March 15, 2008
Nutrition-Fact or Fiction
by Melanie Huett, MS, RD, LD, WIC RD Nutrition Educator
March is National Nutrition Month,® the perfect time to take a look at your food choices. The food choices you make today, and every day, affect your health
and how you feel.
Eating right, along with physical activity, are keys to a healthy lifestyle. In order to make healthy food choices, it's good to know some common myths that might interfere with your best intentions.
Common Nutrition Myths
Myth: Fresh fruits and vegetables are healthier than canned or frozen.
Fact: Research shows canned and frozen foods are just as nutritious as fresh. Some canned products, like tomatoes, corn, and carrots may be better choices, since lycopene that has been processed is more easily absorbed in the body.
Myth: Body weight is a good indicator of a healthy diet.
Fact: No two people are the same. The measure of your diet and overall health is a combination of things, including weight.
Myth: Eating carbohydrates leads to weight gain.
Fact: Weight gain is caused from eating too many calories. Extra carbohydrates are no more fattening than calories from other sources.
Myth: Eating immediately before bedtime is fattening.
Fact: What you eat, not when, is what matters. Calories have the same effect on the body no matter when they are eaten. It has been found that eating regular meals, especially breakfast, helps promote weight loss by reducing fat intake and snacking.
Myth: Eating sugar causes diabetes.
Fact: A lack of insulin in the body causes diabetes. Foods that are high in sugar are often high in calories, and overeating these foods can lead to weight gain. People who are overweight or obese are at increased risk for developing diabetes.
Pregnancy
Women of childbearing age should maintain good nutrition through a lifestyle that supports maternal health, and decreases the risk of birth defects, poor fetal growth and chronic health problems in their children.
Common Nutrition Myths related to Pregnancy
Myth: Pregnant women should eat an additional 300 calories a day.
Fact: All pregnant women do not need the same amount of calories. Every pregnant woman is unique, and your doctor should recommend the weight-gain range that is right for you. That range will depend on your weight before pregnancy, your height, your age, and if you are expecting multiples.
Myth: Pregnant women should not eat fish.
Fact: Pregnant and nursing women can eat fish, but should avoid those with high mercury levels, such as swordfish, shark, and king mackerel. Pregnant women should also avoid raw seafood. Expectant mothers can still enjoy shrimp, tuna, smaller ocean fish, and salmon. Each week you may eat up to 12 ounces of these types of fish with a maximum of six ounces of albacore (white) tuna.
Myth: One drink of alcohol a day is safe during pregnancy.
Fact: Even at a moderate level of one drink per day, women who regularly drink alcohol during pregnancy may raise their risk for miscarriage, delivering low birthweight babies, and children with fetal alcohol syndrome.
Myth: Pregnant women should not exercise.
Fact: According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, pregnant women should try to incorporate 30 minutes or more of moderately intense physical activity every day of the week, although it is important to avoid activities with a high risk of falling or causing injury to the abdomen.
Source: www.eatright.org Adapted from handouts-"Nutrition: Fact vs. fiction" and "Pregnancy: Fact vs. fiction"