5 Myths About Food & Nutrition

1. Sugar and Diabetes

While sugar is nutritionally devoid, it’s the total number of carbohydrates that may play a role in blood sugar management. So it’s important to monitor blood sugar even after eating whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.

2. Fat Makes You Fat

Fat gets such a bad rap that we often forget there are such things as healthy fats, such as those found in nuts, olive oil, salmon, and avocados, says Nicole Ferring Holovach. Yes, fat grams do contain more calories than carbs or proteins, but fat is still an essential component of our diet. Adds Elise Museles: They “keep you satiated by slowing down the digestion process so you stay full for a longer period of time.”

3. Muscle Weighs More than Fat

Unless the laws of physics have changed, one pound is one pound is one pound,” says Elana Natker. “The difference is that muscle is denser than fat, so one pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat.

4. Egg Yolks Are Bad

Don’t waste those yolks anymore—they’re a “goldmine of nutrition,” says Holovach. One yolk contains half of your day’s requirement of choline, which is an essential nutrient for the brain.

5. Don't Over Indulge

Healthy eating and healthy living is all about balance,” says Stephanie Mull, so there’s always room for most foods in one’s diet. “People who restrict too much create psychological connections to those forbidden foods, causing them to overeat when they do consume them.