Popular diets and controversial foods: what is actually harmful and what is beneficial

Advice from experts on a healthy lifestyle is in high demand in the modern services market. It is fashionable to be healthy, and where there is fashion, there are myths, misconceptions, and sometimes outright deception.

Фото: Depositphotos

There are especially many misconceptions - some sincere, some imposed - related to food, and that is why most of the investigations by journalists with the BBC last year was dedicated to exactly this: what is harmful and what is not.

Who came up with the rule of 10 thousand steps?

Many of us count how much we have walked in a day - using smart watches, pedometers, mobile applications in smartphones. We rejoice when the figure of 10 thousand steps is reached - well, it’s important! We get upset when we don’t reach the desired amount.

The magic number “10” was born in 000 before the Olympic Games in Tokyo, during a marketing campaign at the time. One Japanese company began selling a pedometer called "Manpo-kei": "man" meaning "1964", "po" meaning "steps" and "kei" meaning "counter".

Since then, studies have been conducted that compare the benefits of walking 5 and 000 steps daily. Not surprisingly, the higher number won.

However, until recently, the effectiveness of the number of steps in the range between five and ten thousand has not been studied. Even now, this is not comprehensively tested on adults.

A recent study by Harvard School of Medicine professor Yimin Lee and her colleagues focused on a group of more than 16 000 women over the age of 70. Scientists tried to compare the number of steps taken during the day with the likelihood of death from any cause. Each of the women spent a week with a wearable device recording her movements.

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Then the researchers took a long pause - about four years and three months. By that time, 504 of the women who took part in the experiment had died.

It turned out that the average number of steps these women took daily was 5500, and even a small increase in this figure made a difference. For example, women who took more than 4000 steps a day were much more likely to not die than those who took 2700.

Following this logic, you might assume that the more steps you take per day, the better. For a certain range of steps, this was true - but only up to 7500 per day, after which the benefits stopped increasing.

Any addition of steps after this figure no longer affected life expectancy.

The eternal question of yolk and protein

If you had to name the perfect food, then chicken eggs are one of the main contenders for this title. They are always on sale, they are easy to prepare, they are inexpensive and, moreover, they are packed with protein, as they say, to the eyeballs.

"An egg must have all the necessary ingredients to grow the body, so it's only natural that it's loaded with nutrients," says Christopher Blesso, assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Connecticut.

But for decades, egg consumption has been viewed with suspicion because of its high cholesterol content, which some studies have linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

Eggs have an organic compound called choline, which can protect us from Alzheimer's. It is useful for our liver.

But it can have negative effects. Choline is metabolized by the intestinal microbiota into a molecule called TMO, which enters the human liver and is converted into a TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) molecule, which is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

While scientists are still far from understanding why eggs have so different effects on different people, the vast majority of recent studies have come to the conclusion that an egg is not a danger to our health, but rather even useful.

Is drinking milk unnatural?

Man is the only animal that drinks the milk of other animals, most of which wean themselves from drinking milk in early childhood, as they need more and more complex products for food. Why do people continue to drink it? And is this good for us?

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People living in those regions of the world where cows were domesticated (including in northern Europe and North America) only 10 thousands of years ago developed the ability to digest lactose.

As a result, the body about 30% of the population of our planet continues to produce lactase (an enzyme necessary for the absorption of lactose) and in adulthood. For the rest, this stops with the exit from infancy.

But are there any benefits to our health in giving up milk and starting to drink only its substitutes? Or does cow's milk provide us with essential nutrients that are found only in it? And is it true that milk actually exacerbates lactose intolerance in most people?

In a series of studies, it was not confirmed that those who drink milk, the risk of fractures is significantly reduced. Moreover, some studies have found that milk just adds to the likelihood of fractures.

But in adolescence, calcium is very important for bone development, emphasizes Ian Givens, a food chain specialist at the University of Reading (England).

In one study, scientists divided its participants into four groups (depending on the amount of milk they consumed). They found that only those who drink it the most (almost a liter per day) had an increased risk of heart disease.

Meanwhile, in the United States, cow's milk is fortified with vitamin D, and studies show that the benefits are approximately the same as those obtained naturally in the sun.

Although it is not necessary to avoid milk, it is also not necessary to drink it. It can be replaced with other products. There is no single component of the diet or a single product, which could not be dispensed with. All replaceable

Detox? What kind of detox? About the usefulness of freshly squeezed juices

Many people believe that drinking freshly squeezed fruit juices is a good way to get a megadose of vitamins. They also say about juices that they help lose weight and cleanse the body, remove waste and toxins.

But is all this true? How do juices affect our blood sugar and insulin levels?

In 2013, researchers analyzed 100 health data from thousands of people collected between 1986 and 2009 years. They found that consumption of fruit juices is associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Scientists believe that one of the possible explanations for this is the absence in juices of some components that are in the whole fruit, for example, fiber.

In general, although drinking juice is better than living a day without any fruit, there are limitations.

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The risk increases when we consume more than 150 ml of free sugars per day. Or more calories than recommended by experts.

Yes, at the same time our body receives a certain amount of vitamins, but fruit juices are not a panacea at all.

This is a dangerous, dangerous, dangerous meat

Nitrates, saturated fats, salt - meat seems to be full of everything that doctors recommend to beware of in food. And we really hear from all sides: meat is harmful!

One of the latest news stories has sparked the appetite of all meat-eaters in the world. It turns out that red meat is not at all as harmful as they are trying to prove to us.

