Myths are all around us. Some are useful (if not terribly accurate) parables, whilst others actually come back to haunt us on a regular basis.
Some of these myths are hindering our progress as a society, as it is wasting us valuable time and money on a daily basis, or simply making us hesitant to eat more than one egg at a time for fear of our arteries clogging. Luckily, modern science has found some spare time to debunk some of the more stubborn food myths, some of which were adhered to dogmatically until just a few short years ago. Discussed below are some of the more prominent ones, and why they are patently false.
1 You Should Drink a Gallon of Water Every Day
Proper hydration is a very important thing, and it is certainly true that many Americans are chronically dehydrated. Yet the notion that you are required to drink a gallon of h20 every single day is absurd, if not outright harmful (over-hydration is a potentially lethal scenario). There is a minimum amount of water you should be drinking a day, but it is nowhere near a gallon. Doing so will not magically help you battle disease or burn fat, but not getting enough will certainly hinder these processes.
2 Foods High in Sodium taste Salty
Sodium, in large quantities, is decidedly bad for you. Not only will it spike your blood pressure, potentially leading to chronic problems, but it will also directly lead to you retaining water and looking quite bloated.
So while you may think that you are avoiding these complications by abstaining from salty tasting snacks, you may still be ingesting far too much sodium. Frozen foods, or any foods that contain high amount of preservatives, are generally going to have high sodium content. Premade and microwaveable soups, various pastries, and even instant noodles can all pack half a day’s sodium limit alone.
3 Eggs will Clog your Arteries
It is absolutely true that eggs are extremely high in dietary cholesterol. Egss have more dietary cholesterol than almost all foods. This does not necessarily mean that eating eggs too often will lead to cholesterol problems in your body. This is because research has now clearly established that saturated fat intake has a far more pronounced effect on blood cholesterol levels than dietary cholesterol intake. This means that eggs actually have an almost negligible impact on your cholesterol compared to what was once thought.
4 Searing Meat Seals in the Juices
This myth seems to make sense; searing raw meat over high heat before cooking it will create a layer that will seal in the meat’s natural juices. It can found repeated in practically every cookbook in the world, and even most high-end restaurant kitchens.
Yet recent research that compared seared meat to un-seared meat found that at worst, the searing process let more juices escape, and at best it did nothing to help seal in the natural juices. Searing the meat does produce a tasty brown layer on the top, so this is one myth that nonetheless produced a favorable result.