Food habits – about mistaken rumors and speculation

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The trials of superfoods and diets, calorie reductions and increases, the obsession with supplements – these and other eating habits can be safely dismissed. 

You can eat everything, but in moderation – this postulate has long been known but is not always applicable, especially if a fitness goal requires adjustments to the diet. And if you are interested in how to play Blackjack online India, read the article at the link.

Most myths exist about the role:

  • Calories;
  • Protein;
  • Carbohydrates.

Low-fat foods help you lose weight

If you watch your figure, you probably prefer to buy low-fat foods, such as “light” sauces and mayonnaise or diet cookies. But such products do not always help to get rid of excess weight.

The fact is that the producers of “diet” products often sin by replacing fats with a lot of sugar to improve the taste of such food. And as we know, too much sugar contributes to excess weight. So it is better for people on a diet to stay away from sugar and sugar substitutes. And instead of “light” mayonnaises, give preference to regular oils – better a little natural fat than a lot of “diet” fat.

All the health benefits of potatoes are in their peel

Some people prefer to boil or bake potatoes “in the jacket” allegedly because of the nutrients contained in the rind. But in fact, they only have about 20 percent of those micronutrients. 

The skin of the average potato contains 920 milligrams of potassium and 3.6 grams of fiber, while the flesh contains about 676 milligrams of potassium and 2.6 grams of fiber. But besides these, potato pulp also contains vitamins C, K and B6, B3, and thiamine, as well as magnesium, phosphorus, copper, manganese, zinc, riboflavin, and folic acid.

Carrots improve eyesight

Children are often advised to chew carrots to grow faster and improve their vision, especially at night. However, this is a myth invented during World War II.

The story about carrots improving night vision was invented and spread by the British government, which wanted to hide their new military technology from the enemy. As a result, British pilots used a new type of radar that helped successfully shoot down German drones in the dark. But you can’t openly declare that Britain has unique means – it’s better to make up a legend that pilots eat a lot of carrots. As a result, even British civilians began to eat more carrots to navigate better during a blackout. Later, the myth of vision-enhancing carrots made its way to other countries.

However, the British were not wholly lying, claiming the beneficial properties of the vegetable – carrots are rich in beta-carotene, a component of vitamin A, which is essential for vision. However, this substance is unlikely to improve night vision.

Sea salt is healthier than regular salt.

Black, pink, gray, or red sea salt differs in taste, color, and texture. It is made by evaporating seawater to form irregularly shaped salt stones containing calcium, magnesium, and potassium. At the same time, table salt is extracted from salt deposits and then heavily processed to remove contaminants and residual minerals. Most often, this processing involves drying at high temperatures. Because of this, sea salt is considered healthier because it supposedly contains more nutrients.

Sea salt can indeed contain impurities of potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and selenium, but they occupy only up to 5% of its composition, and the remaining 95% is the usual sodium chloride. Purified sea salt undergoing recrystallization and drying has even less valuable minerals – 3%. Iodine, contrary to stereotypes, is even less in sea salt. For the production of seasoning, seawater is poured into unique pools, and in the process of evaporation, most of the natural iodine is lost. As for ordinary table salt, it is known that iodine is added on purpose, evidenced by labels on the salt label: iodized.

So there is no particular difference between sea salt and table salt. The main thing is to use either of them in moderation. And you can read more interesting facts about salt in our material.

Fiber is helpful in any form

Fiber is contained in many foods: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Consumption of natural fiber is beneficial – it prevents constipation, reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease, and even helps control weight.

That said, there are often products on store shelves that are artificially supplemented with fiber, such as yogurts, ice cream, or even water. But such fiber is no match for natural fiber.

Foods such as oatmeal contain complex fiber – as opposed to fiber-rich foods. For example, synthesized fiber is added to white bread – it helps you feel full faster, but it’s usually not enough to affect your health. For example, regular fiber can stimulate intestinal peristalsis, while synthesized fiber cannot. So it is better to give preference to natural sources of this micronutrient.

Chicken skin is unhealthy

One of the most delicious parts of baked or roasted chicken is precisely the skin. However, many people intentionally get rid of it during cooking because they consider it too unhealthy.

However, chicken skin is not as bad as we used to think. A 340-gram boneless chicken breast and the skin will have 50 extra calories and 2.5 grams of excess saturated fat. At the same time, 55% of the fat in the chicken skin is heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. So it is possible to indulge yourself from time to time, if not to overdo it.

And, of course, a breast cooked without the skin will taste drier and blander. However, if you still prefer to eat chicken without the skin, you can use a simple tip: cook chicken with the skin, and before eating, take it off. The fact is that bones and skin play an essential role in the chicken cooking process. The bones help distribute heat evenly during cooking, and the skin keeps the meat from drying out.

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Eggs raise blood cholesterol levels

Eggs alone cannot help raise blood cholesterol levels. Recent scientific research has proven that the problem of elevated cholesterol is not the eggs themselves but their improper consumption – the combination of eggs with other foods.

Cholesterol plaques, which can scare many people, are formed by the deposition of low-density lipoprotein (“bad” cholesterol) on the walls of blood vessels. So this “bad” cholesterol is included if you eat eggs together with sausages, butter (clarified), cottage cheese with a fat content of more than 5%, hard and processed cheeses, and by-products and meat of duck, goose, and pig. So you should give up the usual scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese for breakfast if you are worried about your cholesterol level. But you can eat hard-boiled eggs, up to two eggs a day.

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