The Biggest Lies of Mainstream Nutrition

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I found this article online, and it nicely collects together the main ones I have discovered whilst studying nutrition. This article does it very nicely:

http://authoritynutrition.com/11-biggest-lies-of-mainstream-nutrition/

Article copy:

1. Eggs Are Unhealthy
There’s one thing that nutrition professionals have had remarkable success with… and that is demonizing incredibly healthy foods.

The worst example of that is eggs, which happen to contain a large amount of cholesterol and were therefore considered to increase the risk of heart disease.

But recently it has been proven that the cholesterol in the diet doesn’t really raise the cholesterol in blood. In fact, eggs primarily raise the “good” cholesterol and are NOT associated with increased risk of heart disease (1, 2).

What we’re left with is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet. They’re high in all sorts of nutrients along with unique antioxidants that protect our eyes (3).

To top it all of, despite being a “high fat” food, eating eggs for breakfast is proven to cause significant weight loss compared to bagels for breakfast (4, 5).

Bottom Line: Eggs do not cause heart disease and are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. Eggs for breakfast can help you lose weight.

2. Saturated Fat is Bad For You
saturated-fat.jpg

A few decades ago it was decided that the epidemic of heart disease was caused by eating too much fat, in particular saturated fat.

This was based on highly flawed studies and political decisions that have now been proven to be completely wrong.

A massive review article published in 2010 looked at 21 prospective epidemiological studies with a total of 347,747 subjects. Their results: absolutely no association between saturated fat and heart disease (6).

The idea that saturated fat raised the risk of heart disease was an unproven theory that somehow became conventional wisdom (7).

Eating saturated fat raises the amount of HDL (the “good”) cholesterol in the blood and changes the LDL from small, dense LDL (very bad) to Large LDL, which is benign (8, 9).

Meat, coconut oil, cheese, butter… there is absolutely no reason to fear these foods.


Bottom Line: Newer studies have proven that saturated fat does not cause heart disease. Natural foods that are high in saturated fat are good for you.

3. Everybody Should be Eating Grains
bread.jpg

The idea that humans should be basing their diets on grains has never made sense to me.

The agricultural revolution happened fairly recently in human evolutionary history and our genes haven’t changed that much.

Grains are fairly low in nutrients compared to other real foods like vegetables. They are also rich in a substance called phytic acid which binds essential minerals in the intestine and prevents them from being absorbed (10).

The most common grain in the western diet, by far, is wheat… and wheat can cause a host of health problems, both minor and serious.

Modern wheat contains a large amount of a protein called gluten, but there is evidence that a significant portion of the population may be sensitive to it (11, 12, 13).

Eating gluten can damage the intestinal lining, cause pain, bloating, stool inconsistency and tiredness (14, 15). Gluten consumption has also been associated with schizophrenia and cerebellar ataxia, both serious disorders of the brain (16, 17).

Bottom Line: Grains are relatively low in nutrients compared to other real foods like vegetables. The gluten grains in particular may lead to a variety of health problems.

4. Eating a Lot of Protein is Bad For Your Bones and Kidneys
A high protein diet has been claimed to cause both osteoporosis and kidney disease.

It is true that eating protein increases calcium excretion from the bones in the short term, but the long term studies actually show the opposite effect.

high-protein-foods.jpg


In the long term, protein has a strong association with improved bone health and a lower risk of fracture (18, 19).

Additionally, studies don’t show any association of high protein with kidney disease in otherwise healthy people (20, 21).

In fact, two of the main risk factors for kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure. Eating a high protein diet improves both (22, 23).

If anything, a high protein diet should be protective against osteoporosis and kidney failure!

Bottom Line: Eating a high protein diet is associated with improved bone health and a lower risk of fracture. High protein also lowers blood pressure and improves diabetes symptoms, which should lower the risk of kidney failure.

5. Low-Fat Foods Are Good For You
yogurt.jpg

Do you know what regular food tastes like when all the fat has been taken out of it?

