Busting six top health myths

Nope, we’re not going to talk about sex, lies, and videotape here. It seems everybody’s talking about that, it’s coming out of our ears. We have no Hayden agenda, we simply want to bare the lies, half-truths, and myths that have persisted or been perpetuated through the years.

According to health activist Dr. Joseph Mercola with Rachael Droege, believe or not, there are tons of health information being circulated by media, it’s difficult to separate what is credible from what is not. And some of this information that has been accepted as gospel truth by many experts and health care practitioners are actually myths.

Mercola gives us this friendly advice, “Your health really depends on your own ability to sort through all of the information and pick out what is reliable. Unfortunately, you often cannot rely on the ‘popular’ opinions to give you the best results.”

And now, here are the top six health myths and the facts, according to Dr. Mercola.

1. Myth: Saturated fat causes heart disease.

Fact: Separating fat from fiction, Dr. Mercola stresses that it is not the saturated fat in the foods we eat that is giving us heart disease, but rather — and much more — it is the excess carbohydrates from our starch- and sugar-laden diet that are making us fat and unhealthy, as well as causing epidemic levels of a host of diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Then there are the trans fats, which raise bad cholesterol in the blood, a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Mercola explains, “The reason why many people have not succeeded with the original diet-heart hypothesis that says a low-fat, high-carb diet is the best diet for the heart is likely explained by metabolic typing. We each have one of three nutritional types and each suits people to a different type of diet. Some people will benefit from a “high”-carb program that is two-thirds carbs as vegetables, while others need to follow a diet that is higher in protein to function optimally.”

2. Myth: Low-fat diets are healthy.

Fact: Fat chance. Our body cannot function properly without adequate amounts of fat —from blood clotting to vitamin absorption to brain function. Which is why a low-fat diet can be dangerous. Among the dangers are: It raises bad (LDL) cholesterol; won’t prevent prostate cancer; can increase risk of injury; increases triglyceride (a type of fat found in the blood that’s important to good health); won’t prevent prostate cancer; can increase risk of injury; may increase risk of stroke; worsens heartburn; denies children essential nutrients.

What makes low-fat diets harmful is the fact that people tend to replace the fats with grains and sugars. “If vegetables were substituted instead, then it is far less likely that there would be a problem,” asserts Mercola.

He adds, “Also, many people have adopted low-fat diets as a way to lower their cholesterol. Not only are low-fat diets not the key to lowering cholesterol, as mentioned above, they may actually raise bad cholesterol. But low cholesterol does not necessarily mean good health. For instance, low cholesterol is linked to many problems including aggressive behavior, depression, suicide, and stroke.

 Yes, we all need some beneficial fats in our diet to stay healthy and avoiding fat like the plague and striking it out of our diet is a prescription for disaster, says Mercola.

3. Myth: Sun causes skin cancer.

Fact: It’s probably the hottest — and one of the most inaccurate myths — going around. We all need sunshine to stay healthy. Although sun exposure can cause skin cancer, appropriate sunlight actually prevents cancer. Exposure to the sun provides many other benefits such as promoting the formation of vitamin D. There’s also strong evidence that sunlight protects against MS and colon, ovarian, and breast cancers.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can expose yourself to the sun as much as you want. Here’s Dr. Mercola’s bright prescription: “At the beginning of the season, go out gradually and limit your exposure to perhaps as little as 10 minutes a day. Progressively increase your time in the sun so that in a few weeks, you will be able to have normal sun exposure with little risk of skin cancer. Remember to never get burned, that is the key.”

He cautions everyone, “Using sunscreen is not a good way to limit your sun exposure; in fact, sunscreen is one of the last things you want to put on your body, and sunblock does not stop skin cancer. Sunscreen is a toxic chemical that can cause problems in your system and increase your risk of disease. A far more logical solution would be to creatively use your clothing to block the sun’s rays during your build-up time. Additionally, consuming many whole vegetables will increase antioxidant levels in the body, which will provide protection against any sun-induced radiation damage. If you are interested in preventing disease by way of the sun, I cannot urge you strongly enough to read the book that I am calling one of the most important health books of all-time, The Healing Sun by Dr. Richard Hobday.”

4. Myth: Milk does the body good.

Fact: Commercial pasteurized milk is not a health food and should be avoided. The problem lies in the pasteurization process, combined with the source of largely unhealthy cows. When milk is pasteurized, the structure of the milk proteins changes (denaturization) into something far less than healthy.

Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation says it best: Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease, and cancer.

Take note, says Mercola: Raw milk sours naturally, but pasteurized milk turns putrid and processors must remove slime and pus from pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal clarification.

What’s so sad is the fact that milk is one of the healthiest foods available prior to its being

5. Myth: Fish is good for you.

Fact: Of course, fish is one of the healthiest meats on the planet as it is loaded with beneficial omega-3 fats, but the sad truth is fish (and shellfish) easily accumulate high levels of chemical residues from the water they live in. Residues in fish can be as much as nine million times the amount found in the water!

Some of the contaminants found in fish flesh are mercury; PCBs; radioactive substances like strontium, toxin metals like cadmium and lead.

But it’s okay to eat very small fish like anchovies and sardines as they are small enough to have minimal contamination.

6. Myth: Whole grains are good for you.

Fact: The whole truth is that while we agree that whole grains are better than refined grains, whole grains are still not something that most people should be eating, says Mercola.

Mercola gives the facts and figures: “Well over 75 percent of Americans would benefit from severely limiting or eliminating all grains — refined, whole, sprouted or otherwise — from their diets. This is because nearly everyone with high insulin levels benefits from avoiding grains; yes, even whole grains. People in this group would be anyone who is or has: overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.”

Now you know the real meat vis-a-vis these myths.–Ching M. Alano, Philippine Star

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