Does eating fast food cure my hangover? Will orange juice make my cold go away? Are avocados really healthy? We bust the common food myths for you.
1. Greasy food will help cure my horrible hangover.
There’s no doubt we all know that fast food cravings come on the day after a night of drinking. After a shedload of Maccas we find ourselves feeling right as rain! Or is this a case of psychological conditioning? Turns out it’s all in our head. The type of food you eat after a night out doesn’t scientifically affect our hangovers, but the comfort effect of a greasy meal acts as a placebo to make us feel better.
2. Red wine is good for your heart.
As much as we would all love for this to be true, there is no clear evidence to suggest that red wine is any more heart-healthy than other types of liquor. What we do know, is that the antioxidants in red wine may help protect the lining of blood vessels in your heart, and the Resveratrol reduces the frequency of blood-clots and keeps levels of cholesterol in control. But, unfortunately this isn’t a license to go chugging a bottle a day. These effects are only evident for up to 2 glasses each day.
3. Fresh food is always better than frozen.
Hmmm not so much. Fresh produce, especially when not in season, can be transported for a longer amount of time – leading to the nutritional value decreasing over travel time. Frozen food however, is picked and frozen often hours after being picked. Watch this video to see how it all works.
4. Healthy fat is good for you! I can have as much as I want.
Not quite. While olive oil, avocado, fish, nuts and seeds have plenty of sources of healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are “healthy” fats, they still contain a high amount of calories and are still fat. Meaning, they will can make you gain weight when too much is consumed. High amounts of any time of fat is not good for you.
5. Will eating oranges stop my cold or stop me from getting a cold?
You’ve got a cold and you’re starting to regret how little fruit and veggies you’ve been eating. Do you go stock up on Nudie orange juice and try to overdose on Vitamin C? No. Turns out the opposite is true. OJ and and other citrusy drinks can both your throat and can cause serious congestion when you have a cold. Load up on water and teas instead.
