Myths

Foods or Food Avoidance with Questionable Health Claims

This list includes popular foods or supplements that don’t necessarily stand up to the hype or health claims behind them. This doesn’t mean they can’t be part of an overall healthy diet, but keep this in mind if you’re purchasing the items for health benefits.

• Agave
• Bone Broth
• Coconut Oil
  • Healthy or Hype? Coconut Oil 
  • Harvard Health Letter advice
  • Coconut oil: fact or fiction? (Rosie Schwartz)
• Dairy/Milk
  • Dairy/Milk is pro-inflammatory myth (Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Aug 2015)
  • Drink Milk, or Don’t. But Maybe Read This First. (Courtney Plush, MS, RD, March 2016)

• Dried Cranberries
• Fruit Juice
  • Habitual intake of fruit juice predicts central blood pressure (Appetite, January 2015)
  • Fruit Juice Vs. Soda? Both Beverages Pack In Sugar, Health Risks (NPR Health)
  • Fruit juice: just another sugary drink? (Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology) 
  • The Rise and Fall of Orange Juice as a Health Drink
  • Are there health benefits to juicing? 
  • Juicing: Healthy Habit or Blood Sugar Bomb?
  • Do you think fruit juice is healthy & natural?
  • What has more sugar, OJ or soda? 
• Gluten free foods (for better health)
• Gluten avoidance
• Lectins
• Phytic Acid
• Raw milk (avoid this)
• Saturated Fat
• Sea Salt
• Vitamins & Supplements
  •  Dietary Supplements Contaminated (New York Times)
  • Take food, not supplements (Weighty Matters)
  • Supplements: To Take or Not to Take?
  • Can the body have too much iron? 
  • 3 new studies conclude most vitamins/supplements should be avoided
  • Dismal news for supplements: @marionnestle reports the better the research, the fewer the benefits
  • Do you take vitamins or other supplements? You likely don’t need them & they could be harmful
  • The vitamin myth: why we think we need supplements. 
  • AntioAdrxidant supplements in exercise: worse than useless? 

Dubious Health Claims/Practices

• Adrenal Fatigue 

Healthy or Hype Series

• Healthy or Hype? Almond Milk
• Healthy or Hype? Agave Syrup
• Healthy or Hype? Buttered/Bulletproof Coffee
• Healthy or Hype? Veggie Chips
• Healthy or Hype? Chocolate Milk for Recovery
• Healthy or Hype? Coconut Oil
• Healthy or Hype? Protein Powder

Other Questionable Health Claims . . .

Microwaves

• Do microwaves destroy nutrients in food? (Sciencebasedmedicine.com)
• Myths about microwaves (Nutritionovereasy.com)