Well, it tastes like cardboard. No one would want to eat it.

The food manufacturers know this and therefore they add other things to compensate for the lack of fat.

Usually these are sweeteners… sugar, high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners like aspartame.

We’ll get to the sugar in a moment, but I’d like to point out that even though artificial sweeteners don’t have calories, the evidence does NOT suggest that they are better for you than sugar.

In fact, many observational studies show a consistent, highly significant association with various diseases like obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, premature delivery and depression (24, 25, 26).



In these low-fat products, healthy natural fats are being replaced with substances that are extremely harmful.

Bottom Line: Low-fat foods are usually highly processed products loaded with sugar, corn syrup or artificial sweeteners. They are extremely unhealthy.

6. You Should Eat Many Small Meals Throughout The Day
The idea that you should eat many small meals throughout the day in order to “keep metabolism high” is a persistent myth that doesn’t make any sense.

It is true that eating raises your metabolism slightly while you’re digesting the meal, but it’s the total amount of food that determines the energy used, NOT the number of meals.

small-plate-of-pasta.jpg


This has actually been put to the test and refuted multiple times. Controlled studies where one group eats many small meals and the other the same amount of food in fewer meals show that there is literally no difference between the two (27, 28).

In fact, one study in obese men revealed that eating 6 meals per day led to less feelings of fullness compared to 3 meals (29).

Not only is eating so often practically useless for most of the people out there, it may even be harmful.

It is not natural for the human body to be constantly in the fed state. In nature, we used to fast from time to time and we didn’t eat nearly as often as we do today.

When we don’t eat for a while, a cellular process called autophagy cleans waste products out of our cells (30). Fasting or not eating from time to time is good for you.

Several observational studies show a drastically increased risk of colon cancer (4th most common cause of cancer death), numbers going as high as a 90% increase for those who eat 4 meals per day compared to 2 (31, 32, 33).

Bottom Line: There is no evidence that eating many small meals throughout the day is better than fewer, bigger meals. Not eating from time to time is good for you. Increased meal frequency is associated with colon cancer.

7. Carbs Should Be Your Biggest Source of Calories
food-pyramid.jpg

The mainstream view is that everyone should eat a low-fat diet, with carbs being around 50-60% of total calories.

This sort of diet contains a lot of grains and sugars, with very small amounts of fatty foods like meat and eggs.

This type of diet may work well for some people, especially those who are naturally lean.

But for those who are obese, have the metabolic syndrome or diabetes, this amount of carbohydrates is downright dangerous.

This has actually been studied extensively. A low-fat, high-carb diet has been compared to a low-carb, high-fat diet in multiple randomized controlled trials.

The results are consistently in favor of low-carb, high-fat diets (34, 35, 36).

Bottom Line: The low-fat, high-carb diet is a miserable failure and has been proven repeatedly to be vastly inferior to lower-carb, higher-fat diets.

8. High Omega-6 Seed and Vegetable Oils Are Good For You
polyunsaturated-oil.jpg

Polyunsaturated fats are considered healthy because some studies show that they lower your risk of heart disease.

But there are many types of polyunsaturated fats and they are not all the same.

Most importantly, we have both Omega-3 fatty acids and Omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and lower your risk of many diseases related to inflammation (37). Humans actually need to get Omega-6s and Omega-3s in a certain ratio. If the ratio is too high in favor of Omega-6, it can cause problems (38).

By far the biggest sources of Omega-6 in the modern diet are processed seed and vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower oils.

Throughout evolution, humans never had access to such an abundance of Omega-6 fats. It is unnatural for the human body.

Research that specifically looks at Omega-6 fatty acids instead of polyunsaturated fats in general shows that they actually increase the risk of heart disease (39, 40).

Eat your Omega-3s and consider supplementing with cod fish liver oil, but avoid the industrial seed and vegetable oils.

