5 Food Myths About Healthy Eating Debunked | Indigo Inspired Blog

Change how you think about food and healthy eating with registered dietitian and Good Food, Bad Diet author Abby Langer.

By Amy Grief

Healthy eating is more than kale and green juice—it’s about developing a good relationship with food. That ethos guides registered dietitian and debut author Abby Langer. In her book, Good Food, Bad Diet, she shares her more than two decades’ worth of nutrition expertise, pushing us to think beyond fad diets to embrace the joy of eating and nourishing our bodies.

Whether you read her highly digestible book or follow her on Instagram, you’ll quickly fall for Langer’s approachable, no B.S. attitude toward wellness and healthy eating. Here are five food myths she debunks so you can stop worrying and eat better in 2021.

1. Myth: You should eat clean

Langer says we need to stop ascribing moral value to what we eat—we’re not “good” if we eat salad and “bad” if we help ourselves to a slice a cake. Food is food, she stresses—no foods are clean or dirty. This type of thinking can be toxic, and it takes the joy out of eating. “It's all total garbage,” says Langer. “You really need to also understand how these things impact your ability to live life to its fullest.”

2. Myth: All fats are bad

According to Langer, a healthy diet contains a variety of fats. This includes saturated fats (in meat and dairy) and unsaturated or “good” fats found in olive oil, avocado, nuts, and fish. “A healthy diet has a whole variety of those fats,” says Langer. “If you try to pick apart your diet and take away what we consider to be bad, for example, like saturated fat, it's just going to be crazy making.” However, try to limit trans fatty acids, which are commonly found in packaged baked goods and fried foods.

3. Myth: Unrefined sugars are healthier than white sugar

Try not to obsess over what form of sugar you’re eating—be it refined sugar (like white, or granulated, sugar), or unrefined sweeteners, such as maple syrup or honey. “Your body recognizes sugar as sugar. Whether or not it's refined or unrefined, it doesn't matter. You don't eat sugar for the nutrients." The key is to enjoy sweets is moderation.

4. Myth: Eating soy can cause breast cancer

There are a lot of rumblings around soy—that it can cause men to develop breasts and increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. “There is no evidence that soy causes cancer,” says Langer. “And in order to have estrogenic effects, you need to consume such a large quantity for men. Soy is actually really healthy,” she continues, noting some studies have shown that a diet that includes soy foods (and the phytoestrogens they contain) might be linked with a decreased risk of cancer for women. Best of all, soy-based foods, like tofu, are an inexpensive and easy-to-prepare source of protein. (You can eat tofu straight out of the package.)

5. Myth: Green juice can detox or alkalize your body

Green juice is an undeniably refreshing beverage. But don’t expect that $12 bottle to detoxify your body or impact your pH. “Our body cleanses itself,” says Langer. “You can't alkalize your body with any kind of food. And honestly, just eat your greens because they contain the fibre that the juice does not.” Most green juices contain vitamins and minerals, so think of it as a complement to your meals, not a healthy-eating panacea.