Expose the 8 dietary myths that are confusing you about your health
“Eating too much sugar leads to high blood pressure! Fat leads to heart disease!…”, salt, sugar, fat, and other substances are consumed by people every day, but a variety of healthy eating言论 have left people at a loss in their diets. In fact, salt, sugar, fat, and the like are not the scourge of the earth; on the contrary, they are essential nutrients for the body.
Myth 1: Never add sugar
Truth: Not adding sugar to your drinks and dishes will lower your calorie intake? Not likely!
Sugar is an indispensable condiment in the kitchen. Not to mention sweets, drinks, and ice cream, don't you love sweet and sour spare ribs, sweet and sour pork, or mandarin fish? You should remember that even "natural" honey is, in the final analysis, a refined sugar. After being absorbed by the body, it releases the same amount of calories as regular sugar, about 4 calories per gram. Sugar can also be used to season many less palatable health foods.
So, don't overdo it. The recommendation from health experts is: as long as the calories from sugar do not exceed 10% of your total calories, if you consume 2000 calories a day, 200 calories from sugar would be considered ideal.
Good news: A little sugar can actually help you eat more balanced.
A little sugar can make plain, tart yogurt much more delicious, and it will make you fall in love with fresh-squeezed orange juice, grapefruit juice, or grape juice (WH can responsibly tell you that most of the fresh juice you drink, as long as you think it's delicious, has had sugar added. Calm down, it's not a disaster.)
You can use this delicious and refreshing drink to make a simple summer treat, grapefruit sorbet. Remember to add a little sugar.
Myth 2: All saturated fats raise cholesterol in the blood
Truth: The latest research shows that some saturated fats do not.
Just mentioned earlier, the key to affecting your blood cholesterol levels is saturated and trans fats. Does this make you start to be wary and decide to say goodbye to these types of fats?
In your traditional concept, only monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are healthy fats (for example: olive oil and walnuts), and even many professionals once believed: all saturated fats are bad fats.
Through experimental research, it has been found that there are many types of saturated fats, and they will have various different reactions after being ingested by the human body.
Stearic acid, a saturated fat found in cocoa, dairy products, meat, poultry, palm oil, and coconut oil, does not raise harmful LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. Instead, it increases the level of beneficial HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol.
Good news: Saturated fats are better than you think.
The coconuts and chocolate you love contain stearic acid, a saturated fat that increases healthy HDL cholesterol in your body. Therefore, saturated fats are not as bad as we previously thought.
Myth 3: Adding salt means the food's sodium content increases.
Truth: Sodium is not the root of all evil.
The United States now advocates: develop the habit of salting all foods. Although sodium's reputation is not great, it not only has adverse effects on people with high blood pressure, but many people also overlook the key role of sodium in food.
Good news: Adding salt to boiling water makes vegetables more nutritious.
This means your cauliflower, green beans, and asparagus will be more nutritious. Moreover, adding salt can speed up the cooking process, preventing your vegetables from losing nutrients due to overcooking.
Myth 4: Fried foods always have excessive fat.
Truth: Over-fried food can be healthy, and this is no joke.
Before revealing the truth, let's first see what frying is all about: food is thrown into hot oil, the water in the food slowly boils and is squeezed out, slowly flowing into the oil. When the water is fried dry, a protective layer naturally forms, allowing the food to absorb the minimum amount of oil. At the same time, some of the oil forms a crispy layer as it seeps into the food.
To avoid letting the food soak in the oil, please make it according to the following method. For most foods, 375°F is ideal. If the oil temperature is too low, it is easier to absorb fat. When you make tempura, if the oil temperature is too low, it will only make this delicacy greasy and difficult to eat--originally only needing 1/3 cup of oil, it ends up absorbing a whole cup. So, you must keep a close eye on the oil temperature. Finally, before eating, use a paper towel to blot the surface oil of the food just taken out of the pot, and it will be a little healthier.
Note: Speaking well of fried food is not to suggest you make your dinner fried chicken and large fries. Because such a meal already contains more calories and sodium than you need for the entire day.
Good news: Fried catfish and corn tortillas are good things.
However, as an occasional food, fried food can also be very healthy. The key is to eat it in moderation and pair it with vegetables. You also need to be careful with the choice of oil: low saturated fat is an important standard--such as peanut oil, soybean oil, and canola oil. And by following WH's step-by-step method, you can make your fried food reach its healthiest state. When making it at home, WH consulted experts and suggested that fried catfish or corn tortillas are delicious and relatively healthy choices.
Myth 5: The more fiber you eat, the better.
Truth: Not all fiber is good for your health. It depends on where it comes from.
