Common Sense Nutrition Facts That Aren’t Common

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9. Never Trust Health Claims on Food Packages

As we touched on earlier, labeling laws are pretty lax in the US. Food manufacturers know this. They also pay attention to the trends and play on that. When Americans were looking for low fat foods, suddenly everything had a low fat label. Now, foods are being marketed as gluten free, whole grain, and GMO free. Many times, they are none of those things. For example, a recent test done by Consumer Reports found plenty of GMO corn in packages of corn chips clearly labeled GMO free. You can even find the words “whole grain” on packages of chocolate covered children’s cereal. Junk food is still junk food, no matter what kind of label you put on it. In fact, if a food has to announce in large letters that it is healthy, it probably isn’t.

10. Eggs Are Healthy

They really are! In fact, eggs are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet! Eggs were demonized starting in the 60’s when it was discovered that the yolk contains high levels of cholesterol. New studies prove, however, that eggs (or any food high in cholesterol) have any effect on blood cholesterol levels or heart disease. Almost all the nutrition in eggs (and there is a whole lot in there) can be found in the yolk, which most people avoid. Big mistake, folks! You can safely eat three or four eggs every single day so why not have some for breakfast tomorrow?

11. Junk Food is Addictive

Wow, has food ever changed over the past 100 years. Our bodies haven’t, but food sure has. We are eating more processed and junk foods than ever before. Why? Because food engineers and scientists have found ways to make their foods super rewarding to our brain centers, so we get flooded with dopamine every time we eat.

This means our brains react to junk foods the same way it would react to drugs. The more we eat, the more we want. This is the reason why many people find they can’t stop their consumption of junk foods and why regular food seems so “blah.” Many studies have shown that junk foods and drugs stimulate the same areas of the brain. Find out how to stop junk food cravings.

12. Sodas Are One of the Worst Diet Culprits

Added sugar is a nutrition disaster that no one will deny, however, getting your sugar in liquid form is the worst way you can consume it. Liquid sugars, such as those in soft drinks, do not even register with your brain as calories consumed. Therefore, you eat more calories overall. Of all the poor food choices out there, sodas must be one of the worst culprits of all. Most sodas are filled with high fructose corn syrup, which your liver can only metabolize a little at a time; therefore, most of it is simply stored as belly fat or as fat inside the liver. If you only want to make one healthy change this year, stop drinking sodas.

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