E-Paper
Fact and fiction
Break free of food myths you?ve followed for years, says Bhawna Gera. You?ll be better for it.
There’s no denying that it’s getting chillier with every passing day. So you’ve put out your warm clothing to air on the verandah, you carry a light jacket when you go out in the evenings, and you think longingly of hot samosas and tea.
You also make a change in your eating patterns. There’s no ice cream in your fridge anymore, and you prefer to drink your colas warm. It’s winter, you say, so anything cold should be avoided. Ice cream and cold drinks in winter are bad for you.
It’s too bad if you do that, because you’re wrong. Eating or drinking something cold in chilly weather will not make you sick, no matter what your grandmother told you. Doctors all over the world are agreed that cold food in cold weather has nothing to do with illness – germs are the real culprit.
So feel free to make ice in the freezer again, and while the drinks are chilling, here are some more common food myths that we’ve busted for you.
Myth: Don’t drink water after eating watermelon, banana or cucumber as it causes stomach aches.
Fact: “I’m shocked to meet the number of people who come to me with this logic,” says Anjali Khanna, dietician with health centre Pulse Impulse. Khanna advises you to drink as many glasses of water as you wish when you eat watermelon or cucumber. You’ll be just fine.
Myth: Never drink milk or eat dairy-based products together with fish.
Fact: We hear that mixing fish and dairy leads at best to rashes and at worst to leukemia. Forget about it, says Khanna. “This belief is totally baseless. There is absolutely no truth in it.”
Myth: Avoid drinking cold water if you’ve just come in from the sun.
Fact: You’ve been told the sudden change of temperature in your insides would be too much of a shock to your system. But that’s nonsense. Once you’ve entered a room and got yourself a glass of water, you’ve already had a few minutes to acclimatise, so there’s no shock to the system at all. Stay cool!
Myth: Rub saffron (kesar) on your nose if you have a cold.
Fact: Your grandmother told you that a saffron rub will generate heat and cure your cold. Unfortunately, your grandmother was not correct. “A cold takes at least three days to go away completely, whether you take medication or not,” explains Khanna. “So applying anything at all – including saffron – will not help a great deal.”
Myth: Margarine is better than butter.
Fact: Actually, it’s the other way around. Margarine contains harmful trans fats which increase blood cholesterol levels and therefore the risk of heart disease. Butter, on the other hand, in small quantities, is safer and healthier.
Myth: Brown bread is healthy.
Fact: All bread that’s brown in colour is not necessarily brown bread. Generally, the brown breads we buy are treated with food colour, says Ishi Khosla. “It may or may not contain whole wheat flour (atta) and even if it does, it may not be in adequate quantity. Really healthy bread is made with whole wheat flour or a combination of other whole grains, at least 50 per cent in proportion to the flour.”
Myth: Table salt is more harmful for your blood pressure than salt added during cooking.
Fact: This really makes no sense. Your total intake of salt is what matters, whether you sprinkle it on your plate while you eat or whether it’s been added to the food while it’s cooking.
Myth: Muscle mass can be improved by a high protein diet.
Fact: Athletes love this myth. But your diet has very little to do with your muscle mass. Muscle mass can only be built by exercise or training, not with what you eat or try to avoid. The adequate protein recommended is one gram per kilo of body weight.
Myth: Exercising increases your appetite.
Fact: Not true, says Khosla. Eat a decent amount of carbohydrates and drink lots of water to hydrate your body well. If you’re hungry, have a light meal, such as a salad, after your exercise programme, and half an hour later, follow with a proper meal. This will ease digestion.
