World Health Day: The 10 biggest food and nutrition myths busted

There is a lot of (mis)information available freely with regard to food and diet. Contradictory messages about nutrition, dieting and exercise end up confusing nearly everyone. On World Health Day, nutritionist and fitness expert Samreedhi Goel, who runs Size Wise, a Mumbai-based exercise studio, clears the air. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Go fat-free to lose weight: Eating bland, tasteless and ‘fatless’ food is NOT the way to lose weight. Some amount of fat everyday is a must to keep your system healthy. Totally going off fat can actually make your body more efficient when it comes to converting and storing extra calories as fat. (Photo: pixabay.com)

Go carb-free to lose weight: ‘Fat in the body burns in the flame of carbs’, so goes an old saying. Complex carbs in small portions through the day can help you efficiently burn body fat and lose weight. (Photo: Thinkstock)

Eating sugar causes diabetes: You get diabetes when your body cannot produce enough insulin to control blood sugar levels. Staying inactive and being overweight as you grow older puts you at risk of getting diabetes.(Photo: Thinkstock)

Eating egg yolk leads to high cholesterol levels: It is true that egg yolks contain cholesterol, but they also provide your day’s requirement of selenium, folate and and Vitamin B12. So if your cholesterol levels are under control, eating egg yolks a few times a week is perfectly all right. (Photo: pixabay.com)

Green tea burns fat: Green tea provides antioxidants, which can boost your overall immunity and benefit your skin. There is no proven link between drinking green tea and fat loss. (Photo: YouTube grab)

Drinking warm water with lime helps lose weight: If the same were indeed true there would be no overweight person on this planet. In fact, having lime first thing in the morning could actually harm tooth enamel. (Photo: Thinkstock)

To lose weight, focus more on dieting than exercise: A balanced, junk-free diet and exercise are equally important when it comes to weight-loss. One does not work without the other. (Photo: arlenepellicane.com)

You can binge on fat-free and low fat food: First of all, there is no such thing as ‘fat-free’, especially when we are talking about stuff you can pick up at the supermarket. Since these almost always lack in taste, food makers end up adding more sugar and additives into them, and that can affect your health in the long run. If you are focusing on cutting down on fat, make sure you get enough good fats. (Photo: Thinkstock)

Drink water only if you are thirsty: Sipping water through the day is a better idea than waiting until you are thirsty. (Photo: pixabay.com)

Avoid potatoes, rice and pasta: Again, food rich in carbohydrates do not necessarily make you fat. It’s not the potatoes or pasta by themselves that are to blame; it’s what how we have them that counts. So jacket potatoes are fine, but obviously not French fries. (Photo: pixabay.com)