Rania Batayneh, MPH: 4 Myths That May Be Affecting Your Waistline

Rania Batayneh, MPH: 4 Myths That May Be Affecting Your Waistline

Every day, we are tempted to try another weight loss product or fad diet. In fact, daily, we engage in thoughts that may not be conducive to our weight-loss goals. These thoughts are communicated to us via media and what celebrities do to lose weight, or by manufacturers who want us to continue to buy their products. In my practice, I am debunking myths and setting the record straight. Here, I am sharing with your four diet myths that may be doing more harm than good.

• 1. A Gluten-Free Diet Will Help Me Lose Weight

  Due to the recent onslaught of media stories showcasing celebrities who have lost weight and claim they did so because of a gluten-free diet, many people believe that removing gluten from their diet will automatically lead to weight loss. A gluten-free diet isn't necessarily healthier: If you simply replace processed, gluten-containing foods with processed, gluten-free foods, you're still consuming just as many calories, fat, and sugars in the form of refined carbohydrates. In some cases, you may be consuming more calories: Food manufacturers add in fats and sugars to replace the loss of texture and taste that gluten provides. However, switching to a gluten-free diet when medically necessary can be healthy, if you replace processed carbs with beans, legumes, vegetables, and other whole foods. Otherwise, enjoy your whole-grain sandwich.

• 2. Products That Are Labeled "Reduced-Fat" Or "Fat-Free" Are More Nutritious Than Their Original Counterparts

  Foods that have been modified to become fat-free or reduced-fat might seem more nutritious than their original form. If you take out the fat, you take out some excess calories, and you get virtually the same product, right? Let's compare one brand's regular peanut butter to their reduced-fat version: Per two tablespoons, the regular version has 190 calories, 16 grams of fat, and three grams of sugar. Their reduced-fat version has 190 calories, 12 grams of fat, and four grams of sugar. Essentially, the reduced-fat version has been stripped of one quarter of its healthy monounsaturated fats, and to replace that flavor, the brand has added in fillings, additives, and sugar. And all for the same amount of calories! Picking reduced-fat products may even end up hurting your waistline: In one study, average-weight participants ate 22 percent more calories if the food was labeled "low-fat," and overweight participants ate <a href="http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/weight-loss/busting-10-diet-myths-10000001700385/page10.html" target="_hplink">up to 50 percent more</a>. Stick to the full-fat versions to retain the healthy benefits of peanuts and their monounsaturated fats: increased satiety and a decreased risk of heart disease and diabetes (and avoid those empty fillers!).

• 3. Organic Or Natural Foods Are More Nutritious

  In one study, two groups were asked to rate the nutritional value and sensory attributes of the same cookie; one groups' cookies were labeled as organic, whereas the other groups' cookies had no label. The participants whose cookies were labeled as organic estimated that their cookies contained <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-04/cfb-cl042810.php" target="_hplink">40 percent fewer calories</a>, had significantly more fiber, and were more appetizing than other brands. Trigger words like "organic," "natural" and "local" promote misconceptions about the true nutritional value of a food, and can give otherwise junk food a "health halo." A cookie is a cookie, even if it's made with organic grains, cage-free eggs, and local honey -- and it still contains calories, fat, and sugars!

• 4. Diet Soda Is Harmless

  The nutritional panel on a diet soda reads all zeros: zero calories, zero sugars, zero fat. These numbers have led many weight-conscious Americans to switch from regular soda to diet soda - it's an easy way to cut out <a href="http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/focus/" target="_hplink">over a dozen teaspoons</a> of excess sugar a day (per drink!). Statistics tell us that diet sodas may not be so friendly to your waistline, however: A University of Texas study found that people who drank three or more diet sodas per week have a <a href="http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/print-list/186379" target="_hplink">40 percent greater chance</a> of being obese. Experts believe this oddity is due to the fact that artificial sweeteners tend to trigger your appetite -- making you want more and more sugar -- but without actually satisfying a desire for sweets like normal sugar does. Diet-soda-drinkers end up eating tons of sugary and fatty snacks in order to satisfy their cravings. Diet sodas are also often loaded with additives, including caramel coloring. Although it sounds harmless, this caramel coloring is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites, resulting in <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/05/news/la-heb-cola-cancer-20120305" target="_hplink">2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole</a> -- two compounds that have been found to cause lung, liver, and thyroid cancers in mice. Gradually wean yourself off the diet soda by switching to fruit juice mixed with seltzer, and eventually switch entirely to water flavored with fresh fruit and green tea.

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