5 Common Food Myths (vol 1)

With the growth of social media and AI comes volumes of non-verified and unreliable information on most any topic. Combine this with Big Foods marketing and you have the perfect storm of confusion and misinformation.

Remember the old adage "put butter on a burn"? At the time this was a thing, it was TRUTH. Overtime we've learned so much medically and now know butter on a burn is a horrible idea to say the least. Myths like this are just a part of history, and when you add in the false informatics, it gets to be overwhelming trying to figure out what's fact or fiction.

Let's get through a few common food myths here:

JUICE IS THE SAME AS EATING THE FRUIT

Even if you're drinking 100% natural fruit juice, you are doing yourself a disservice. Not only is the sugar content higher and fiber content lower, drinking juice daily can lead to weight gain over time, per Stanford Medicine Children's Health.

Whole, fresh fruit, however is full of fiber. Fiber-rich fruits can help you feel full while eating fewer calories. Dietary fiber in fruits can also help reduce cholesterol and may lower the risk for heart disease.

For the environmentally savvy juice lover, just think of all the plastic waste being produced - and feel good about eating the fruit instead!

MSG IS TOXIC...ISN'T IT?

MSG, found naturally occurring in tomatoes, some mushrooms and parmesan cheese in the form of glutamic acid, was first extracted from seaweed early in the 1900s by a Japanese biochemist. Oddly, this is the same time period the U.S. was actively practicing in anti-Chinese racism with its Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 that wasn't repealed until 1943!! It isn't a stretch to see how these two things are related - racial profiling and intolerance and the villainizing of MSG and "Chinese restaurant syndrome".

“Scientifically speaking, monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the salt form of the amino acid glutamic acid, also called glutamate. Glutamate is an amino acid that our bodies make; it naturally occurs in many foods and can be made into a pure crystallized powder to use as a seasoning in cooking. The human body treats glutamate in the same way whether coming from tomatoes or MSG ‘seasoning,’” says Amanda Li, a registered dietitian nutritionist at UW Medical Center – Montlake. 

Numerous studies have been performed on MSG, and after determining that the human body acts no differently to naturally occurring MSG than it does to MSG added to seasonings to food to increase flavor, the visceral reaction to seeing MSG on a food label remains.

MSG is safe for all life-cycle stages without respect to ethnic origin or culinary background.

FRESH PRODUCE IS HEALTHIER THAN FROZEN

For years I thought fresh produce HAD TO BE healthier than frozen. I mistakenly thought that surely the freezing process removed some vitamins and nutrients, and fresh produce in its natural state was an obvious choice. Wrong, but a no-brainer once you think about it. The produce in the freezer section was picked at peak ripeness and frozen at that time, whereas the produce that is fresh has been degrading and aging since the time of harvest, losing vitamins and nutrients along the way.

Frozen fruit and vegetables are generally picked at peak ripeness. They are often washed, blanched, frozen and packaged within a few hours of being harvested.

Whether eating fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, DO MORE OF IT!! Fresh foods have less 'hands-on" time and haven't been exposed to the extreme temperature changes of frozen. Frozen foods have been packaged during peak ripeness and will retain that until ready to eat. Both have great health benefits and are vastly better for you than processed options.

INFO ON A FOOD LABEL HAS TO BE TRUE

I have an extensive post up for grabs on this topic. It is infuriating the number of ways the USDA's marketing team, the AMS (Agricultural Marketing Service), along with the Big Food Industry (who used to be the marketing and science behind the success of Big Tobacco until that began crumbling in the late 80s) mislead those of us attempting to improve our dietary habits and overall lifestyles. For these entities, it is an easy way to stay in power and wealth. For us, it is costly beyond measure.

Walk down any grocery store aisle and you’ll be bombarded with labels that sound super healthy, super natural, and super convincing. But behind those buzzwords is often a whole lot of marketing spin—and not much substance.

Whether you've spent money on a product you did not receive (wasn't at all as advertised), were misled ethically (inhumane animal practices), or shocked to find out what you have been purchasing is not environmentally sound in practice, you have not been fooled easily. Here's an example:

Made from “100% chicken breast” (Birds Eye Chicken Nuggets) The pack says “Our chicken nuggets will always be made from 100% chicken breast & nothing more.” Sounds like each nugget is pure chicken, but the ingredients show chicken breast 51%, plus flour, oil, starch, salt, spices, and flavourings. The meat is 100% breast, but the product itself is only about half chicken.

These companies / conglomerates earn trillions of dollars annually in revenues and have teams of scientists, marketing geniuses, and legal sharpshooters in their corner to ensure they are successful. Also, why in the world would we suspect so much betrayal in stores selling the food we eat? Shameful.

ALL SUPPLEMENTS ARE GOOD FOR YOU

Not all supplements are what they seem. Those living plant-based lifestyles have to watch what capsules are made of, those with allergies and sensitivities have to be careful about ingredients not listed on label, and those on a fixed income have to be careful where they spend their money when choosing between calcium supplements or milk.

DON'T just look at the nutritional table – this doesn’t show everything your supplements contain, including the nasty additives. A nutritional table only shows ingredients that provide nutritional benefit - that's why nasty additives aren't included in it.

DO look at the 'Ingredients'. The 'Ingredients' will be next to the nutritional table, often in smaller print written in a paragraph. By law, the ingredients list must contain all the ingredients in your supplements, including nasty additives.

References

Fruit vs. Fruit Juice: What’s the Difference? - Stanford Medicine Children's Health

Is MSG Unhealthy? | Right as Rain by UW Medicine

Update on food safety of monosodium l-glutamate (MSG) - PubMed

Fresh vs Frozen Fruit and Vegetables — Which Are Healthier?

Don't Be Misled By These 10 Food Labels - FODMAP Everyday

9 Examples of Misleading Food Labels You Should Know - National Planning Cycles

7 ingredients in supplements to avoid – DR.VEGAN