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What they don't tell you in school.
September 16, 2013, 05:22 PM
We all know that everything you hear isn’t always true. That’s why as avid google users, we need to google it up every now and then to find out the facts behind the many myths that surface on the net and pervade our everyday lives.
Here is a list of some of the top misleading myths that I’ve came across and call bullshit on.
Click here to see the myths >
1. Vitamin Water is Healthy
I don’t know about you, but the last time I got my “tasty” vitamin fix was with Flinstones daily vitamins. When my friend first offered me some good ol’ vitamin water and told me it was both tasty and “healthy” ( the same way Arizona green tea apparently is) , I knew I had some googling to do. What it comes down to is that it’s a marketing gimmick that uses hip lingo to make you believe that the ever so tasty water is infused with healthy vitamins. Sorry to disappoint you all, but this one is a no go. For starters, VW is owned by Coke, a renowned brand that received a lawsuit for misleading people into thinking VW is a healthy drink. Just this bit of info should be enough to raise a red flag. Those so called “vitamins” are drowned away from the amount of sugar contained in one bottle. One bottle contains 120 calories and 32 grams of sugar. Forget the calories, but 32 grams of sugar? Seriously, that’s a hella lot of sugar for something that’s marketed as being “healthy”.
The fact that it’s spruced up with so much sugar means that the prospect of soaking up the apparent vitamins is highly unlikely. Instead what you’ll get is a crazy sugar rush that’ll leave you twerking like no tomorrow. No thanks.
2. Craving a specific food means your body is lacking in a specific nutrient
How many times have you heard or read about this? If the answer is countless, then you’ll be happy to know that it’s bogus. If it were actually linked to a nutrient deficiency, then we’d all be having cravings for something most of us don’t get a proper serving of : fruits and vegetables.Truth of the matter, most cravings are said to be “categorized in terms of pleasure and rewards” and are influenced by external factors that emit feelings of happiness.
This means that the Mac and Cheese you’re craving isn’t because your body is lacking in calcium, or that sugar coated doughnut isn’t because your insulin levels are low, instead it’s your brain associating that specific food as reward food. You aren’t protein deficient if you’re craving that tender piece of chicken, your brain just knows what it wants (which happens to be the good stuff).
3. If you swallow gum, it stays in your stomach for 7 years
This myth has been around since the age before time. Even though gum isn’t really categorized as “food” I still think it’s plausible to add it into the list just because it’s a childhood myth which most of our parents told us so we wouldn’t swallow bazooka bubblegum . Here’s the real deal : Your body does have a hard time digesting gum, but it doesn’t linger in your stomach for seven years. It may not be the quickest thing to digest but it’s “subjected to the same treatment as regular food, and after it's recognized as useless by your digestive system, it goes the same route as any waste product”.
In the end, that slimy minty delight will come out of your digestive system one way or the other.
4. Microwaves cause harmful radiation and zaps away all the nutrients from your food
Let’s face it , with our on the go lifestyles we can’t always cook up a storm in the kitchen and when we’re hungry, we want our food NOW. Instead of cooking a meal from scratch or waiting 20 minutes for our leftover steak to warm up in the oven, we resort to the convenience of using a microwave. It’s fast, efficient and gets the job done. What more can you ask for? Unfortunately, our convenient cooking method of choice has become stigmatized for causing apparent “harmful radiation”. While there hold truths that warming up food in plastic can be hazardous to your health, microwaves DO NOT cause harmful radiation. Turns out that microwaves have a “very low frequency wave on the electromagnet spectrum” and have a “non-ionizing form of radiation”, meaning that they don’t produce radioactivity and aren’t powerful enough to emit any harmful radiation to your precious food. As for the lack of nutrients? It’s all relative on the time and strength frequency of the heat that’s being used to warm up your food. What causes the zapping away of nutrients, isn’t the microwave itself, but rather overheating your food. We’ve all fallen prey to this. Due to the microwave's low temperature and short use of time, you’re actually better off using a microwave than a conventional oven to warm up your food.
So go ahead and warm up that hearty meal from the night before .Be rest assured your precious food is a-okay, just try not to overheat your food and trade in the plastic for a more microwave friendly dish.
5. Popcorn is unhealthy
As a popcorn enthusiast, I’m here to declare that not all popcorn is unhealthy. While microwavable popcorn and the popcorn served at movie theaters may not be the healthiest of choices (due to all the excess salt and butter), popcorn as a whole isn’t unhealthy. Not only is popcorn an amazing source of whole grain that’s naturally high in dietary fiber, it also contains the antioxidant “polyphenol” . You know that stuff that gets stuff in your teeth? That’s the gold. Turns out the antioxidant has some anti cancerous properties as well. Your best bet to get the most from this antioxidant rich snack? Opt for air popped popcorn. You don’t need to buy the fancypants popcorn machine, but rather all you need is a microwave, a brown paper bag and plain popcorn kernels (which you can buy in bulk at a health store). I kid you not , you can create magic with just these items. You can get all the DIY info here.
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