10 Nutrition Myths Experts Wish Would Die [View all]

We surveyed some of the country’s leading authorities to reveal the truth about fat, dairy, soy and more.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/well/eat/nutrition-myths.html?



Myth No. 1: Fresh fruits and vegetables are always healthier than canned, frozen or dried varieties.
Despite the enduring belief that “fresh is best,” research has found that frozen, canned and dried fruits and vegetables can be just as nutritious as their fresh counterparts.

Myth No. 2: All fat is bad.
When studies published in the late 1940s found correlations between high-fat diets and high levels of cholesterol, experts reasoned that if you reduced the amount of total fats in your diet, your risk for heart disease would go down. By the 1980s, doctors, federal health experts, the food industry and the news media were reporting that a low-fat diet could benefit everyone, even though there was no solid evidence that doing so would prevent issues like heart disease or overweight and obesity.

Myth No. 3: ‘Calories in, calories out’ is the most important factor for long-term weight gain.
It’s true that if you consume more calories than you burn, you will probably gain weight. And if you burn more calories than you consume, you will probably lose weight — at least for the short term.

But the research does not suggest that eating more will cause sustained weight gain that results in becoming overweight or obese.

Myth No. 4: People with Type 2 diabetes shouldn’t eat fruit.
This myth stems from conflating fruit juices — which can raise blood sugar levels because of their high sugar and low fiber content — with whole fruits.

But research has found that this isn’t the case. Some studies show, for instance, that those who consume one serving of whole fruit per day — particularly blueberries, grapes and apples — have a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. And other research suggests that if you already have Type 2 diabetes, eating whole fruits can help control your blood sugar.

Myth No. 5: Plant milk is healthier than dairy milk.
There’s a perception that plant-based milks, such as those made from oats, almonds, rice and hemp, are more nutritious than cow’s milk. “It’s just not true,”

Myth No. 6: White potatoes are bad for you.
Potatoes have often been vilified in the nutrition community because of their high glycemic index — which means they contain rapidly digestible carbohydrates that can spike your blood sugar. However, potatoes can actually be beneficial for health,

Myth No. 7: You should never feed peanut products to your children within their first few years of life.
For years, experts told new parents that the best way to prevent their children from developing food allergies was to avoid feeding them common allergenic foods, like peanuts or eggs, during their first few years of life. But now, allergy experts say, it’s better to introduce peanut products to your child early on.

Myth No. 8: The protein in plants is incomplete.
“‘Where do you get your protein?’ is the No. 1 question vegetarians get asked,” said Christopher Gardner, a nutrition scientist and professor of medicine at Stanford University. “The myth is that plants are completely missing some amino acids,” also known as the building blocks of proteins, he said. But in reality, all plant-based foods contain all 20 amino acids, including all nine essential amino acids,

Myth No. 9: Eating soy-based foods can increase the risk of breast cancer.
High doses of plant estrogens in soy called isoflavones have been found to stimulate breast tumor cell growth in animal studies. “However, this relationship has not been substantiated in human studies,”

Myth No. 10: Fundamental nutrition advice keeps changing — a lot.
This is not the case, said Dr. Marion Nestle, a professor emerita of nutrition,