Healthy Eating? - Ten Common Errors

We all know, burgers and fries are not part of a healthy diet. Yet, is what we think is part of healthy diet, really healthy? Growing up, most of us have heard some healthy diet rules, but are those really true? A survey by 'podo medi', a company in the Netherlands, revealed that quite a few people still believe in common healthy diet myths.

According to the survey, many still believe that spinach is healthy because it has a high iron content. Yes, spinach does contain iron, but at a lower level than our parents or the favorite cartoon character Popeye would like us to believe. However, spinach contains less iron than for example legumes. While 100 grams of spinach only contains two milligrams of iron after it has been cooked, legumes have at least three times as much. Still, spinach should still be part of a healthy diet, because it contains a great amount of vitamins.

Some people still believe eating dinner will cause weight gain. They believe because the metabolism slows down while we sleep, fewer calories are used up and more fat is deposited in the body. This is not true. If you eat too much, your body will store the extra calories. The mechanism is the same regardless of the time of day. What we eat and how much, is much more important. If we eat a lot throughout the day, heavy dinners will indeed lead to weight gain as our daily calorie requirement has already been satisfied by our previous meals throughout the day.

Potatoes actually do not cause weight gain either, as long as they are not served in the fried form like as french fries or chips. A serving of regular cooked potatoes only comes to 105 calories, while this amount more than triples in the fried variety. Thus, by itself, the potato can be a good part of a healthy diet. However, what is sometimes added to the potato to make it tasty, such as gravy or sour cream, can be a cause for weight gain.

It has long been held that eggs are really unhealthy because of a high cholesterol content. Yet, only a fraction of the 200 milligrams of cholesterol is actually absorbed by the body. The healthy benefits of egg consumption greatly outweigh this minimal risk of cholesterol absorption. Eggs are high in vitamins, minerals, and proteins.

Citrus fruits like oranges and lemons do contain vitamin C, but are not the fruits with the highest vitamin C content. In fact there are quite a few fruits like for example strawberries and kiwis, which have a higher vitamin C content. Especially the berry varieties are high in vitamin C.

Indeed, butter does have more calories than margarine, but the difference is not great, only 32 calories. 100 grams of butter contain 754 calories, while 100 grams of margarine contain 722 calories. Be your own judge whether 32 calories are worth the taste difference.

Sweetener causes cancer. That depends on the sweetener. There are strict regulations for this type of food additive. The normal consumption of sweetener sold in this country is quite harmless. However, the consumption of sweetener actually causes people to feel hungrier leading to higher food consumption.

The fastest and best method to loose weight is to eat nothing at all. Yes, you will lose weight quickly, but eventually you will have to start eating again. During the starving period, the body will try to conserve energy and burn fewer calories. Furthermore, the metabolism will store more fat, if something is eaten. The mechanism is not easily reversed, once the starvation process ends. Therefore, even small portions can lead to drastic weight gain. A better way to loose weight is a healthy diet with regular meals and exercise.

Fresh vegetables are better than frozen vegetables. That's only minimally true. Frozen vegetables are usually shock-frozen right after the harvest. Thus, important vitamins and minerals remain in the vegetables. In fact vitamins, which reduce in strength when exposed to light and air after the harvest, remain in the shock-frozen vegetables.

And finally, salt is not unhealthy, but an important mineral your body needs. However, it still should be consumed in moderation. Unless you are one of those few people, who are sensitive to salt and get an elevated blood pressure, normal salt consumption is part of a healthy diet. In fact, for the elderly consumption of salt containing food is important in order to develop a thirst, because otherwise they will not drink enough throughout the day to cover the needs of their bodies for liquids.