Food Myths
As British scientists found, the daily consumption of milk promotes the preservation of a healthy heart.
Found that the milk contains chemical elements that do not allow the development of so-called metabolic syndrome, which increases the concentration of cholesterol increases the pressure and promotes the deposition of excess fat. According to the head of research Professor Peter Elwood, the daily use up to half a liter of milk leads to significant improvement in cardiac performance.
Meanwhile, in the last 20 years, consumption of milk in Europe fell sharply amid fears that it contains too much fat. And this is just one of the myths associated with milk and dairy products. They are generated by either ignorance, or the contradictory reports of scientists.
There is a perception that milk and dairy products are useful only in its infancy.
In fact, milk and dairy products are suitable for many people throughout their lives from birth to death. But some people active enzyme digestion of the milk sugar, falls, and in rare cases, the body can not completely split by the enzymes of the milk sugar. In the first case of raw milk should go to molochnokiclye products or dairy products with low lactose content, and the second – for dairy products without lactose.
Is the opposite assertion – a man can live with in your diet only milk and nothing else. In fact, long eating only one food makes the food-sided and monotonous. There could be problems with lack of fiber and micronutrients, also changes the microflora of the digestive tract.
Champions of the number of conflicting reviews among the products – salt and sugar. They in turn were called “white death”.
One of the components of salt – sodium. Excess sodium in the diet can harm the health, in particular to increase the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease and stroke.
American Journal of Epidemiology published an article under which excess salt in food dramatically negative impact on his vision and, moreover, greatly increases the risk of cataracts.
But at the same time, the U.S. has published details of another study conducted by the American doctor Michael Alderman. In his view, restricting the use of salt, much less a complete rejection of her leads to the fact that a person not only finds himself in an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but also has a much greater chance of dying from a sudden heart attack or stroke. The reason for this is an imbalance of sodium in the body, namely sodium ensures the normal functioning of cells. The complete rejection of salt intake leads to disruption of the activity of nerve cells, reduced insulin production, as well as increase in blood renin (a hormone that causes spasms of the capillaries and blood clots) and, therefore, again to increase the risk of death from a heart attack.
The impact of salt in combination with other foods on the human body can be so complex that to consider separately the influence of “white death” for him will never succeed.
The second-highest number of conflicting reviews is sugar.
Sucrose – a pure carbohydrate that the body is split into glucose and fructose and is rapidly absorbed into the blood. In nature, an alternative to sugar is honey, melon, grapes, watermelons, pineapples, and in the chemical industry – sugar substitutes. But honey is much more expensive than sugar, and chemical substitutes are not applied everywhere, and mostly for people with diabetes.
Some scientists, doctors and nutritionists argue that refined sugar as a drug, it is easily absorbed by our body, which leads to increased demand for it. Increased consumption of sugar and all kinds of sweets can lead in turn to a set of excess weight, diabetes and hypertension. Sugar is bad for teeth because bacteria contained in the human oral cavity, transforms it into acids that destroy tooth enamel and contribute to the development of caries.
Nutritionists advise to replace sugar with natural sweet substances – fructose, glucose, sucrose, found in most fruits, vegetables, honey and berries. Another part of the scientists tend to assume that the lack of sugar affects the development of entire tribes and nations. Indigenous Australians, for example, did not get out of their forests juicy sugary fruit and wild honey they lacked.
At the same time the sugar has long recognized as the best source of energy for our body. This battery power, intellect, memory, endurance. Value of pluses and minuses is that the consumption of sugar should observe the principle of “golden mean”, acting and eating chocolate, in which it is contained.
Chocolate, who had once been expensive and rare product, too, is surrounded by myths.
It is true that it has a stimulating effect: it contains theobromine and caffeine act on the cardiovascular and nervous systems, carbohydrates provide readily accessible and easily combustible energy, and fat contained in cocoa butter, digested slowly and provide energy over a long time. But caffeine, contrary to popular belief, chocolate is not so much – 30 m g per plate, while a cup of coffee – 180 mg. And yet at night chocolate is better not to have – the stimulative effect after its use still occurs.
Chocolate good for the heart and blood vessels: contained in the cocoa bean polyphenols positively affect the cardiovascular system. They contribute to more effective blood flow, thereby reducing the load on the heart. There is also the view that cocoa improves the immune system. Contained in chocolate the cocoa butter wrapped in protective film on the teeth and protects them from destruction, so that can not be said that chocolate is bad for your teeth. But for therapeutic purposes is better to use only high-quality varieties of dark chocolate because milk mineral content of cocoa beans less.
The theory that chocolate can act as an antidepressant, is rooted in a belief if the dependence of chocolate is associated with a deficit of serotonin, but Australian researchers have found no support for this hypothesis.
“The truth is that chocolate acts on the same neurological system as serotonin. But you must eat chocolate truck before you feel an effect equivalent to one pill antidepressant – says Professor Gordon Parker.
There are even opinions that chocolate can increase depression.
Recently disproved many myths about coffee, which was previously considered the cause of such ailments as insomnia, heart disease, and osteomalacia.
Now scientifically confirmed that coffee has a calming effect during stress, activates the metabolism in muscle and energy production. Caffeine stimulates the respiratory center of the brain and enhances pulmonary vesicles, as a balm for asthmatics. Japanese doctors found that regular breaks for a cup of coffee more than half reduces the risk of liver cancer. Those who regularly drink coffee, is also much less likely to suffer from Parkinson’s disease. And he who loves sweet coffee, can rejoice doubly: sweet coffee makes it very straightforward. Experiments in 5200 by the Danes in Copenhagen, Finn Gyuntelberg from the hospital “Bispeberg” came to the conclusion that the risk to correct for the subjects who used the coffee of sugar was 40% lower than in those who abandon it.
With regard to insomnia, then not used to a cup of coffee at night and can deprive a night of rest, but at the coffee lovers, it will just yawn.
Swiss cardiologist Roberto Corti, a comparative study of the effect exerted by the usual coffee, decaffeinated coffee and pure caffeine on the autonomic nervous system, those who regularly drink coffee, and those who use it on occasion.
The scientist concluded that although the coffee people are excited and nervous system, but the pressure remains the same. Quite different is the case with those who drink coffee regularly: it is quite likely have to contend with high blood pressure, even if they drink decaffeinated coffee.