8 Health Lies to Ditch

Well-meaning people have told you health lies that are damaging to your health. You might have actually told some yourself! Have you ever told anyone breakfast was the most important meal of the day or that milk does a body good? Let’s take a look at some of those common health lies so we can ditch them and set the stage for health.

Eight Common Health Lies

1- Eating Eggs Leads to High Cholesterol

Cholesterol is not a bad guy that’s an intruder in your body. It’s not there because you are eating too much cholesterol- it’s there because you need it. You can’t eat so much cholesterol that your cholesterol levels will go up significantly. If your cholesterol goes up there is a physical reason why because it is there to help your body heal. Anyone with chronic inflammation, stress, hormonal imbalances, autoimmune issues, leaky gut and many other health issues NEED higher cholesterol levels to heal.

Only 10-20% of the cholesterol in your body is associated to diet and exercise. 80+% is made by the liver. Multiple studies have even shown that dietary cholesterol does not increase coronary artery disease. (1) (2) (3) That’s why researchers are calling for guidelines to be reconsidered. (4) Cholesterol is high because the body is under stress or there is some major hormonal deficiency. Learn more about cholesterol levels and what they really mean.

2- Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day

You’ve probably heard that old adage, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We’ve all heard it and believed it for years. Well, you don’t need to eat breakfast to be healthy and for many people its healthier not to. Skipping breakfast can be a great way to incorporate intermittent fasting into your health strategy. Some studies have shown skipping breakfast for some adults is an effective way to reduce calorie intake. (5)

Breakfast can be a good choice of a meal to cut out because the typical modern breakfast choices are detrimental to our health. Breakfast is usually cereals, sugars, carbs, bagels, cream cheese and choices that set you up for failure. When the first thing you put in your mouth is garbage, it basically sets your blood sugar level off on this wild roller coaster ride all day with lots of sugar cravings. Skipping breakfast is OK and can be a healthy way to incorporate intermittent fasting.

3- Sensitivities are Not Allergies

Allergies are sensitivities and those “sensitivities” are allergies. People get confused and think an IgE response, which can lead to anaphylaxis, is the only type of allergy. They think that other reactions to food are just sensitivities. That’s not the case- all allergies are a hypersensitive response from the body caused by exposure to an antigen.

Because of the misunderstanding of allergies, many only test for an IgE response. IgE responses only account for 1% of the immune response. Does that sound like enough to understand your immune system?

On the other hand, IgG represents 70% of the immune response and those symptoms like fatigue, excess weight, acne, eczema and more can indicate chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can lead to serious illness like cancer, auto-immune disease, and heart disease. There is a lot of evidence that chronic inflammation predisposes you to cancer and the longer you have that inflammation the higher the risk. Unfortunately, there can be some confusion about the symptoms because the reaction can be delayed up to 72 hours. Want to learn more about allergies or get your allergies tested? We can help!

4- Soy, Dairy, and Wheat are Health Foods

When you think of health foods you might think of soy, dairy and wheat products. Milk does a body good, right!?! Wrong! These are some of the most inflammatory foods and they make up the majority of the food pyramid along with a significant portion of the average daily calorie intake of the American diet. How’s that working for us?

Cancer, heart disease, and other chronic diseases are on the rise. Inflammatory foods and allergies can contribute to…., you guessed it, inflammation! Is it worth it if it robs your health? Learn more about inflammation.

5- Birth Control Pills Can Balance Your Hormones

They don’t balance anything! Birth control hormones disrupt your whole system. Birth control itself is an endocrine disruptor. It disrupts your hormones. When you start taking birth control pills you are giving your body synthetic hormones, so your body stops making them itself.

This means your hormones are controlled synthetically, and the body’s production of hormones goes to menopausal levels. This doesn’t help your body function. It keeps your body from normal function. This sets your body up for problems now and even more problems down the road. It sets you up to be very sick. Think fertility problems and cancer. No thanks, birth control pill.

6- Salt is Bad for You

The bad salt myth was based on a study from the 1980’s that was flawed in its analysis of the data. Other research shows us a different story- one where salt is really important for your health. A study looked at over 130,000 people from 49 countries and found that a low salt diet may increase the risk of heart disease and death. This was the same for both those with and without high blood pressure. (6)

Low salt intake actually increases the risk of heart attack by 430%. It has also been shown that 27% of patients with sodium levels lower than 135 mmol/L had congestive heart failure. Looks like salt is important for maintaining a healthy heart.

Salt (the good salt) is needed for nervous system function, heart health, supporting adrenal glands, hydration and more. Learn more about how and why to choose salt – It’s Good to Be Salty.

7- Diet Soda is Better for You

Many might think if they drink diet instead of regular soda that they will lose weight, but the studies don’t support that. (7) There are numerous studies that actually link artificial sweeteners like aspartame to weight gain and belly fat. Artificial sweeteners mess with how your body regulates itself by affecting resting metabolic rate, your gut environment, and blood glucose. This can lead to a belly roll without the calories.

One study observed 475 adults for 10 years and found drinking diet soda resulted in a 70% increase in waist circumference compared to those who didn’t. What!!??!! Why would anyone drink diet soda? Drinking two or more diet sodas per day led to a 500% bigger waist! (8) Aspartame has also been linked to diabetes, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and cancer. (9) Don’t think you are off the hook with regular soda- both diet and regular soda are bad for you and contain no nutritional value!

8- The Body is Genetically Programmed for Disease

Have you, or has anyone you love, been told they were sick because of genetics. It’s just the way the body was made? Our bodies were not programmed for disease, they were programmed for homeostasis, or balance. We need to change the way we look at health and illness. We need to start treating the body for health.

The reason why we will never reduce the rates of cancer, heart disease, autism or any chronic illness is because we, as a society, are thinking totally wrong. The premise that we are genetically programmed for these diseases is the biggest fallacy that exists. When we get sick its because we are not helping the body meet its needs for optimal health.

Are you giving your body the nutrients and lifestyle to support a body in optimal health? We need to be setting the body up for health to avoid disease; not treating disease to get health. Want to know more? Check out Dr. Flynn’s article.

Ditch the Common Health Lies

Knowing is half the battle and now its time to make changes to improve your health. After reading do you have any changes to make or know anybody else who does? You can enjoy those eggs and add some salt while you are at it! Maybe now you notice some symptoms that make you want to get your allergies tested or make you want to ditch that birth control. Well-meaning health lies can keep you from optimal health. It’s easier to be healthy when we ditch the health lies.