Myth: Processed food is less nutritious than raw food

While fresh apples and crisp green salads are a delight to eat, the idea that all raw foods are implicitly healthier than processed food is not so. Food which is canned, dried, frozen or cooked is not necessarily lower in nutritional value. In fact these processes help to extend shelf life, make food safer and in some cases can actually improve its nutritional quality. For example, the beta-carotene in canned carrots is more available to the body than that fresh ones and fresh peas, which have been harvested and frozen immediately, have more vitamin C than peas that have been stored at room temperature for a few days before consumption.

Myth: Sugar causes diabetes

When sugar is consumed the hormone insulin is required to bring blood sugar levels back down to normal. Diabetes is caused through a lack of insulin, not an excess of sugar in the diet. Once someone has diabetes it is important to manage the frequency and amount of eating and the types of carbohydrate, including sugar, consumed to allow the body to maintain good blood sugar control.

Myth: Missing meals helps you lose weight

Research shows that missing meals can actually lead to an over-compensation and increased food consumption at the next meal. The result can be a gain, not loss in weight. Not only that, when a meal is missed, the body makes up for lost energy by conserving what you have already eaten and slowing up your metabolism.

Myth: Preservatives are bad for you

Not true. Without preservatives our food chain would be not be as safe as it is today. Nitrates and nitrites used in processed meats protect against the deadly Clostridium botulinum, bacteria while mould inhibitors used in cereals help to stop the growth of potential carcinogens that could otherwise lead to stomach cancer. If a preservative has an E number, far from being undesirable, this means it is approved for safe use in food.

Myth: It is bad to eat between meals

Most people feel like eating something every 3 - 4 hours to avoid becoming too hungry. Dividing your calories into three meals and two or three snacks instead of three large meals can help to keep you well fuelled throughout the day and lessen the chances of over eating when meal times come around. Depending on what you choose, snacks can also make significant contributions to the day’s total intake of vital vitamins and minerals.

Myth: You can not digest more than one type of food at a time

There is no scientific proof that the human body needs to separate out protein and carbohydrate foods at different meals because it can not cope with digesting them together. This idea of ‘food combining’ came originally from work at the end of the 1800’s by Dr William Hay and has been popularised through various food combining diet books published over the last ten years. Humans have one stomach and a medium-length gut which makes us omnivores and quite capable of handling for example, a steak (protein and fat) and potatoes (carbohydrate) at the same meal.

Myth: To lose weight, become a vegetarian

As with most styles of eating, whether you eat meat or choose to exclude all animal products from your diet, the particular food choices you make determine whether the diet is high, low or well balanced as far as calories are concerned. Many vegetarian foods such as vegetarian cheeses and margarine, nuts, seeds and pastry made from flour and vegetarian spreads are relatively high in fat. If you concentrate on these without balancing them out with starchy carbohydrates such as bread, rice, pasta, other cereals, fruits and vegetables, you could find that your weight actually starts to creep up, not down. Simply becoming a vegetarian is not a guaranteed fast route to weight loss. Always read the label for nutritional information (on energy and fat per serving/100 grams).

Myth: A fat free diet is good for you

A completely fat free diet is virtually impossible to achieve and is certainly not good for you. Dietary fats are needed to carry fat soluble vitamins such as X, D, E, and K. Also, a group of nutrients called essential fatty acids, found in plant and fish oils, are absolutely crucial for health. They are needed by every cell membrane in our body to help make them watertight and are vital for the functioning not only of the brain, but also for controlling the production of prostaglandins, hormone-like substances that control several functions all over the body. Research has shown that they are be able to dampen down symptoms of inflammatory problems like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and to be important in the health or our heart and joints.

Myth: You need less food in hot weather than when it is cold

As the temperature outside rises, your appetite may decrease. Even if you do not feel hungry you still need to eat because you need as much energy to perspire and stay cool as you did to stay warm. If you do find yourself eating less and your health will not suffer from losing a little weight over the summer months, then be sure that you still get your full quota of essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals packed in the food you do eat and that you drink at least 2 litres of liquid a day.

Myth: It is always better for you to eat vegetables raw

Some pulses such as red kidney beans contain natural toxicants which, if the beans are not cooked properly, can lead to diarrhoea and sickness. Boiling them for twenty minutes renders the toxins harmless and makes this nutritious food safe to eat. Butter beans or lima beans similarly contain cyanide that would be dangerous if eaten raw, but again is destroyed making them safe to eat when cooked. Other vegetables like potatoes would be indigestible if eaten raw while some such as like broccoli appear to lose some of their bitterness when cooked. Cooking carrots or tomatoes helps to release substances called carotenoids and lycopenes so the body can absorb them more easily. These 'antioxidants' have been shown to be good for our health.