Myth busting is one of my favorite things to do because I too have been mislead in the past. The fact that there are people out in the world who love to spread B***S*** so they can earn a quick buck, to me, is sickening. So, I've made it my sole duty to bust myths on everything, on what I once believed to be true.
So, sit back, relax, enjoy and I hope you learn something new from my myth busting blog post!
#1 Gluten is bad for your health?
eeeehhh NAH! This myth comes from "gurus" trying to sound clever, but I also think it comes from "gurus" who want to put fear in people saying "Carbs are full of gluten and gluten is bad for your health". Please, if you see a moron saying this, just ask them this simple question. "Please cite your evidence that gluten is bad for healthy individuals?" You might get a few flusterd Karens who don't even know what evidence is!
Anyway, you can be gluten intolerant. Not all people are gluten intolerant, but these folks have a disease called celiac. If you are someone with celiac well then yes I wouldn't recommend eating a 12" pizza. But if you are a healthy individual who decides not to eat a 12" pizza because Dr. No Brains on Instagram says gluten is bad for you, you might wanna reconsider following different people
"But I lost loads of weight cutting out gluten" Nah mate, you lost loads of weight cutting out calories ;)
#2 Artificial Sweeteners "worse than sugar"
In a study from Renwick & Molinary (2010) they found "there was no consistent evidence that intense sweeteners cause insulin release or lower blood sugar in normal subjects"...... read that again!!
Look... they did a study on animals back in the 70s which lead people to believe that artificial sweeteners are worse than sugars. If you're ever scrolling through Facebook and see Karen posting some b***S*** on why diet coke is just as bad as regular coke you may leave her a nice comment stating FACTS from actual studies. There is research that states non-calorific sweeteners actually aid in weight loss.
"Yeah but you always see overweight people drinking diet coke" Yeah because they're trying to lose weight you numpty!
"What about all the chemicals in artificial sweetners?" There are chemicals in evertything! Literally search any food/drink on the internet and check out the chemicals.
"Using foods and drinks with aspartane instead of those sweetened with sucrose is an effective way to maintain and lose weight without reducing the palatability of the diet" De La Hunty et al (2006)
#3 Organic! Are organic foods healthier?
Just so you are aware first hand, the idea behind organic food was a marketing strategy by food companies to upsell their products so you can spend more. Pretty shady right??
BUT...Organic foods were found to have 30% lower pesticide residues than conventional foods. YES, organic foods ALSO have pesticide residues too. But both organic and non-organic foods were within allowable safety limits.
Does this mean non-organic is unhealthier? Absolutely not! They both have the same amount of nutritients to allow for healthy bodily function. Don't waste your money.
#4 Protein causes kidney failure?
From my experience, not a huge amount of people know too much about this myth! It comes more from those who have underlying kidney conditions. Because people who have kidney conditions should not consume too much protein as lower protein is a clinically proven treatment method for chronic kidney disease. It 'reduces the strain on the kidneys'.
For us healthy individuals, eating a higher protein diet will have no impact or health risk.
#5 Fasted cardio is better than fed cardio for fat loss?
I hear this myth all the time. I have sat people down after my morning classes (after they have nearly fainted due to low blood pressure) and asked them why they haven't consumed anything before coming to training? Not even water! The answer 9/10 is "it burns more fat". I'm sorry to burst your intermittent fasting bubble, but that's not true. You cannot burn stored fat from exercise.
I mean, if you are not educated I completely understand why you would think that. You hear "fat burning" and think it's stored fat. Its not stored fat, it's the fat that you consumed in your diet that you are using as a fuel source. But, even during exercise you use carbs (glycogen) as a fuel source for 80-90% of it. This ridiculous myth comes from jacked up bodybuilders hitting an incline on the treadmill at 5am #outhereburningfat
It's energy balance you have to understand. Energy balance is the key to fat loss. To lose fat you must consume fewer calories in a day than you burn, not kill yourself with cardio unfed in the morning. Doing fasted cardio in the morning only helps you adhere to a calorie deficit because you are burning calories.