Four Myths About Food

[Sean Martin]

Four Myths About Food

Dear Friend,

Over the years, I have noticed that people have certain misconceptions about food that they hold as fact. It is important to examine some of the prevalent myths about food and to understand why they are untrue.

Myth #1: All calories are created equal.

You have been told all your life that what makes you fat is the amount of food that you eat.

In reality, it's the "kinds of food" you eat and your meal pattern consistency that cause fat gain. If you eat appropriately, you will be nourishing your body in a way that your metabolism is 100% efficient. This means that your body will be utilizing the calories you eat as fuel rather than storing them as fat.

Myth #2: You must reduce your caloric intake in order to lose weight.

Calorically restrictive diets will cause lean muscle loss, making you fatter on the inside. There is an entire industry built around low or fat free foods. The danger is…that low calorie usually means empty calorie-foods that fill you up but offer no nutritional benefit.

Each person has a minimum daily caloric requirement, based on their activity level and individual metabolic processes. When you reduce your caloric intake in order to lose weight, the strategy will work in the short run, but over time your metabolism will cool to the point where you will not be utilizing calories efficiently. As a result, your weight loss will slow or stop.

Myth #3: Eating fats will make you fat.

This is one of the biggest misconceptions presented by many diet programs. They say that a low fat or no fat diet will make you eternally slim. How much dietary fat you need is directly related to your body type, which determines how well you can digest and utilize fats.

Myth #4: Scale weight is an indication of how thin you are:

Weight is not the whole story. Your body composition – your percent of fat to lean muscle – is equally important. For instance, I once had a client who weighed 158 pounds and said she wasn't heavy because she was 5'9". But her body fat was 35%. That's too high. Fat is three times the size of lean muscle. Your goal should be not only to lose weight, but to "take up less room in the room."

As I have said before, water is also crucial for weight loss. Our bodies are 70% water, and this nutrient is critical in everyday function, serving a number of important purposes:

1) Water is the vehicle by which nutrients are transported to our cells.

2) Water maintains proper blood density to appropriately manage healthy blood pressure, and the movements of fats in the blood so they are not deposited as plaque in the blood vessels.

3) Proper water intake helps to extract toxins and the by-products of digestion from the body.

4) Sufficient water is required for a proper balance of vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes in the body. Electrolytes ensure that your muscles have a full range of motion, prevent muscle spasms and cramping, and regulate the pattern of your heartbeat.

5) Water curtails the food cravings caused by dehydration and thirst.

Coffee, tea, fruit juice, soda, diet soda, and sports drinks do not count as water. I am not going get into the coffee/soda/sport drink issue today. I will just say that they will screw up your food plan, and other parts of your life as well.

But I will say I'm delighted to hear that many of you have given up the diet sodas - and along with them the headaches and excess weight gain. More power to you and it is going to get even better.


http://www.mattfurey.com/images/sig-diag.gif
Matt Furey

[n9odi]

A lot of the sugar substitute used in many diet drinks/products causes brain damage and was actually at one point a classified neurotoxin . We should have someone write up a good article about it or find some good sources for others to read so that people can avoid certain poisons when they shop.

[Whirlwind]

Salt is being maligned right now. It is necessary to many body functions. When I was a small boy, my Grandfather had a cabin with outbuildings. He stored the long handled tools in the rafters of the "carport". I noticed that many of them had been chewed on. I asked my Grandpa, "with all the wood around, why are the animals chewing on these handles?" He informed me that the handles were treated in salt brine, and the animals were chewing off the wood to get the salt content. That little lesson, and the history of salt trade, made me realize the importance of salt. Anyone making preparations for TSHTF times may want to consider this.

[88mmFlaK]

Salt is being maligned right now. It is necessary to many body functions. When I was a small boy, my Grandfather had a cabin with outbuildings. He stored the long handled tools in the rafters of the "carport". I noticed that many of them had been chewed on. I asked my Grandpa, "with all the wood around, why are the animals chewing on these handles?" He informed me that the handles were treated in salt brine, and the animals were chewing off the wood to get the salt content. That little lesson, and the history of salt trade, made me realize the importance of salt. Anyone making preparations for TSHTF times may want to consider this.

You're not kidding here. Salt, like anything, is bad if you don't get enough, or if you get too much. It's probably better to intake too much salt than not enough, especially if you sweat a lot.

Some years ago, when I was working 50+ hours/week landscaping, I started having what could only be described as crushing chest pains. Paranoid of a heart attack, I consumed less salt, and the pains became gradually worse. This went on for about three weeks, until I was informed that my salt(and probably potassium) levels, necessary for muscle activity, were probably low. At this, I immediately ate a large meal and LOADED it down with salt. The chest pains disappeared almost immediately, and haven't returned even after nearly ten years.

[Sean Martin]

If you work a job where you sweat much more than the normal amount, they give you salt tablets to chew. In the military some soldiers get salt tablets. A lot of athletes have to take salt tablets also.

I have made posts about this in the past, salt will last forever and you can buy a 5 gallon bucket of it rather cheaply. Freeze dry it and then you will have a supply that will last you a couple decades. If you salt turns solid you can just chip it off and grind it up in an old-fashioned style pepper grinder like they use on cooking shows. I have ground salt like this and you can just drop the chunks in there and grind it as you need it. Also get iodized salt as it will reduce the risk of goiters.


Salt is being maligned right now. It is necessary to many body functions.

[n9odi]

It's good to brush your teeth with salt too. It cleans them better than regular toothpaste filled with flouride (toxic and harms bones) and it helps your gums too. There is a lot of things on google about it. I started brushing with salt and it's better than toothpaste and has a nicer clean feel after it. Not to mention it's 1/10th the cost.