Debunking Popular Nutrition Myths

This month I’m helping you bust common nutrition myths. There are sooo many myths and misconceptions about food. In fact, it’s one of my biggest pet peeves about the health and wellness industry – all of the conflicting (and often false) advice and information about nutrition on Instagram, Facebook, blogs, magazines, radio and just about everywhere you turn. Feelings of overwhelm, confusion and anxiety often result. SO I want to chat through some of the biggest myths and misconceptions about food and help set the record straight. Here we go!

“Carbs are bad for you”

Let’s start with one of the biggest myths - the idea that carbohydrates are bad.

Low carb diets date back as far as the 1700s when they were used for diabetic patients. They were then re-popularised in the 1980s with the Atkins diet, which equated low carb intake with weight loss (at the time, Atkin’s book was widely criticised for being dangerous and misleading). Thanks largely to the popularity of the Atkins Diet, carbs were equated with weight gain and were demonised in popular culture.

However, carbohydrates are essential to human function. Here are a few reasons why:

• They’re the main source of energy for the body – carbohydrates break down into glucose, and every cell and organ in our body relies on glucose to perform functions as basic as breathing and energy production

• Glucose is virtually the sole fuel source for the brain

• Complex carbohydrates are full of nutrients, including B vitamins, magnesium and fibre to name a few

• Fibre, for example, is especially integral to various functions – including bowel regularity (ie constipation / diarrhoea), energy production, gut health, cholesterol regulation and stabilising blood sugar levels

• Hormone and neurotransmitter production and function are also largely dependant on carbohydrate status

• Carbohydrates aid in hydration - becayse glycogen molecules retain water (think of the word…carboHYDRATE)

On top of that, low carb diets have been linked with numerous health risks, including

• Various nutrient deficiencies

• Constipation, dirrhoea, reduced microbiome diversity and various other digestive issues

• Fatigue, poor concentration, brain fog

• Mood issues, anxiety, depression

• Decreased immunity

• Hormonal issues

• Headaches

• And lots more!

The take home message is this…carbohydrates are SO important for human functioning and feeling healthy!

“I only have an issue with food if I’m anorexic or bulimic”

It’s a common misconception that eating disorders / issues with food = anorexia or bulimia.

BUT there are many other types of eating disorders – like orthorexia (an obsession with the quality of food and fixation on eating only ‘healthy’ foods), binge eating disorder, night feeding syndrome, and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder.

There are also many ways that someone can experience issues with food without being officially diagnosed with an actual eating disorder, whereby frequency and severity often impact the criteria for diagnosis. Experiences of disordered eating / eating disorders are very unique, nuanced and subjective with many grey areas…which adds to their complexity.

Also, many of the thoughts / feelings / behaviours around eating that I’d consider

problematic are often glorified in the wellness world for being ‘healthy’ – like calorie counting, following a strict diet regime and cutting out food groups.

Here are some examples of things that may indicate disordered eating or an underlying eating disorder.

• Repeated or chronic dieting

• Counting calories

• Feeling a loss of control around food

• Eating in secret or hiding food

• Using exercise or other behaviours to ‘compensate’ for food eating

• Cutting out entire food groups or types of food without a medical reason

• Experiencing anxiety, fear, guilt or shame around food

Can you relate to any of these? Would you like some support in working through them? Please feel free to reach out to me, I’m always here.

“Emotional eating is bad”

Now onto to the juicy topic of emotional eating. We’re so often taught that emotional eating is bad, should be avoided at all costs, and that we’re failures if we do it. BUT we are emotional beings...it makes complete sense that we use food to help regulate our emotions and self soothe!

Emotional eating isn’t necessarily just about eating a tub of ice cream when you’re sad (the image that’s often conjured up in our heads), it’s also about eating when you’re happy, to celebrate, as part of your culture, when you’re with loved ones and so many more reasons...these are all emotional experiences of food too.

There are many ways for humans to cope with emotions, and in my opinion eating can indeed be one of them. I think it becomes tricky when food is our only coping mechanism and all of the other lovely things that could be helping us (like seeking support from a family member or friend, shaking it off through some physical movement, laughing, sleeping, yelling into a pillow, etc) miss out.

Next time you have the urge to eat in response to certain emotions – make a mindful and intention decision about whether you want to do so or not. If you do, that’s completely fine! Feel empowered in your choice and give yourself permission to enjoy it. By bringing this awareness and intention to it, you’re much likely to enjoy the experience and gain from it what you need (whether that be self soothing, comfort, etc).

“I should only eat ___ amount of calories each day”

I’ve deliberately left the calorie amount blank as many people have different targets, but a common one is 1200…typically with the goal of weight loss. I’ve searched high and low and can’t find where the notion of eating 1200 calories a day came from, but it is a veryminimal amount of food. In fact, 1200 calories is the recommended daily intake for a 2-3 year old child!

Aiming for a generalised calorie target is like saying that all people should wear size 8 shoes – it's a one size fits all approach and doesn’t take into account individual variances like gender, age, physical activity levels, genetic factors and so much more. It also doesn’t consider variances from day to day, like how your menstrual cycle, stress or energy levels will impact your appetite.

Not to mention, it puts all of the focus on quantity, not a host of other really important things like the quality of food, the enjoyment of food and more.

Essentially, it’s false to think that we should aim for some externally guided number when it comes to food – our bodies are so much wiser and should be our main guide (like our hunger and fullness levels, emotions, etc).

There are so many negative consequences of not eating enough – fatigue, mood swings,, reduced bone mass, lowered sex drive, menstrual issues, infertility, thyroid issues, blood sugar dysregulation, binging, obsession with food, depression and so much more.

In fact, I highly recommend you look up the Minnesota Starvation Experiment from the 1940s, which had some fascinating findings about the impacts of reduced calorie intake!

And finally, of course, restricting food to lose weight puts the focus in the wrong area (I don’t go into this here, but this is a great clip to check out if you’re curious to know more about weight loss goals and HAES).

So there you have it folks, some of the most common myths about food. I hope it’s helped demystify many of the misconceptions out there and has given you some more clarity! At the end of the day, remember that you’re the expert of your own body. If you’d like more support about nutrition and food in any way, shape of form...I’m always here to help and you can get in book an appointment with me here xx