Health myths and fallacies

Eat fruits only on empty stomach.

This is not true. This is a fallacy circulated on the

internet by ignorant and gullible people. There is no scientific basis for this claim. Our wonderful God-given body is more versatile and has auto-regulators that adjust to various situations, including what foods and when we eat them. Fruits are good for daily consumption and can be eaten anytime, before, with, or after a meal. They help in our digestion, no matter at which point we eat them. For diabetics, fruits should be

included in their calculation for total caloric intake for the day.

Alkaline water is better.

This is also false. Our body does not need alkaline

water, or ionized water, or any other special water.

Besides the added cost, this aggressively advertised “special” water gives no extra benefit. For all we know, down the line, its long term use might even cause some health problems. As long as the water we drink has

undergone effective filtration, like the multiple-stage reversed osmosis system, and is clean, it is safe and healthier to drink than soft drinks, which can cause metabolic syndrome. There is no advantage to drinking alkaline and other “specially prepared” water. Their use is only beneficial to their manufacturers and vendors, who are conning and duping the public, for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Babies should use sunglasses.

This is true. Infants and children, when outdoors on a shinny day, especially for more than 10-15 minutes, should use sunshades. Except for newborn babies with jaundice (yellow skin discoloration), who will benefit from exposure to the sun, children and adults could be harmed by prolonged exposure to the rays of the sun. Skin cancers are initiated and cause by ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunrays. UV rays damage the DNA. Of the two UV radition, UVB was considered the main cause of skin cancer, but there is evidence today that UVA is also a culprit. When outdoors, it is prudent for everyone to stay under the shade and prevent over exposure, even from the indirect sun reflections from the sand, water, or any other reflective surface.

Calories are all the same.

Wrong. Our body physiology can distinguish among calories from different foods we eat. This marvelous body of ours treats calories from carbohydrates, fats and protein differently. Some are digested and

absorbed more quickly (High Glycemic Index foods), and others metabolized and stored as fats. Knowing how our body handles each of the types of foods we eat can lead to a healthier body. For example, simple

carbohydrates (white rice, white bread, table sugar), which are High Glycemic Index items, are broken down fast and absorbed rapidly, raising the blood glucose almost instantly. This leads the pancreas to secrete more insulin as rapidly, causing an insulin spike. This habit can lead to insulin resistance and ultimately diabetes mellitus. On the other hand. complex carbohydrates (Low Glycemic Index foods) are the better carbs (winter squash, sweet potato, asparagus, mushrooms, beans, lentils, berries, and whole grains, like wild rice, quinoa, barley, brown rice). They are absorbed much more

slowly and do not cause insulin spike. Eating these foods lowers the risk for diabetes. A good mix in our

diet is 50 percent from the good complex carbohydrates (more on vegetables), 30 percent from healthy proteins (fish, soy, lentils, nuts), and 20 percent from good fats (fish, especially salmon, whole grains, nuts, avocados, olive oil).

All fats are bad.

This is false. While saturated fats from red meats and other fatty dairy foods are bad, there are good fats in fish (omega-3 fatty acids), which help in the brain function and children development and also in warding off arthritis and heart disease. Good fats are also found in fish (like salmon), olive oil, whole grains, nuts, and

avocados. On the other hand, the Omega-6 in refined vegetable oils (corn, safflower, soy oil) can cause inflammation in the joints and in the walls of arteries, that lead to artery blockages, a similar effect of saturated fats from red meat. Extra virgin olive oil, organic canola oil, and grapeseed appear to be healthier. Processed foods, fast foods, and food items made with coconut and palm-kernel oil, partially hydrogenated oils, vegetable shortening and common vegetable oils are unhealthy.

All “organic” is good.

False. Organic junk food is still junk food. Not all marked or marketed as “organic” is good and nutritious. Organic potato chips, oreo, etc. are not healthy food items. Any processed foods labeled “organic” or not are best to stay away from. Organic produce (vegetables and fruits, etc) are free of pesticides and other chemicals, and are healthier, albeit more expensive. So, let’s look at the labels and use our common sense. Not all marked “organic” is good.

Wet hair leads to a cold.

False. Going out with wet hair does not increase your risk of catching a cold. This has been proven a lot of times in scientific settings. Coldness or how cold one feels does not affect the immune system. A lowered

immune system from excessive fatigue, hunger, lack of exercise, overeating, smoking or alcohol abuse can

increase the risk for cold and other diseases.

Sugar is for hiccups.

It is said that if you startle someone with hiccups, they will go away, but this has not been found effective. One claim, which was supposedly published in CNN, is for a person who has hiccups to swallow one teaspoon of white granulated sugar. Let me know the result of this strategy, because I could not find any

evidence to deny or confirm this.

Skipping breakfast is good.

False. Even among those trying to lose weight, eating breakfast is recommended. For those weight watchers, the total calories for breakfast or any meal should be controlled to the desired amount. If one skips breakfast after 6 to 8 hours of sleep, the blood sugar level goes down too low, and both the mental and physical

performances are affected, whether apparent or not. Keeping the level of insulin on an even keel is important to prevent the onset of diabetes and for general well-being. If portioned properly not to go over the desired limit of total calories for the day, dividing them into five or six meals a day is better in preventing insulin spikes. For normal-weight adults in general, a total calorie-intake of 1800 a day is healthy. As we have often stated, drinking a glass or two of water before each meal, and pushing oneself away from the dining table less than full, is healthy and wise.

*Please visit www.xlibris.com and search for the book, Let’s Stop “Killing” Our Children which contains a compilation of articles from this column.