5 Myths You Need to Know About Your Health

I wrote last week about 5 Facts You Need to Know About Your Health, and this week is the flip side of that coin.  There is so much misinformation floating around between celebrity doctors and small time bloggers, that it's hard to know what's right and what's wrong.  This will be a good place to start.

Myth #1: A Calorie is a Calorie

This myth is responsible for more trouble than just about anything else.  The saying goes that if you want to lose weight or get healthier, "eat less, move more."  While many people do need to eat less, it would be wildly inaccurate to say that your body responds to 1000 calories of sweet potatoes and chicken the same way it would respond to 1000 calories of skittles.  This is why calorie counting doesn't work.
 
Whenever you eat a meal, you begin a cascade of hormonal events that can lead either to increased health and greater protection against sickness and injury or to lowered immune function, increased fat storage, poor cognitive function, and a plethora of other negative consequences.  

The focus on simply eating less leads people to the Diet Mentality that has taken such a toll on so many people, and gives people a goal that is wholly unsustainable.  You just can't be on a diet forever. 

For more on this topic, check out my series on Eating For Your Hormones, Part I: Insulin, Part II: Cortisol, and Part III: Leptin.  Then subscribe because Part IV will be coming soon.  

Myth #2: Squats Are Bad For Your Knees

While this myth hasn't wreaked the kind of havoc that myth #1 has, it still rears its' ugly head and discourages people from doing one of the most beneficial exercises out there.  You can get hurt doing a lot of things.  That doesn't mean that those things are necessarily dangerous, but maybe that you've just done them wrong.  

Squats are not bad for your knees.  Doing squats incorrectly is bad for your knees.  Just like eating is not bad for you.  Eating incorrectly is bad for you.  Driving is not bad for you.  Driving incorrectly is downright lethal.  

If I could do one and only one exercise, I would squat. 

Myth #3: Fat is Bad For You

OH BOY!  Of all the myths out there, this one takes the cake.  It has become common knowledge that low-fat is better.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  It seems to make sense because we all want to be less fat, right?  So eat less of it, right?  
Not so fast.  This theory only stands up on the misconception that if you eat a piece of fat, it remains as a piece of fat and gets deposited on your butt, thighs, or belly as a piece of fat.  The fact is that when you eat a meal, it gets broken down into its constituent parts which are then directed by your hormones to be used as fuel, partitioned for either short or long-term storage, or gets integrated into your tissues and becomes part of your bones, muscles, organs, or other tissues.  

This myth started well before we had the scientific knowledge and ability to figure out what is actually happening on a molecular and cellular level after you eat.  It has been perpetuated by lobbying of the big agricultural and big pharmaceutical companies, then pushed by governments and the medical community.  It's not only not right, but specifically and dangerously wrong. 

I (and others) could (and have) written tens of thousands of words on the subject.  For more, check out The Great Heart Disease Hoax. 

Myth #4: You Should Put Ice on an Injury

This myth is firmly entrenched in the consciousness of every person since hearing the "RICE" prescription for boo-boos.  Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, right?  Not really.  Your body has en extremely sophisticated mechanism for dealing with tissue damage.  Inflammation is an integral and necessary part of the healing process. 

I know it sounds like blasphemy, but putting ice on a common injury to reduce inflammation is tantamount to telling the firetrucks to stay away from a fiery car accident because it causes more traffic.  The firetrucks are EXACTLY what we need to fix the problem.  

One thing you will hear or read if you ever take a physiology class is that you can have inflammation without healing, but you absolutely cannot have healing without inflammation.  The best thing to do is to encourage your body's natural healing process by helping to dissipate the inflammation as opposed to stopping it all together.  

Read: Why Ice and NSAID's are Not The Best Option for Injuries 

Myth #5: Stretching Lowers Your Risk of Injury

Here is another one that is gospel for many.  Runners do it, swimmers do it, chiropractors and doctors prescribe it, and it seems a bit silly to suggest that you shouldn't.  Study after study have shown that stretching before a workout or game does nothing to decrease the risk of injury or improve the performance of the athlete.  

In fact, there is data to suggest that simply stretching before a run or a soccer game could lead to more injuries!  Now, I am not saying that there is no benefit to stretching, but I am saying that you shouldn't use it as your "warm up."

The one thing that has been shown to reduce the likelihood of injury and improve athletic performance is to get your muscles sufficiently warm before beginning whatever it is you will be doing.  In our classes, we have a dynamic warmup at the beginning of each session.  We focus on getting your muscles warm and doing a low intensity version of what will be our high intensity workout.  

So, if we are going to be doing squats and running, we will do some squats with less weight and a slow jog to increase core body temperature and warm up the muscles we will be using.  

Your Health is Up to YOU!

This was just a quick overview of a few of the more menacing myths floating around.  Now, I don't want you to just take my word for it.  I want you to take control of your health and start learning about your body and what is good and bad for it.  

It you spent half as much time learning those kinds of things as most people spend learning baseball and football stats, you'd be well on your way to a happy, healthy, pain and injury-free life!

About The Author

My name is Graham Lutz, and I am the Owner and Head Trainer at Formula CrossFit in the heart of Peachtree Corners, GA.  I have been married to my beautiful wife, Heather, for 8 years and we have our 4th child on the way!  My interest in fitness and nutrition began with the birth of my first son and the realization that if I didn’t change, I wouldn’t see him graduate college.  Years of intense research and practice later, my life’s work consists of helping others learn their body and the science and mechanics behind getting in the best shape possible.  If it's time for you to make a change, sign up for a Free Class and see what's possible!