Being a guy means I'm not the target audience for women's magazines. Being a journalist, I'm skeptical about the ways that they try to help women.
Needing women to buy their magazines over and over means solutions can't be too good. When I came across Woman's Day 8 food myths, I needed to set the truth straight on its myth-busting. The sad part is that our very good friend, dietitian Melissa Dobbins, is quoted in the article. We can agree to disagree on the following.
Myth: Grass-fed beef is healthier than grain-fed beef. "There's no difference nutritionally," says Dobbins. "Some people choose grass-fed beef because they believe it tastes better." Hoping Dobbins was misquoted.
Grass-fed beef is leaner with fewer calories per ounce, more dietary protein, more Omega 3s (which you need and aren't getting) and fewer Omega 6s (you get plenty of these), more Vitamins A and E, and higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a good fat.
People generally eat grass-fed beef because of the health and nutrition, not as much for the taste. The taste takes getting used to if you are used to grain-fed meat.
The funniest line in the whole story is "Go with whichever kind of beef you favor, keeping in mind that grass-fed beef is usually more expensive." The article thinks you are wasting your money eating grass-fed beef because it sees no health difference.
The article lists no information to back up its incorrect thesis and goes out of its way to insult those who choose this option. This myth-busting example is so wrong that we literally had to deal with this before dealing with one of our long-time enemies.
Myth: Avoid high-fructose corn syrup at all costs. On an episode of Second Opinion on PBS, a doctor was talking about how "sugar was sugar" but also pointed out that excess fructose was a major cause of the obesity epidemic. Well, high-fructose corn syrup has more fructose (55-45 vs. 50-50) than sugar, ergo, high-fructose corn syrup is worse for you than sugar. As for "avoid high-fructose corn syrup at all costs," well that would be the way we put it, but not everyone thinks that way. To say that is a common myth is more of a scare tactic.
"Sugar is sugar," says Dobbins. “It doesn't matter what kind of sugar it is." When sugar was the dominant sweetener, look at where the obesity levels were versus the dominance of high-fructose corn syrup. Not that there is a 1:1 correlation, but the conventional wisdom won't even consider a possible connection. As we'll see later on in the Woman's Day story, they are willing to say more about something else with much less research.
Dobbins gets it right on the money when she says, "It's quantity that's the problem.” Too much sugar as pure sugar is still a concern, but not as much of a concern as too much high-fructose corn syrup.
The article equates all forms of sugar from high-fructose corn syrup to "brown sugar, molasses, honey, fruit juice concentrates and anything ending with -ose such as dextrose or maltose." Fruit juice concentrates and honey are more natural sources of sugar than the artificially produced high-fructose corn syrup. Many would disagree with lowering those to the standard of high-fructose corn syrup.
As for the other 6 tips, two of them really don't belong here; the other four range from good to OK.
Myth: Sea salt is better than table salt because it contains less sodium. This is more true in food products you would buy since you can't control the level of salt they use. Sea salt works better because you get the taste while using less salt. The crystals are bigger, but also because sea salt is more flavorful, you'll want to use less. The article does make this clear: "In theory, though, you may use less sea salt in cooking: Those crystals are larger than table-salt crystals, so fewer of them fit in a teaspoonful."
Myth: All yogurt is good for you. This was the best tip, especially since women are more likely to eat yogurt than men. They recommend low- or non-fat versions and note that Greek yogurt has more protein. Watch out for added sugars. The article also recommends to "look for yogurts that contain live and active cultures, such L. acidophilus, which are helpful for digestion."
Myth: There are certain foods you should never eat. This one is obvious to our audience but a good reminder for the Woman's Day audience. "Everything can fit into a healthy diet," says Dobbins. "Denying yourself certain foods typically doesn't work because you end up overindulging when you get access to those eats." Good advice. One question I get asked is whether this means you can have some high-fructose corn syrup. Well, high-fructose corn syrup affects some people worse than others. Short of a corn allergy, a little bit still isn't good, but not the worst thing in the world.
Myth: Diet sodas can help you lose weight. This is an intriguing myth because while people generally believe that diet sodas don't necessarily help people lose weight, there isn't any scientific proof. In fact, the evidence against high-fructose corn syrup is more substantial than the evidence against diet sodas. "But there’s some preliminary research that says diet sodas may perpetuate a craving for something sweet," says Dobbins. We would agree, but to say this myth is busted needs further review.
Myth: Fresh produce is more nutritious than frozen or canned. This is true and false. If you follow all the right steps, then yes. If you don't rinse off the sodium or the sugary syrup, then no, they aren't as nutritious. Fresh produce tastes better so you might eat more produce than you would of canned fruit and vegetables. Canned fruit and vegetables offer more ways to reduce the impact of the produce through salt and sugar. Fresh produce has no such temptation. The article does note to "Eat fresh fruits and veggies in season; they’re less expensive then, and some nutrients, such as vitamin C, begin to break down as soon as foods are harvested."
Myth: Frozen yogurt is better for you than ice cream. "In general, a frozen yogurt that size (1/2 cup) has about 120 calories and 5 g of fat, versus 180 calories and 10 g of fat for a half-cup of ice cream (light or lowfat ice cream is less)." Sounds like frozen yogurt is better for you than ice cream, if you don't put anything on top. "Tart frozen yogurt flavors, which typically have less sugar, may translate into fewer calories." In a sea of unhelpful advice, a nugget of help. Flavors do matter more with frozen yogurt than with ice cream. Overall, the myth depends on how you use frozen yogurt and ice cream. Not much of a myth-buster. While not as wrong as the grass-fed beef and high-fructose corn syrup examples, this one shouldn't have made the cut.
Of the 8 myths, two were completely wrong, two had great misgivings, and the other four tips were good to OK. Woman's Day doesn't set high values in journalism. Women who do have problems with food and diet deserve a better batting average than .500. More people will read the Woman's Day article than this column, but this once again goes to prove that just because something is on the Internet doesn't mean you should take it at face value.
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