Bottom Line: Humans need to get Omega-6 and Omega-3 fats in a certain ratio. Eating excess Omega-6 from seed oils raises your risk of disease.

9. Low Carb Diets Are Dangerous
woman-standing-on-the-scale-frustrated1.jpg

I personally believe low-carb diets to be a potential cure for many of the most common health problems in western nations.

The low-fat diet peddled all around the world is fairly useless against many of these diseases. It simply does not work.

However, low-carb diets (demonized by nutritionists and the media) have repeatedly been shown to lead to much better outcomes.

Every randomized controlled trial on low-carb diets shows that they:

  1. Reduce body fat more than calorie-restricted low-fat diets, even though the low-carb dieters are allowed to eat as much as they want (41).
  2. Lower blood pressure significantly (42, 43).
  3. Lower blood sugar and improve symptoms of diabetes much more than low-fat diets (44, 45, 46, 47).
  4. Increase HDL (the good) cholesterol much more (48, 49).
  5. Lower triglycerides much more than low-fat diets (50, 51, 52).
  6. Change the pattern of LDL (bad) cholesterol from small, dense (very bad) to Large LDL, which is benign (53, 54).
  7. Low carb diets are also easier to stick to, probably because they don’t require you to restrict calories and be hungry all the time. More people in the low-carb groups make it to the end of the studies (55, 56).
Many of the health professionals that are supposed to have our best interest in mind have the audacity to claim that these diets are dangerous, then continue to peddle their failed low-fat dogma that is hurting more people than it helps.

Bottom Line: Low-carb diets are the healthiest, easiest and most effective way to lose weight and reverse metabolic disease. It is a scientific fact.

10. Sugar is Unhealthy Because it Contains “Empty” Calories
junk-food.jpg

It is commonly believed that sugar is bad for you because it contains empty calories.

It’s true, sugar has a lot of calories with no essential nutrients. But that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Sugar, primarily because of its high fructose content, affects metabolism in a way that sets us up for rapid fat gain and metabolic disease.

Fructose gets metabolized by the liver and turned into fat which is secreted into the blood as VLDL particles. This leads to elevated triglycerides and cholesterol (57, 58).

It also causes resistance to the hormones insulin and leptin, which is a stepping stone towards obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes (59, 60).

This is just to name a few. Sugar causes a relentless biochemical drive for humans to eat more and get fat. It is probably the single worst ingredient in the standard western diet.​
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
I like the list, especially the comments on sugar. It really is the single worst ingredient in the western diet.
 

Atlantis

Well Known GateFan
Hmmm not sure if I agree about the meal frequency part. This is a more recent study. Does it mention what type of food was taken? Like for eg Junk vs real food like vegetables and meats

The weak inverse association observed between eating frequency and CRC is consistent with findings from other prospective studies. Modification of this relationship by diet quality and participant characteristics should be considered in the future studies.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24057417
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Hmmm not sure if I agree about the meal frequency part. This is a more recent study. Does it mention what type of food was taken? Like for eg Junk vs real food like vegetables and meats



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24057417

I disagree with the meal frequency thing too. That method works great for me. 4-6 smaller meals is working for me much better than the three meal "standard". I think any processed foods are going to be less nutritious and healthy than non-processed foods or minimally processed foods.
 

Rac80

The Belle of the Ball
My parents were diabetic and the six small meals kept their blood sugar levels constant.


sugar is NOT fructose- sugar contains sucrose (thus it is a disaccahride- one molecule of glucose with one molecule of fructose) while fructose is sugar from fruits and is a monsacchride. They metabolize slightly differently and fructose is often given to diabetics with low blood sugar because it does not provoke an insulin response. (i'm married to a PhD organic chemist- so sue me! ;) )
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
Hmmm not sure if I agree about the meal frequency part. This is a more recent study. Does it mention what type of food was taken? Like for eg Junk vs real food like vegetables and meats

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24057417
I disagree with the meal frequency thing too. That method works great for me. 4-6 smaller meals is working for me much better than the three meal "standard". I think any processed foods are going to be less nutritious and healthy than non-processed foods or minimally processed foods.

