With the passage of time especially in a modern era, we are experiencing many different diet plans giving people awareness about the low and high calorie foods. Though many diet plans or habits do tend to comply certain goals but overall with majority of experts around with very little knowledge about calories’ science, many myths have prevailed which are not even helping people who wants to lose weight or slight conscious about getting extra bit if fats.

Myth #1 You shouldn’t eat dinner (or anything else) after 7 p.m.
Theresa Kinsella, who is specialized in the fields of MS, RD, CDN, says in detail, “There is no universal time that everyone should stop eating, People get up at different times, go to sleep at different times, and eat at different times. Many countries eat dinner later than Americans but their populations weigh less than Americans do.”

She further explains, “Unless someone has an eating disorder and needs to eat at regular intervals to establish normalized hunger cues, or someone has a self-care reason for eating (like they’ll soon be stuck in a meeting without access to food), it is more important for people to be connected to their internal hunger cues than to be eating based on an external influence, like the clock.”

She is right saying that its not even makes sense that time really matters for any type of food. Though sometimes we need to be careful while eating too much but overall its nothing but a myth that after 7.P.M, we should stop eating if we are concerned regarding weight increase.

“Some people get in bad cycles of skipping breakfast and then overeating at night,” Theresa Kinsella. Furthermore, it’s often not about the time we eat but how we’re eating. “Sometimes, people find themselves late-night snacking out of habit while they’re watching TV. Both these patterns should be addressed simply because they aren’t self-care behaviors. But, non-hunger mindless snacking at 9 a.m. would be just as much of an issue as [it is at] 9 p.m.”

Myth #2 your body doesn’t need carbohydrates. Carbs make you fat:
This is another big myth that our body does not need carbohydrates as this important food component makes you fat. However, not only this notion is baseless but over the time, if someone believes it and don’t consume any carbohydrates, he or she will suffer greatly with different health issues.

Theresa Kinsella, “With the exception of specialized diets for medical necessity, if someone isn’t eating carbohydrates, they aren’t functioning at their optimal level, The brain alone uses 130 grams of carbohydrates per day. Carbohydrates are also necessary for serotonin production.”

She adds, “Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for exercise and many people do not feel good when exercising without them. Since exercise is an essential component of self-care and health, eliminating carbohydrates can be detrimental to overall health.”

Myth #3 Paleo is the ideal diet, because we were all once Paleolithic people:
This myth says that Paleo is the ideal diet, because we were all once Paleolithic people. Viewing this idea rationally, Theresa explains, “The Paleo Diet is based on eating food that can be hunted, fished, or gathered, such as meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, eggs, veggies, roots, and fruit, like berries. It does not include grains, dairy, beans, salt, and sugar. Whole grains, dairy, and beans are nutrient-rich foods. By eliminating them, you could be setting yourself up for a deficiency or eliminating nutrients that help prevent disease.”

She is right here as whole grains, dairy and beans are considered proper diet with richness of all food components. By eradicating them, people could face real deficiency in various food essentials or could face potential diseases due to malnutrition.

Kinsella further warns, “The Paleo Diet certainly doesn’t emphasize enjoying your food. When people don’t enjoy their food, it’s difficult to eat mindfully and it is very difficult to sustain… If we look at the research on losing excess weight, it’s clear that people that include highly enjoyable food are actually more likely to maintain their loss.”

Myth #4: There is such a thing as eating right for your blood type:
There is another myth that suggest that we should eat which is right for our blood type.

According to Kinsella, who answers boldly, “No. There is no scientific evidence to support special diets based on blood type.”

Myth #5: Juicing is healthy and cleansing is necessary:
Another claim suggests that juicing is healthy and cleansing is necessary which by far is not based on facts. Its totally baseless and do not server the perception that is it really good or bad.

Kinsella however says, “The liver and kidneys are the body’s own detoxification system. They do a fantastic job of continuously removing waste products and toxins without the help of juice. Furthermore, there are some obvious drawbacks of juicing; juices are inadequate in protein, fat, essential fatty acids, and fiber.”

She further reacts, “These nutrients are crucial for satiety and vital components for a balanced meal. The protein factor is particularly crucial here. When protein intake is inadequate, the body catabolizes protein from muscles and organs. Hence, someone on a juice cleanse ends up losing muscle mass — a major contributor to metabolism. They’ll likely end up with a worse body composition in the end.”

Myth #6: Eating fat makes you fat:
Sometimes a slight healthy amount of fat is good for your bones and healthy brain. Not only just fat, but protein, which has higher tendency to grow bulk, also is very essential for health.

“Fat, protein and carbohydrates are all essential,” Kinsella stresses. “There is no universal percentage of each that is right for everyone. Eating past full on a regular basis, non-hunger eating, emotional eating, skipping meals and overeating later in the day — those are the behavior patterns that lead to weight gain. The body has an innate ability to regulate and maintain a healthy, genetically determined weight if we listen to it.

She also promote, “The brain is 60% fat and we need fat in order to absorb fat-soluble vitamins. According to current research, the healthiest dietary pattern is that of the Mediterranean culture, which emphasizes foods, [like] fruit, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, and olive oil. Approximately 35 to 40% of the calories in that diet come from fat.”

#7 Gluten is bad for me and you and everyone, period:
Though some say this is not baseless as gluten free diet certainly helps losing weight greatly. But if we do agree on this very notion, we still need a precise advice from an authentic medical specialist and nutritionist that whether this claim has other things to replicate as well.

According to experts Theresa, “A gluten-free diet is a necessity for people diagnosed with celiac disease. Gluten-free diets are also one of the most popular food trends, but there is no benefit to going gluten-free if it is not medically warranted.”

She further says and emphases that, “Many people are attracted to the fad as a new way to restrict or lose weight… [But] ‘gluten free’ does not necessarily mean ‘better for you.’ Many gluten-free products are a lot more processed than their whole-grain, gluten-containing counterparts. Corn and rice flours are lower in fiber and have a higher glycemic index. Bottom line: a gluten-free cupcake is not healthier than a cupcake with gluten.”