Fact: Aerobic exercise is a way to burn fat, but it’s not the best. The best way to burn fat is through a combination of strength training (lifting weights), aerobic exercise (cardio), and anaerobic exercise (sprints, intervals, etc.). Accumulate at least five hours of combined activity and follow a sensible diet and you will lose weight. Tip: Do your cardio after strength training. This will increase the fat burning effects of your cardio and help prevent injury by not lifting weights with tired muscles.
Myth: If it’s natural or organic, it’s healthy.
Fact: Natural and organic versions of junk foods like cookies, ice cream, and candy will still make you fat and will still contribute to diabetes and heart disease. Also, there are plenty of natural and organic plants and fungi found in nature that can make you sick or even kill you. Also, there are numerous synthetic substances that can improve your health and save your life (just because it’s synthetic doesn’t mean it’s bad).
Myth: If it’s vegetarian or vegan, it’s healthy.
Fact: Unhealthy foods are unhealthy, whether they’re vegan, vegetarian, all natural, free range, organic, unprocessed, local, or seasonal. Many vegetarian foods – like veggie burgers – are highly processed combinations of soy, wheat gluten, binders, and flavorings. Notice the lack of actual vegetables in the ingredients for a popular veggie burger:
Ingredients: Water, soy protein concentrate, reduced fat cheddar cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, annatto (color), vitamin A palmitate), wheat gluten, corn oil, contains less than 2% of: methylcellulose, hydrolyzed corn protein, wheat gluten and soy protein, salt, caramel color, cheese powder (cheddar cheese (milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes) cream, salt, sodium phosphate, lactic acid), dried onions, yeast extract, natural flavor (non-meat), sesame oil, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, browned in corn oil.
Myth: Cleansing eliminates toxins from the body.
Fact: Generally, we don’t recommend using products that may or may not eliminate ambiguous, undefined “toxins” from your body that may or may not actually be in your body and that may or may not also eliminate good things from your body like vitamins and minerals. As well, there is no evidence that cleansing can treat or cure any diseases or illnesses or even improve your health. On top of that, our bodies have innate detoxification systems – the liver and kidneys – that are very good at eliminating wastes. There are toxic substances like heavy metals and pesticides that can accumulate in tissues, but the only way to know which ones are excessive is to have levels tested, and the only way to effectively eliminate them is with specific therapies.
Myth: Reducing sodium intake can prevent and treat hypertension.
Fact: If you’re at risk of hypertension – like if you have a family history of it – or currently have hypertension, reducing sodium intake can help. Otherwise, it probably won’t have a benefit.