I'm different in that I am averse to "grazing" and/or doing a bunch of small meals throughout the day. I find the more I eat the hungrier I get. It's much easier to control my cravings and my appetite if I just eat maybe two larger meals a day. The rest of the time I'm usually fasting. I know, I know, please don't yell at me. It's a system that works for me, and it's very easy (for me). As it is I usually don't eat until about noon.

Eliminating sugar from my diet (added sugar) while incorporating more veggies and fruit has really changed how I feel. (Yes, fruit has sugar but I can't eat a bag of apples in one sitting whereas I can eat a pan of gluten-free brownies in one sitting. Therein lies the difference.)

Since cutting back on sugar my migraines have improved dramatically. I don't get them near as often as I did before eliminating sugar. Plus I've dropped a shit-ton of weight and am back to my teenage poundage. (That's a funny word: "poundage". :icon_lol:)
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
I started to experiment with meal frequency a few months ago. I maintained my caloric intake and macro ratios but varied the meal frequency (from fewer, larger meals to more, smaller meals).

I'm sorry to say that it actually did not make much of a difference other than feeling full a little longer on larger meals. My body composition and energy levels remained where I expected them to be.

I've been a very vocal advocate of the multiple-meal theory because it seemed to work for me during my initial transformation and throughout my lifestyle. I'm compelled to rethink that based on my recent experience.
 

Rac80

The Belle of the Ball
I'm old enough to laugh at whatever is the current "fad"-- anyone else remember that transfats were invented because saturated fats (animals fats) were considered "bad"?:icon_lol: or that Sugar Smacks was renamed Honey Smacks when "sugar" became a bad word? :haha: Or that sugar was replaced on ingredients lists with "high fructose corn syrup" because of aforementioned issue with "sugar"? :happy0007:that margarine was invented because "butter" was bad for you?:rotflmao: the list goes on and on! :laughing: Food fads seem to be as old as time. I will continue to laugh at them as I munch on my foods sweetened with "evaporated cane juice" as many labels refer to SUGAR now! :joy:
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I'm old enough to laugh at whatever is the current "fad"-- anyone else remember that transfats were invented because saturated fats (animals fats) were considered "bad"?:icon_lol: or that Sugar Smacks was renamed Honey Smacks when "sugar" became a bad word? :haha: Or that sugar was replaced on ingredients lists with "high fructose corn syrup" because of aforementioned issue with "sugar"? :happy0007:that margarine was invented because "butter" was bad for you?:rotflmao: the list goes on and on! :laughing: Food fads seem to be as old as time. I will continue to laugh at them as I munch on my foods sweetened with "evaporated cane juice" as many labels refer to SUGAR now! :joy:

Sugar's worst property is that it places the body in a state of inflammation. It stimulates insulin production and the glycemic load is far beyond normal (what you could get from any naturally occurring food). It actually feeds cancer cells. This means that if you are predisposed to colon cancer and you have a few cells, they could be promoted to grow in the presence of undigested sugars in the intestine and also the ultra high blood sugar.

Inflammation is the key word here. :) Sugar puts the body in an inflammatory state.
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
Sugar's worst property is that it places the body in a state of inflammation. It stimulates insulin production and the glycemic load is far beyond normal (what you could get from any naturally occurring food). It actually feeds cancer cells. This means that if you are predisposed to colon cancer and you have a few cells, they could be promoted to grow in the presence of undigested sugars in the intestine and also the ultra high blood sugar.

Inflammation is the key word here. :) Sugar puts the body in an inflammatory state.

Aside from all that, this country is fascinated by sugar. Sugar is found where it shouldn't be. Trying to find a loaf of bread without "added sugar" is like a quest for unicorns and it's all thanks to the 'Murican subsidy system.

