10 NUTRITION Myths

Plus what health experts want you to know instead

- Sophie Egan

MYTH 1 Fresh fruits and vegetables are always healthier than canned, frozen or dried varieties. 

▸ Despite the enduring belief that "fresh is best," research has found that frozen, canned and dried fruits and vegetables can be just as nutritious as their fresh counterparts.

"They can also be a money saver and an | easy way to make sure there are always fruits and vegetables available at home," said Sara Bleich, a professor of public health policy at Harvard University.

One caveat: Some canned, frozen and dried varieties contain added sugars, saturated fats and sodium, so be sure to read nutrition labels and opt for products that keep those ingredients to a minimum. (Yes, that means you should skip the broccoli with the cheese sauce!)

MYTH 2 All fat is bad. 

When studies published in the late 1940s found correlations between high-fat diets and high levels of cholesterol, experts reasoned that if you reduced the amount of total fats in your diet, your risk for heart disease would go down. By the 1980s, doctors, federal health experts, the food industry and the news media were reporting that a low-fat diet could benefit everyone, even though there was no solid evidence that doing so would prevent heart disease, obesity and other health issues.

As a result, said Vijaya Surampudi, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Human Nutrition, many people and food manufacturers-replaced calories from fat with calories from refined carbohydrates such as white flour and added sugar. (Remember Snackwell's?)

"Instead of helping the country stay slim, the rates of overweight and obesity went up significantly," she said.