Food Myths

The truth and nothing but the truth.  So help you eat.

Sugar makes kids hyperactive- It only seems that way.
     There's no specific evidence that excess sugar causes children to become hyperactive.  It probably seems that kids  are overexcited when candy and other sugary treat take center stage.

Grapefruit increases your metabolism- Nothing doing. 
     Grapefruit doesn't increase your metabolism nor does it burn off fat in the body.  However, grapefruits, like most fruits and vegetables, are packed with nutrients.  They are also a great low-calorie, low fat snack any day of the week.

Gelatin makes your nail hard. - No. it doesn't.
     gelatin may be great, but forget it as a way to strengthen your nails.  A balanced diet with adequate  amounts of iron, vitamin C, folate and other V vitamins is probably your best bet for your healthy nail growth.

Fasting flushes out impurities and toxins.  As if.
     There is no evidence to support this claim.  Your body is designed to process food  and remove naturally occurring toxins such as ammonia which results from the breakdown of protein. For most people, one day fasts are neither healthful nor harmful.  But longer fasts threaten your health.  risks include dehydration, dangerously low blood pressure, muscle and organ tissue breakdown, and irregularity of your heartbeat.

The only way to lose weight is to eat less.  Not so.
     one of the best ways to lose weight maybe to eat more- of the right foods.  A handful of peanuts has the same calories as seven cups of light microwave popcorn.  The difference is the amount of fat and fiber.  Foods that are low in fat and high in fiber (like popcorn).  Gram for gram, fat has more than twice as many calories as carbohydrate or protein.  Fat makes little food add up to a lot of calories.

Brown or wheat bread has more fiber than white bread.  Wrong.
     Brown bread, wheat bread, and white bread are essentially the same.  They are made from refined wheat flour and have about one half gram of fiber in a slice.  The only real difference is color.  Manufacturer often add caramel coloring or molasses to the darker bread to darken  its hue.  If you want lots of fiber, buy whole-wheat bread. Look for the label.

Brown sugar and fructose are more nutritious than regular sugar.  Wrong again.
     Brown sugar is just sucrose ( or table sugar) that has a little molasses added for a coloring.  Fructose (the kind of sugar found in the fruit) will still break down to glucose in the body.  So, fructose offers no real advantage as a sweetener unless it's still in the fruit so that you get the advantages of the other nutrients and fiber.

Drinking hot tea with a meal will reduce the fat content of the foods. No such luck.
      No beverage will keep you from digesting and absorbing that fat you have eaten.