Gremlins, Goblins, and Nutritional Hocus Pocus

I'm postponing the Challenging Nutritional Myths series in honour of Halloween (it will be back on Monday).

One might think that because I'm a dietitian Halloween upsets me because kids get a lot of candy and other junky foods. Not so...in fact I doubt that an otherwise healthful diet will be thrown off course by one night of excess, providing parents have sense enough to dole out the remaining treats judiciously. The night of tricks and treats and disguises does get me thinking, however, of the many ways in which the public can be fooled about food and nutrition.

For openers, let's consider the goblin that keeps raising its ugly head: the raw food movement. Yesterday I discussed the pitfalls awaiting those who opt for raw milk, but the raw food movement goes way beyond that. There are countless examples of ways in which this notion is flawed: wheat, soybeans, kidney beans, all of which are processed (and must be) before we eat them. Of course, there are those who feel that if they don't heat a food, then it therefore is raw and unprocessed.

The biggest argument against consuming food in its raw form is, naturally enough, bacterial contamination. Even sushi and sashemi lovers are taking a bit of a risk unless they know the fish is absolutely fresh and the chef knows what he/she is doing. If the raw fish is frozen prior to preparation, then the threat from parasites and worms (nematodes) is removed, but there is still a threat from viruses that can lead to hepatitis A and the Norwalk virus. Bacterial risks include listeria and salmonella among others. Raw meat is a whole other ball game. Lovers of steak tartare are usually safe, but one never knows. As for raw poultry and raw pork...puleeze.

The argument in favour of raw food is that there is significantly less loss of vitamins. This is true, up to a point. But carrots, for one example, yield more beta-carotene when they're cooked than when eaten raw because the cooking causes cell rupturing which yields more of the vitamin. Now, the greater amount of beta-carotene in the cooked product can be measured in nanograms, but still it shows that the raw argument doesn't always hold water.

Another gremlin that is reinforced by thoughts of Halloween is the notion of "too much of a good thing". We all know by now that a bit of dark chocolate might be just what the doctor ordered, but too much can pose a serious problem. There are other similar situations in the world of nutrition, none of which are likely to be doled out on Halloween. I'm thinking first about vitamin/mineral supplements. I doubt that even nutrition fanatics will hand out chewable vitamins as a treat for tricksters, and if your diet is really ghoulish then you should consider following your country's food guide. Until that happens, it probably won't hurt to take a multi-vitamin pill once a day. The problem arises when people are convinced that they need particular vitamins or minerals in huge amounts. Even as seemingly innocuous a nutrient as beta-carotene has been shown to be risky when large doses are consumed. Ditto for vitamin E, zinc and selenium to name a few. The fact is, we just don't know what excessive intakes of these nutrients by themselves might do to us. A word to the wise: don't fall for those tricksters who try to convince you about "health in a bottle". Good health is partly dependent on good eating and appropriate amounts of exercise.

The next perhaps surprising entry in the goblin category is juice. Who would ever have thought that a dietitian would be cautioning people against excessive juice consumption? Well, weirder things have happened. As it turns out, some folks have gotten carried away with the idea that juice is a good thing. Which it is...as long as you don't overdo it. The main problem with juice is that it can pack a heavy caloric wallop and it lacks the fibre of the original fruit or vegetable from which it was extracted. Juice is a quick way to get a lot of nutrients, but the whole fruit/veggie is still your best bet.

Wrapping up this ghostly, ghastly gallery is the muffin and cupcake...disguised as nutritious nuggets. Remember this: most cupcakes and muffins are simply fat little cakes. Just because a couple of blueberries find their way into the product doesn't make it healthful. Also, we need to bear in mind that the majority of commercially prepared muffins and cupcakes use shortening as their fat source. I'm sure you don't do this at home, but if so, please opt for a non-hydrogenated fat for your baking. On top of all that, the store-bought muffin or cupcake is often so big you need a fork-lift to get it off your plate. Mini-muffins/cupcakes are the way to go...might even make a good Halloween treat if people weren't scared that there were some unwanted items slipped inside!

So that's all my scary news for this time. A big BOO to all the nutrition misinformation out there. You can still count on bobbing-for-apples as a great Halloween tradition!