More food myths busted!!!!

I loved apples when I was a kid and would eat two or three a day, then one day I heard on the news that apples were not good for you because of some spray that was used on them. I stopped eating apples.

A few years later I heard found out that it was not true and apples were fine after you gave them a wash – which you should do anyway.

Stories, or myths, like the one with the apples are common. We have all heard the classic – it is ok to eat food if it has been on the floor for less than five seconds!!!!! We all know that this myth is not true as it doesn’t matter how long a food is on the floor it is going to pick up some of whatever is there, including; dirt, bacteria, dog/ cat hair, your hair, bits of your skin (as we shed a layer a day and some of that has to get on the floor), bits of the animal skin, bits of insects and the list goes on. So why would we eat anything that has been on the floor at all?

One of the stories in the media for a long time has been that white bread is not good for and nor is butter nor are eggs. A whole industry, margarine, grew out of the idea that butter is not really good for you and you should eat margarine instead. Well, recent studies have now shown that butter is not the baddie it has long been made out to be. There are now stories across the media showing that reasonable consumption of butter is not bad for you and in fact has health benefits. We are not talking about eating huge quantities but reasonable amounts during a week. A recent article on this website, showed all the amazing benefits for most people to be eating eggs several times a week. The whole eggs will raise cholesterol thing is not necessarily true for most people, in fact there are nutrients that are best sourced from eggs and so should be eaten regularly.

The latest of the long term bad foods to be found to be Ok for you is the infamous white bread.

Researchers from the University of Oviedo in Spain have found that white bread may actually encourage the growth of Lactobacillus species in the gut. These bacteria make a major contribution to gut health and if it is healthy, it helps us generally. It is well recognised that a healthy gut has a major role to play in us being healthy as well.

It was only a small study of 38 healthy adults. Each was asked about their diet and samples were collected to determine the bacteria present in their gut.

The findings showed that a good all round diet has the greatest effect on helping us be healthy and that focussing on just one food or nutrient will not be beneficial.

So, I guess it comes down to that old and good piece of advice – a little bit of everything in moderation.

Written by Rachelle Williams, The Green Food Safety Coach.