There is no reliable evidence that reducing the consumption of red meat will somehow affect the likelihood of developing cancer during one's lifetime. And the evidence about the risks that are available is very weak.

No less important is the replacement of harmful components in our food. Saturated fats are considered the cause of many diseases, including heart disease. You can reduce the risk of a heart attack by replacing saturated fats with sugars and refined starches.

You can switch from animal fats to vegetable oil. Replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats reduces the risk of death from any cause by 19%, studies have shown.

Approximately 56 people for every thousand are at risk of developing this cancer throughout their lives. If a thousand people ate bacon every day, the number of risk takers would only increase to 66.

Compare this even with the risk of cancer from smoking: out of every 100 people who quit this habit, 10-15 will be able to avoid lung cancer that would otherwise threaten them.

But, we consume much more protein than we need. It’s pointless to add extra protein to our diet. Most of us get more protein from food than the recommended daily allowance.

Fashion for dopamine starvation. What does science say?

Dopamine starvation reloads your brain and allows you to again enjoy the simple pleasures of life, say its adherents. But are their ideas scientifically reinforced? Maybe it's just a new Silicon Valley quirk?

Dopamine (or dopamine) is a neurotransmitter produced in the human brain and serves as an element of the brain's "reward system". It is often (and incorrectly!) called the hormone of joy and pleasure.

Its production in the body can be triggered by external stimuli - especially unexpected important events.

Psychologist Cameron Cepa, who works with many clients in Silicon Valley, says dopamine fasting is based on a behavioral therapy technique known as "stimulus control" that helps addicts by removing triggers.

No one knows of any evidence that “fasting”, without using modern technology and tasty food, can reduce the level of dopamine in the brain.

Every day we are immersed in a crowded reality, overwhelmed with irritants, drowning in noise. And now we are able to step back, think and get involved in this world again, but on our own terms.

Just do not call it dopamine starvation, some experts warn.

We like to control what we do. When it seems to you that you have gained control over your behavior and take steps to help you cope with problems, you feel better.

Saturated Fat: Enemy or Friend?

Here is another ominous phrase, a scarecrow of our time: saturated fats. Representatives of the official nutritional science say that consuming too much saturated fat leads to an increase in blood cholesterol, which can result in arteries clogged with sclerotic plaques, stroke or heart attack.

Since article headings are often conflicting and confusing, and experts disagree with each other, it’s not surprising that people don’t know who to believe in saturated fats.

Some studies have questioned the direct relationship between saturated fats and cardiological diseases, but they usually don’t take into account what exactly these fats are replaced with when their quantity is limited, and this is very important.

Many international organizations rely on scientific evidence when they recommend reducing the amount of saturated fat in food and replacing it with unsaturated fats.

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When saturated fats are replaced with sugars and refined starches (such as white flour), the risk of a heart attack increases.

It is worth considering that some types of saturated fatty acids in saturated fats are less harmful than others.

Instead of focusing on individual nutrients, we should look at the diet as a whole—the diet should include a variety of heart-healthy foods.

Soya: a healthy alternative to meat or ... is it not so simple again?

The isoflavones in soy are sometimes blamed for increasing the risk of breast cancer (and prostate cancer in men). But is this really so?

And yet, despite the fact that in the last decade soy has been perceived by many as an element of a healthy diet, fears suddenly appeared that it could have a devastating effect on our hormones.

As a result of an analytical review of the available evidence on how soy affects the risk of developing breast cancer, it has been found that those with lower body mass index are more difficult to establish. This means that a lower risk of developing cancer is probably associated with less body weight, rather than soy consumption.

Over the years, and despite the constant emergence of ever new studies, often containing conflicting evidence, scientists continue to hold the view that soy is useful in preventing prostate cancer.

Soya has been carefully studied over the past decades. No single study can be called ideal, and the results often show only correlation, interconnection, without proving causation.

Unpurified, “living” water. Why drink it?

What is really behind the interest in untreated, “raw” water and how healthy is this interest?

People have been drinking untreated water for 99% of human existence. Some people think that what is natural is always the best, and the goal is to return to the roots, to the habits of our ancestors.

“Raw water” contains many beneficial bacteria necessary for the proper functioning of the intestines, but it can also contain many harmful ones. Remember, some sources may be contaminated, such as E-Coli.

For urban residents in densely populated countries, treated water is still a much safer option. If you drink raw water, you will have to be aware that you are responsible for the possible infection of other people, that you have become a risk factor for others, not just yourself

Hands off Grandma's chicken noodles!

Almost every one of us catches a cold more than once or twice in our lives. It seems that there is nothing more universal than the common cold (ARVI) - and therefore, in the history of mankind and in the history of every family, countless tips and “sure remedies” for this illness have accumulated. Do they help?

When a virus settles in our body, two systems come up to fight it inside us: innate immunity tries to rid the body of invading cells, and acquired immunity suppresses those pathogens that we already have experience of fighting, and also remembers new enemies in order to be ready for them.

Nevertheless, studies have shown that by adding some components to the diet during colds, you can get rid of it faster.

The vast majority of such studies focused on supplements, rather than on food itself. In fact, there is no reliable evidence that chicken stock will somehow help with a cold.

Another complication is that the placebo effect often acts, so the chicken broth, oddly enough, may very well help us overcome the common cold.

Let's not forget that the likelihood of catching a cold this winter depends not only on how much vitamin C our body has accumulated, or on how much we believe in the magical power of any placebo.

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