s original products but still be high in fat.  Food labels hold the key, so make sure you read them and make educated choices about whether something is low in fat or not. And to help you with these, here’s a quote from the BBC’s Food nutritionist:

	What’s a lot…	What’s a little…
Total fat	More than 20 g per 100g	Less than 3g per 100g
Saturates	More than 5g per 100g	1.5g or pess per 100g
Sugar	More than 15g per 100g	5g or less per 100g

Hopefully this has cleared up some of the common food myths you may have had. If you ever have any questions regarding food, diet and nutrition – don’t just rely on what you find via search engines, ask one of our team as that is what we’re here for!

Further Reading:

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/the_13_biggest_nutrition_and_food_myths_busted

http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Pages/food-exercise-mythbuster.aspx

http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/food-myths.html

http://lifehacker.com/5847591/10-stubborn-food-myths-that-just-wont-die

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/truth-about-low-fat-foods