Yogurt itself does not contain fiber, but now all brands are launching various whole-grain flavored yogurts, and even other drinks are emphasizing that they are rich in cellulose. Why is this?
Fiber is indeed all the rage now. Food producers have even developed different types of fiber, adding them to various processed foods to meet market nutritional needs. But from a professional scientific perspective, the facts are not that simple: just as you will eventually find that fats can be good or bad, research has found that fiber also has its downsides.
You should know that different fibers have different functions (bran can speed up metabolism; oats can lower cholesterol; inulin stimulates healthy gut bacteria).
Previous research suggested that so-called artificial fibers and natural fibers (such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes) are not much different and are equally beneficial to the human body. But now many nutritionists are skeptical about this.
Good news: All-natural fiber foods make you feel full and less hungry.
The latest research shows that most people's intake of healthy fiber only reaches half of what the body needs, and the fiber in processed foods doesn't count. This is because most processed foods lack vitamins, minerals, and various nutrients. Therefore, consuming high-fiber, all-natural foods is the key.
Myth 6: You must remove the skin from chicken to eat it.
Truth: You can enjoy a meal with chicken skin without worrying about consuming too much saturated fat.
Finally, white meat is a delicious food you can enjoy to your heart's content, but you hear that it's best not to eat the chicken skin. You must know that the greatest pleasure of roasted chicken comes from the crispy, golden-brown chicken skin, and the feeling of it melting in your mouth is unforgettable. However, many chefs and nutritionists will inopportunely come out to spoil your fun: only boneless, skinless chicken breast can provide healthy protein. But WH wants to reassure you that research shows that the extra saturated fat in chicken skin with skin is barely visible even under a microscope. About 340 grams of bone-in, skin-on chicken breast contains 2.5 grams of saturated fat, only 50 more calories than a skinless chicken breast of the same size.
Good news: You can enjoy chicken with skin from time to time.
Chicken breast is always lean meat (whether with skin or not), and 55% of the fat in the chicken skin is healthy monounsaturated fat. Amy Myrdal Miller, director of the American Institute of Culinary Arts project, said this fat can protect your heart.
So if you are tired of skinless chicken and boneless chicken breast, go ahead and eat things like Texas-style roasted chicken without the trouble of peeling the skin. White meat is originally very healthy.
Myth 7. Eating eggs will raise your cholesterol.
Truth: The cholesterol in food has nothing to do with the cholesterol in your body.
The reason for all these misunderstandings is that they share the same name, cholesterol, but they are actually two different things.
Dietary cholesterol exists in fat-like atoms and is generally found in animal-related foods, such as eggs. However, it has little effect on the cholesterol in your blood. Your body produces its own cholesterol and does not need it from the outside. What really stimulates your body to produce cholesterol is saturated and trans fats. The saturated fat content in eggs is relatively low, with a large egg containing only 1.5 grams of saturated fat, which is just a small part of a tablespoon of butter.
Therefore, hastily removing eggs from your table is not good for your health and will not prevent an increase in cholesterol. Instead, you will miss out on something good that provides 13 vitamins and minerals.
Good news: There are no bad eggs, only good eggs.
Knowing that the cholesterol in eggs has nothing to do with the cholesterol in your blood, feel free to eat eggs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Donn Lehman, an honorary professor at the University of Illinois's College of Food and Human Nutrition, said that research on healthy people has found that people do not produce blood lipids due to the intake of eggs, nor does it increase the risk of heart disease.
Myth 8: Heating olive oil reduces its nutritional value.
Truth: Even refined extra virgin oil does not lose its original nutritional value during cooking.
This misunderstanding has existed ever since olive oil was recognized as a healthy fat. Many people believe that if you stir-fry with olive oil, its nutrients will also be lost. This is absolutely not true.
First of all, heart-protecting monounsaturated fats are not affected by temperature, and even when used for frying, their nutritional value remains unshaken. Recently, some studies have shown that some plant compounds that determine the aroma of olive oil, along with its nutrients, are not lost during the cooking process. These elements are exceptionally stable, as long as the oil temperature does not get high enough to smoke. The critical point for refined extra virgin olive oil should be 405°F.
Good news: Olive oil is very heat-resistant.
As long as the cooking temperature of olive oil does not exceed the smoking point (405°F), its flavor and nutritional structure will remain unchanged. The key is how you store the olive oil. Store it in a glass bottle, away from light at room temperature, and the shelf life of fats and plant nutrients can reach two years. Temperature, sunlight, and air circulation can affect its stability. WH's suggestion is that you should store olive oil in a pantry at room temperature, and it is best to finish it within half a year after opening the bottle.