With so many health food gurus spouting their opinions on TV, Twitter and everywhere else, it can be hard for the average person to know if what they're hearing about nutrition is actually true. From fad diets to celebrity detox plans, there seems to be no shortage of companies with miracle "get-fit-fast" pills, and unfortunately, too many people think these work.
Proper human nutrition stems from providing your cells with the right phytonutrients they need to grow and thrive. Anything less is shortchanging yourself of your absolute physical and mental potential, but anything more is either a scam trying to get your money or a misconception popularized by nonexperts on the New Media pulpit. If you're sick and tired of trying diet pill after diet pill or changing your exercise habits on the regular, you should check out these three nutrition myths so you never fall for them again.
Myth No. 1: "Skipping breakfast saves calories."
This is one of the oldest weight-loss myths around, but that doesn't mean people have gotten wise to why it's a bunch of malarkey. In fact, The NPD Group estimated that as many as 31 million Americans simply walk out the door each morning without even giving the first meal of the day a second thought.
Why is this a nutrition myth? Because when you fail to provide your cells with the fuel they need to power you in the morning, they start to get a little sluggish. "Your cells might start pulling nutrients from other places, namely, uout muscles." With a cup of coffee, you might still feel alert and focused, but your cells' rate of energy production, otherwise called the basal metabolic rate, drops. When your stomach starts rumbling for lunch, your body isn't equipped to process the sudden rush of calories. Instead of saving some weight gain by skipping breakfast in the morning, your body actually sends more of your next meal straight to fat.
But what if you skip breakfast sometimes not to lose weight, but because you've got an early meeting? While not a substitute for a hearty bowl of oatmeal or English breakfast, cell health supplements that contain all the essential phytonutrients your body needs can help you avoid the dreaded post-lunch stupor you fall into because your body is overwhelmed with calories.
Any breakfast is better than no breakfast.
Myth No. 2: "You shouldn't fill up before a workout."
At least this nutrition myth might be based in a little measure of fact. While stuffing yourself with junk food five minutes before a trip to the gym certainly won't help you break any personal records on the treadmill, avoiding nutrients entirely just because you're going to exercise is just as bad.
When you work out on an empty stomach, your cells are still generating energy. However, without glucose and other phytonutrients from food to convert into the power you use to run and lift weights, your cells will start pulling from other places, namely, your muscles.
That's right: When you fast before going to the gym, your body will actually start to break down muscle tissue to keep you supplied with energy. After all, your cells don't know you're actually trying to get fitter, so when the call for more power comes in from the brain, they'll pull from wherever they can to keep everything moving.
A small, protein-rich meal or a specially formulated cell health supplement can do the pre-workout nutrition job just as well.
Myth No. 3: "You've got to detox if you want to get truly healthy."
The detox movement has picked up steam in recent years as it's been parroted by TV and Internet health gurus as the only defense against the millions of toxins embedded in processed and mass manufactured food. And while there's not many good things to say about stuffing your face with sodium- and fat-laden foods, there's even less to say about starving yourself on wheatgrass juice for a month.
The human body is actually pretty good at cleaning itself of harmful toxins from time to time. Whole organs like the liver and kidneys are devoted to making sure only the right phytonutrients make it to the cells throughout your system. That means that as long as you keep your body fueled with the nutrients found in cell health supplements, there's no need to go on a lengthy and painful detox just so you can claim to feel more energized in the morning.
If you want to get serious about proper cell nutrition, there's no need to throw your lot in with all the fad diets and myths that pop up every few years. Instead, it's all about providing your cells with the basic phytonutrients they need. From there, a balanced diet and the occasional run will take care of everything else.
