20 Stubborn Food Myths That Won’t Die, Debunked by Science

There's lots of great info/links in these articles that I didn't/couldn't quote - use this as a reference! Remember that everything in moderation is the key.

http://lifehacker.com/5847591/10-stubbo ... t-wont-die
10 Stubborn Food Myths That Just Won’t Die, Debunked by Science
By Alan Henry
Oct 7, 2011

Image remixed using a photo by Alex Galt .

Every other week, new research claims one food is better than another, or that some ingredient yields incredible new health benefits. Couple that with a few old wives' tales passed down from your parents, and each time you fire up your stove or sit down to eat a healthy meal, it can be difficult separating food fact from fiction. We talked to a group of nutritionists and asked them to share the food myths they find most irritating and explain why people cling to them. Here's what they said.

Myth 1: Never Use Wooden Cutting Boards with Meat
Myth 2: Adding Salt to Water Changes the Boiling Point, Cooks Food Faster
Myth 3: Low Fat Foods Are Always Better For You
Myth 4: Dairy Is The Best Thing For Healthy Bones
Myth 5: Everyone Should Drink 64-Ounces or 8 Glasses of Water Every Day
Myth 6: High-Sodium Foods Taste Salty, So Avoid Salty Snacks
Myth 7: Eating Eggs Will Jack Up Your Cholesterol
Myth 8: Searing Meat Seals In Juices
Myth 9: Aluminum Foil and Cookware Is Linked to Alzheimer's Disease
Myth 10: Don't Eat After 6/7/8PM: This myth is so popular that the ADA has a page dedicated to debunking it .

Bonus Myth: Wine Has Health Benefits, Beer and Liquor Do Not

How to Debunk Your Own Food Myths
Some of the most persistent food myths are the ones that are considered common knowledge, or the ones that have been long disproven but were trumpeted loudly when they were "discovered" but never formally rebutted so much when they were debunked. If there's anything I learned in my years as a scientist and a student, it was to always keep an open mind. Not so open that your brains fall out, mind you, but open enough that you're willing to challenge your own deeply held beliefs in the light of new evidence that contradicts them.

Keeping an open mind is only part of the battle however: you also need to seek out and pay attention to reputable sources of information when you're reading about or researching food or nutrition science. The Cleveland Clinic has an excellent guide to considering reputable sources on the web. We also suggest checking up on food news and new research with the American Dietetic Association , the US Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Information Center , and the US Department of Health and Human Services' Healthfinder.gov portal for reliable food and health information. Also, don't ever hesitate to seek out peer-reviewed scientific studies and research to prove or disprove a point.

http://lifehacker.com/5856345/10-more-s ... by-science
10 More Stubborn Food Myths That Just Won’t Die, Debunked by Science
By Alan Henry
Nov 4, 2011

When we tackled the topic of food myths last month, our inbox was flooded with more reader-submitted followup myths than we could debunk at one time. We asked our nutritionists back to debunk some more common misconceptions about food, health, and nutrition that are still widely believed, even though there's overwhelming evidence to the contrary. We also asked them some of your questions. Here's what they said.

Myth 1: Skipping a Single Meal Will Slow Your Metabolism and Force Your Body into "Starvation Mode"
Myth 2: Eat a High-Protein Diet to Gain Muscle Mass
Myth 3: Salt is Bad For You
Myth 4: Never Freeze Coffee to Store It
Myth 5: Pregnant Women Should Avoid Eating Sushi
Myth 6: Animal Protein is Better than Plant Protein, or Vegetarians and Vegans Never Get Enough Protein
Myth 7: Artificial Sweeteners are 100% Safe
Myth 8: Unsaturated Fats are Good, Saturated Fats are Bad
Myth 9: Lobsters Scream in Pain When Boiled
Myth 10: Turkey Makes You Sleepy Because of Its Tryptophan Content: It's true that turkey is a great source of tryptophan, and that tryptophan makes us sleepy. ...Not so fast. First of all, turkey isn't the only food that's high in tryptophan. "chicken, tuna, mushrooms, scallops, shrimp, and soybeans contain just as much tryptophan as—and, in some cases, more tryptophan than—turkey," Andy Bellatti says.

This time we wanted to establish a common theme with our myths. Moderation is the key to a good, healthy diet. There are very few absolutes when it comes to food and health, very few things that are all bad or all good. Keep that in mind when you're grocery shopping or re-examining your diet.

Andy Bellatti, MS, RD is a Seattle-based nutritionist and the author of the nutrition blog Small Bites . You can follow him on Twitter at @andybellatti .

Alannah Dibona, MA, MS, is a Boston-based nutritionist and wellness counselor, and the woman behind mindbodysportconsulting.com .

Both graciously volunteered their expertise for this story, and we thank them.

You can reach Alan Henry, the author of this post, at , or better yet, follow him on Twitter or Google+ .

Follow lifehacker on Twitter and Facebook

Prove it! Causitive association with a sedentary lifestyle isn't enough. tongue: