Myth Busters! Do You Know Your Food Facts?

Like urban legends, food myths linger for decades. Remember these from our youth?

• Gelatin strengthens nails.
• Coffee stunts growth.
• Grapefruit burns fat.

None are true, nutritionists inform us. Perpetuated by celebrity magazines and internet "facts," food myths seem to go hand-in-hand with the latest fad diet. Remember the cabbage soup diet or the cider vinegar diet? Cleansing diets of yesteryear, they still crop up on talk shows and celebrity interviews from time to time. Just last week on Jay Leno I heard a Hollywood starlet credit the cabbage soup diet with her remarkable return to her svelte figure just two months after giving birth. Of course the 8-week, 6-hour a day, 6-day a week sessions with her personal trainer didn't have anything to do with it!

Detox or "cleansing" diets (I call them "potty" diets because that's where you spend all your time!) are all the rage in Hollywood right now. Unfortunately, a lot of fad diets can actually harm your health and any weight loss you achieve is only temporary.

The American Dietetic Association is encouraging people to eat "100% fad-free" this year. Balanced nutrition coupled with regular exercise is all most people need to maintain a healthy body and weight range. In support of healthy, fad-free eating, we invite you to take the following quiz.

Fact or Myth?

You lose weight when you skip breakfast.

• Myth. You'll compensate for the missed calories by eating more during the day. Of course, if you have a box of donuts for breakfast every morning, the answer might be "fact." Sugary breakfasts can make you eat more because they cause a rapid rise and fall in blood sugar which makes you feel hungry. Your best bet for breakfast? Protein for energy plus fiber for staying power.

Eating at night makes you fat.

• Myth. It's total calories that count, not when you eat them. The best plan is to space your food intake out over the day by eating several small meals and keep track of your calories. Spacing your meals keeps you from getting too hungry and overeating or snacking on fattening foods. Decreasing late-night snacking, particularly of unhealthy foods, can help you lose weight.

Fasting rids the body of toxins.

• Myth. The body comes fully equipped with an efficient and self-sufficient "detox" system that filters out harmful products. Depriving the body of food won't make it work any better or faster. Detox diets tout claims of extravagant weight gain -- 10 pounds overnight! Sounds great, but it's all water weight that you'll gain right back.

Olive oil is lower in calories than other fats.

• Myth. Fat is fat. All oils are 100% fat and have the same approximate number of calories: 120 per tablespoon. Olive oil is a "good" oil that contains monounsaturated fats, but it still packs the calories. Oh, and light olive oil refers to flavor, not calories.

Low-fat means low calories.

• Myth. If you see low-fat or fat-free on the package, make sure you read the label. Sugar may have been added to compensate. While sugar doesn't contain fat, it has calories in abundance. And remember, if you eat a box of low-fat cookies, you're still going to gain weight. Don't be taken in by words or misleading advertising. Watch your portion size and count the calories.

Honey is better for you than sugar.

• Myth. Honey may have a more "natural" appeal or taste better to some people, but to your body honey and sugar are the same. Your body breaks both down into glucose and fructose. Since honey is a bit sweeter than sugar, you might use less, but that's the only real nutritional benefit.

Organic food is more nutritious.

• Myth. There have been few studies, but so far scientists have found no correlation between the nutritional value of food and the way it's farmed. Some evidence suggests that organic produce may be higher in some antioxidants, but there appears to be no nutritional advantage in organic milk or meat. Organic foods have the same calorie content as conventional foods, so don't use them as an excuse to pig out.

Frozen vegetables are as nutritious as fresh.

• Myth. Freshly picked vegetables contain the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin and mineral contents decrease each day with shipping and storage so "older" vegetables in your grocery may, in fact, be less nutritious than frozen ones which are flash-frozen soon after picking. To maintain the most nutrients from fresh or frozen vegetables, microwave, steam or stir-fry them.

Multigrain foods are always made with whole grains.

• Myth. You have to read the label. Multigrain just means the product contains more than one grain. Look for the word "whole" in front of every grain in the ingredient list to make sure the product was made from whole grains.