My awesome friend Lauren posted a link to this article on her Facebook profile today…
Since I’m someone who really gets that there’s a lot of misinformation out there about nutrition and health, I made sure to click through to read what the article had to share.
Here are 4 of the myths that pertain to raw food:
- Myth: Kids need to drink cow’s milk.
“Research suggests that milk-free kids are less likely to develop colic, ear infections and asthma. And there are plenty of other places to get calcium – especially in dark leafy greens, beans and soy milk.” But for raw versions of calcium, stick to dark leafy greens and make your kids some Iron Man Chlorophyll with swiss chard since it has more calcium than spinach. - Myth: Meat is the only complete protein.
Did you know that protein is made up of amino acids? “Meats contain all [of the essential amino acids], but so do most plants. Even if you never touched meat, you would get all the amino acids you need from beans, vegetables, grains, and fruits.” This is great news! My favorite way to get lots of greens into my body that are loaded with amino acids for building protein is to juice them or make green smoothies. - Myth: To get enough iron you need plenty of red meat.
“Green vegetables and beans provide nonheme iron, a form that is more absorbable when your body is low in iron and less absorbable when you already have enough. Iron in meat is heme iron, which barges into your body whether you need it or not.” This means that if you eat a lot of meat, you may actually wind up with too much iron which can increase risk for heart disease. Eek! - Myth: The more protein you eat the better.
“Too much protein can raise the risk for osteoporosis and kidney stones. That’s because high-protein diets cause calcium to slip through the kidneys, into the urinary tract. In people with poor kidney function – often the result of urinary infections, diabetes, or high blood pressure – high-protein diets also tend to accelerate the loss of kidney function. These dangers appear to be limited to animal protein. The protein in beans, vegetables, and grains is not linked to health problems.”
Which of the myths above or from the full article apply most to where you are with your health and food choices?
