Will that next packet of Sweet'N Low lead to cancer? Can cutting out eggs lower cholesterol? Does celery really have negative calories? With so many food myths out there, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. Get the truth from the experts. Plus, find out how much you know about eating healthy …
FICTION: Carrots are a great source of vitamin A, which is important for healthy eyesight, glowing skin and preventing infections, says Keri Gans, a registered dietitian and American Dietetic Association (ADA) spokesperson. But if you have poor eyesight, eating more carrots is not going to make it better.
“Carrots are an excellent food and part of a well-balanced diet, but people shouldn’t eat them thinking that they’ll improve their vision,” she says.
A person deficient in vitamin A does have a higher risk of developing night blindness, Gans says. So eating carrots, as well as whole eggs, whole milk and liver, is an important way to avoid a vitamin A deficiency and keep the eyesight you have.
FICTION: Sweet'N Low’s main ingredient is saccharin, and that’s what has people worried. In the early 1970s, research linked saccharin to bladder cancer in rats, leading Congress to require all foods containing the substance to bear a warning label.
After years of study, however, saccharin has not been associated with bladder cancer in humans, and it remains on the market. “Sweet’N Low can be part of a well-balanced diet,” Gans says. “If someone wants to enjoy a cup of coffee or two a day with Sweet’N Low, there’s no risk associated with that.”
FACT: “Warm milk can help put you to sleep because it contains tryptophan, an amino acid that your body converts to melatonin and serotonin,” Gans says. “This can help induce sleep.”
All dairy foods (and turkey) are a good source of tryptophan. So don’t count sheep, head to the refrigerator for a bowl of ice cream or a cup of low-fat yogurt.
FICTION: This myth has been hanging around since school days, but there’s no truth to it. If you accidentally swallow your gum, it doesn’t dissolve, but it eventually passes through the system undigested, says Gans.
“Gum is more like fiber: It may take longer for your body to digest it,” she says. “But it won’t take anything close to seven years.”
FICTION: “There’s no evidence that coffee stunts growth in children,” Gans says. But caffeine may not be good for children, because it can interfere with sleep, cause dehydration, and make kids hyperactive.
FICTION: “Ground turkey is frequently made from dark meat and often includes the skin,” Gans says. “So it’s going to be a lot higher in fat than ground sirloin, which is a lean cut of beef."
But all-white-meat ground turkey is better than ground sirloin. Read packaged meat labels to know what’s in the meat and be sure of its health benefits.
FICTION: If only a food with negative calories existed! Celery has just 6 to 10 calories per serving, but the idea that you’ll burn more calories from chewing it is just not true.
And, “you’re not going to burn off calories from other foods you’ve eaten because you’ve munched on some celery,” Gans says.
Still, there are far worse snack choices, if you’re trying to lose weight. “In place of potato chips, for example, celery would be an excellent choice,” she says.
FICTION: Not eating after a certain time of day is the right idea, says Tara Miller, registered dietitian and program manager with the Center for Corporate Wellness at NYU Medical Center. You want your last meal to be several hours before you go to bed, she says.
But the time you stop eating must fit your schedule. Not eating after 4 pm, for example, may not work “if you’re not going to bed until 1 am,” Miller says.
FACT: “There is a lot of research supporting this,” Gans says. Why? Because of calcium. It “binds to fat and decreases its absorption in the intestinal tract,” she says.
Dairy products can also make you feel full. “I recommend a snack of string cheese or low-fat yogurt and a piece of fruit. This helps to keep them fuller so that when they eat their next meal, they don’t overeat.” Gans says.
FICTION: Eggs are a great source of protein. “Even if you have high cholesterol, an egg a day is totally fine,” Gans says.
“It’s not cholesterol that raises cholesterol, it’s saturated fat,” Gans says. Yolks do contain some saturated fat, she points out, but what’s unhealthy is how they’re prepared. “If you’re frying it in two tablespoons of butter, or you’re eating eggs with bacon and home fries, you’re not making a healthy choice,” Gans says.
Lisa Zamosky is an independent health care journalist who writes for consumer and professional audiences in magazines, websites and daily newspapers. She lives in Southern California with her husband and son.