Look at cranberries and the cranberry juice industry.

http://www.bdcwire.com/ocean-spray-to-fda-cranberry-juice-tastes-terrible-without-sugar/

Ocean Spray told the FDA that cranberry juice tastes like shit without sugar. They want an exemption from the new sugar labeling regulations because they would have to disclose that their cranberry juice is, for all intents and purposes, nothing more than water and sugar with a few cranberries thrown in for marketing purposes.

This country has an obsession with sweet. Reading some health boards, I see users proudly discussing which breads have a "delicious sweet taste", as if sugar makes bread better.

Sugar is one of those things that you do not EVER have to put in your mouth directly. Unless your diet is strictly made up of plain grilled meats and nothing else, everything you put in your mouth will turn to "sugar" in your blood.
 

shavedape

Well Known GateFan
Aside from all that, this country is fascinated by sugar. Sugar is found where it shouldn't be. Trying to find a loaf of bread without "added sugar" is like a quest for unicorns and it's all thanks to the 'Murican subsidy system.

Look at cranberries and the cranberry juice industry.

http://www.bdcwire.com/ocean-spray-to-fda-cranberry-juice-tastes-terrible-without-sugar/

Ocean Spray told the FDA that cranberry juice tastes like shit without sugar. They want an exemption from the new sugar labeling regulations because they would have to disclose that their cranberry juice is, for all intents and purposes, nothing more than water and sugar with a few cranberries thrown in for marketing purposes.

This country has an obsession with sweet. Reading some health boards, I see users proudly discussing which breads have a "delicious sweet taste", as if sugar makes bread better.

Sugar is one of those things that you do not EVER have to put in your mouth directly. Unless your diet is strictly made up of plain grilled meats and nothing else, everything you put in your mouth will turn to "sugar" in your blood.

Great post. :encouragement: Even though I'm not a big bread eater I'm always shocked that sugar is routinely added to the dough. This even happens in homemade recipes. I always shake my head and sigh when I read a recipe blog by a Suburban Suzy who claims that adding sugar to bread dough is necessary to "feed" the yeast. :rolleye0014: What a load of shit. They add sugar because they like the taste of it and they have no willpower. What's really sickening is how, universally, these bloggers will invariably state that "My husband and kids make the bread disappear the day I bake it." Yeah, good job of giving your kids a head start on juvenile diabetes.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Great post. :encouragement: Even though I'm not a big bread eater I'm always shocked that sugar is routinely added to the dough. This even happens in homemade recipes. I always shake my head and sigh when I read a recipe blog by a Suburban Suzy who claims that adding sugar to bread dough is necessary to "feed" the yeast. :rolleye0014: What a load of shit. They add sugar because they like the taste of it and they have no willpower. What's really sickening is how, universally, these bloggers will invariably state that "My husband and kids make the bread disappear the day I bake it." Yeah, good job of giving your kids a head start on juvenile diabetes.

Eat French bread then. :) It is made without sugar as far as making the yeast rise. Homemade bread using yeast does not have to use sugar. Rise times are much longer, but the dough does rise. I dont eat a lot of French bread because it is made with white flour and not whole wheat.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Aside from all that, this country is fascinated by sugar. Sugar is found where it shouldn't be. Trying to find a loaf of bread without "added sugar" is like a quest for unicorns and it's all thanks to the 'Murican subsidy system.

Look at cranberries and the cranberry juice industry.

http://www.bdcwire.com/ocean-spray-to-fda-cranberry-juice-tastes-terrible-without-sugar/

Ocean Spray told the FDA that cranberry juice tastes like shit without sugar. They want an exemption from the new sugar labeling regulations because they would have to disclose that their cranberry juice is, for all intents and purposes, nothing more than water and sugar with a few cranberries thrown in for marketing purposes.

This country has an obsession with sweet. Reading some health boards, I see users proudly discussing which breads have a "delicious sweet taste", as if sugar makes bread better.

