Hi I’m Elliott and this is Mental Floss on YouTube.
Today I’m going to talk about some misconceptions about health food.
Misconception #1: People who only eat raw food have better digestion.
It turns out that your body is pretty good at digesting, regardless of whether the vegetables
you’re eating cooked or raw.
Some believe that since cooked foods lose some nutrients and enzymes, then raw food
must have all the proper enzymes that aid digestion.
Some of a plant’s enzymes DO go away when they’re cooked at a temperature over 118
degrees Fahrenheit.
But, by the time the enzymes in raw food arrive at a stomach, they’ve pretty much broken
down, so they don’t have too much of an impact.
Misconception #2: Dark bread is healthier than white bread.
Actually, a lot of brown breads are made with the exact same white flour that white bread
is made with.
Sometimes they’re dyed with things like molasses or caramel.
So, if it just says “wheat” on the package, that doesn’t necessarily make it any healthier
because almost all varieties of bread have wheat in them.
If you’re shopping for healthy bread, what you want to look for is “100% whole wheat”
or “whole-grain wheat.”
This means you’ll get the extra fiber that you want and need.
Misconception #3: Artificial sweeteners promote weight loss.
If you look at it logically, they do.
Artificial sweeteners, like Splenda, contain no calories.
So, if you’re looking to reduce calories in your diet, they’re a good replacement
for regular sugar, which has around 16 calories per teaspoon.
But, some studies have revealed that artificial sweeteners are correlated with weight GAIN
in people, though experts still aren’t sure exactly why.
For instance, the San Antonio Heart Study observed over 3,500 adults for about 8 years
in the eighties.
They found that the more artificially sweetened beverages a person drank, the more their BMI
tended to rise.
This echoed the results of another study conducted in the eighties, by the American Cancer Society.
They followed almost 80,000 women, creepy, and noticed that, within a year, more artificial
sweetener consumers gained weight compared to the rest of the women.
Misconception #4: If a food label says “natural,” it’s good for you.
In the U.S., pretty much any food can have the word “natural” on its packaging because
the FDA hasn’t set any guidelines for the word.
According to their website, “From a food science perspective, it is difficult to define
a food product that is 'natural' because the food has probably been processed and is no
longer the product of the earth.
That said, FDA has not developed a definition for use of the term natural or its derivatives.
However, the agency has not objected to the use of the term if the food does not contain
added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.”
And that’s why you see products like “Natural Cheetos.”
Speaking of natural foods...
Misconception #5: Agave nectar is better for you than sugar.
Some people prefer agave to other sweeteners because it’s considered more “natural.”
But, it turns out that it actually contains more fructose than any other sweetener, including
high fructose corn syrup.
Agave has a fructose content of 55-97%.
But high fructose corn syrup products average about 55%.
This is notable because some studies indicate that fructose increases the risk of liver
damage and cardiovascular disease (although this still needs to be studied more).
Agave also has more calories than sugar.
There are 60 calories in a tablespoon of agave and around 40 in a tablespoon of sugar.
Though why you'd want just a tablespoon of sugar, I have no idea.
Misconception #6: Margarine is always better for you than butter.
So, as a general rule, experts say that margarine is better because it has more “good” fats
than butter, so it contains ingredients that reduce LDL (a.k.a “bad” cholesterol).
And butter actually contains cholesterol.
But, if the health content of your margarine is important to you, don’t just grab the
first one you see at the store.
Some margarines contain “trans fat,” which isn’t ideal.
Trans fat actually lowers HDL (a.k.a “good” cholesterol).
A good rule of thumb is to go for tub margarine rather than stick margarine.
Misconception #7: Brown eggs are more nutritious than white eggs.
The color of eggs has little to do with nutritional content.
In fact, it’s really only affected by the genetics of the hen who laid it.
Some lay brown eggs and others lay white eggs.
Regardless of the color, an egg will contain around 70 calories and 6 grams of protein.
Which brings me to...
Misconception #8: Brown sugar is healthier than white sugar.
Not true.
Brown sugar is basically white sugar.
It’s just that the molasses is removed in the process of making white sugar.
But, brown sugar includes molasses.
So, it does have a few different minerals like calcium and potassium, but not enough
to be advantageous.
It also has about the same calorie content as white sugar.
Misconception #9: “Local” means “organic.”
According to one survey, 23% of Americans and Canadians believe that “local” food
means the same thing as “organic” food.
That’s not true.
In fact, the FDA doesn’t regulate the word “local” on food labels, so that product
could be from somewhere like I don't know 400 miles away, 1,000 miles maybe, 2,000,
I can keep going.
Misconception #10: Organic foods have more nutrients.
In 2014, research published in the British Journal of Nutrition examined 343 studies
of organic and non-organic food.
The authors found that vegetables, whether organic or regular, had around the same levels
of most nutrients, like vitamin C and vitamin E. They did note that organic foods contained
more antioxidants, though, so that’s a good reason to keep eating organic.
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