Zoë Harcombe: Battling to lose weight? 12 top diet myths that keep you fat – busted!

Do you believe that to lose weight, you just have to eat less, and exercise more? That you must avoid saturated fat like the plague, because it clogs your arteries and causes heart disease? That meat is bad, carbs are good, and you should eat at least five-a-day fruit and veg? These are among many diet myths that make you fatter and sicker, and contribute to the obesity and Type 2 epidemics across the globe, says top British nutrition specialist, author, and obesity researcher Zoë Harcombe. She demolishes those and other myths in her brilliant little book, 20 Diet Myths – Busted (see details below). Here, she gives 12 of those myths in bite-size. MS

Myth No 1: Energy in equals energy out

Diet advisors love to say “energy in equals energy out”, and “you can’t change the laws of the universe.” They clearly don’t know what the laws say. There are four laws of the universe. None says energy in equals energy out. Two laws can be ignored by the dieting world. Two need to be taken into account. The first essentially says energy can be changed from one form to another. The second notes that energy will be lost during the process of energy changing form (we boil the kettle, electricity heats the water and steam is lost in the process.) These “laws of the universe” are about energy, not weight. They were never intended to become fundamental principles of dieting. They have some relevance to dieting, but only when correctly applied, and when all the caveats are allowed for.

Myth No 2: Eating less will make you weigh less

Doing more will not make you weigh less. Both the eating less and doing more beliefs make the massive and wrong assumption that the body is able to burn fat. The body can only burn fat when there is no glucose/glycogen available. Modern man rarely, if ever, allows his body to get to the state where it can burn its own fat – let alone will. Think about it: you lose your job, you don’t automatically dip into savings, you cut back on expenditure; the body does exactly the same.

Myth No 4: Weight gain is the result of too many calories in

Weight gain is from fat being stored, not too many calories in. Equally, weight loss is about fat lost, not fewer calories in. The perfect way to store fat is to eat carbohydrates. It’s the carbs that count, not the calories.

Myth No 5: One pound equals 3,500 calories

One pound does not equal 3,500 calories. One of the most commonly held diet myths is: “To lose one pound of fat you need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories”. It is actually worse than a myth – it is one of the cruelest lies we have told desperate dieters. The myth that one pound equals 3,500 calories is wrong at every level. You will see this formula in government literature, in just about every diet book, in private health booklets and all over the Internet. The next time you see it, or hear it, ask where it comes from. You will not get an answer.

Myth No 6: Cholesterol will kill you

Cholesterol is life critical – not the bad guy in any way, shape or form. You would literally die without cholesterol. It is a key part of the structure for every cell in your body. Cholesterol is so vital that your body makes it, and cannot risk leaving it to chance that you would get it externally from somewhere. Statins stop the body from producing the cholesterol – they literally stop one of your fundamental body processes from being able to function. One in 500 people has familial hypercholesterolemia, and may have a problem clearing cholesterol in their body (rather like type 1 diabetics who can’t return blood glucose levels to normal). For anyone else to be actively trying to lower their vital and life-affirming cholesterol levels is deeply troubling.

More Myths here: http://www.biznews.com/

This is what she he puts the twit in twitter has to say about  Zoe, who unlike carbsane posts photos of herself for all to see, could it be that CS is to embarrassed by her weight to do the same. 

If you don't understand the laws of physics (m.t. thermo), don't write about them. It's embarrassing

Graham