Sugar is one of those things that you do not EVER have to put in your mouth directly. Unless your diet is strictly made up of plain grilled meats and nothing else, everything you put in your mouth will turn to "sugar" in your blood.

I do not understand adults who become orgasmic over super sweet foods and drinks. I literally got a gag reflex with trying to "oh, just have a bite, George!", and somebody force fed me a forkful of double chocolate fudge cake with chocolate chips and chocolate syrup. I literally could not swallow it. My mouth felt nuked with the most awful sweet overload. I had to wash my mouth out after discreetly spitting it out into my napkin.

Why do people down all that sugar? I like sweet sometimes, but Im talking about the kind of sweet that comes from fruits. I also occasionally enjoy full sugar ice cream (very bad for me, but only a serving every couple of weeks. Not a disaster!). Sugar should have a warning label of it's own.

What you said here says it all:

Sugar is one of those things that you do not EVER have to put in your mouth directly. Unless your diet is strictly made up of plain grilled meats and nothing else, everything you put in your mouth will turn to "sugar" in your blood.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Coming out of a relapse weight gain period. :) Around February, I started being piggy and having a coffee cake with my breakfast coffee. I am talking a thick sliced, crumbly coated hunk like this:

coffecake.png


Slowly, carb creep came in the form of pie or ice cream EVERY night after dinner, more potatoes and brown rice (which is okay for say a cup serving but not 2 cups :)). Needless to say, by May 2015 I gained weight enough to take me from 180 to 200lbs. Exercise levels had slowed too. Worse yet, my doc told me that my blood sugars were too high and blood pressure had increased as well? That was May 2015.

In May, I went back to basics and applied the Atkins approach (Phase 1 Induction), and I am rapidly losing the extra weight, just as easily as the first time. And I can do it from memory now. :) I am almost back to 180 in less than two months. After seeing the Doc on August 1, I will know for sure that the internal balance has also been restored.

My take aways:

  • Weight gain is 100% self-induced. No excuses. Being unaware of what one is eating to make them fat is the fault of the eater, not the food. Having this perspective makes it easier to decide to do something about it.
  • Read ingredient labels of all foods you purchase. It is all you have to know what you are eating.
  • Study your nutrition! Do it on the internet, buy a book, it is not hard at all. Do it from your phone! Start with looking up what is in that Big Mac you want to eat. Look up that Subway sandwich or that 7-11 donut. Read the label of that Coca Cola between sips.
  • Protein and animal fats (saturated) are GOOD for you. Sorry, but being a vegetarian or vegan is not the healthiest diet you can eat because it lacks them. You can have a measure of health avoiding animal products, but not optimal.
  • Carbohydrates should only come in the form of fruits and grains with as little processing as possible. Timing when to eat them is important. Your body will process a banana differently if you eat it before going to bed than if you eat it before going for a walk.
  • The process of burning excess fat promotes a desire to exercise because you feel "antsy" (a good thing).
Blood pressure is lower. Desire to exercise is coming upon me. Im at 190lbs after a month. :) 10 more pounds to go and I am back where I need to be. Just sharing...
 
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Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Five more pounds to go. I lost the extra weight this time with very little real exercise. Probably not optimal, but I was able to do it with diet (eliminating the excess carbs). I have a new love for Red Delicious apples. :) They have to be crisp and not mushy. I can tell now, from looking at them. If there are yellow streaks on the skin, they are mushy. They have to be deep red. I eat them when I want something to munch on. I also am eating tuna again.
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
Geez, I totally missed your trip to porkdom. I'm glad to see you've gotten a grip on thing again, but, what's with all the sugar? :(
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Geez, I totally missed your trip to porkdom. I'm glad to see you've gotten a grip on thing again, but, what's with all the sugar? :(

It was my last job that did it. The closest food place was the shop in the lobby. They very few healthy choices, and because I was commuting, I only would bring my lunch occasionally. But that morning coffee...that was what did it. I bought one of those coffee caks, and then I started to see the coffee/cake as a single unit. :) Im over it now!
 
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