When it comes to the question who is to blame for spreading misinformation about nutrition to the people, there are multiple answers. Social Media, TV, the internet, friends, parents, and even so-called health professionals contribute to the increasing occurrence of several myths, circling around the topic of food. Reliable studies are often difficult to read or endlessly long. At the same time however, we have so much access to information about crazy diets, detox tips and other fads. To make things worse, everyone has a different opinion and different diets. That’s why it is easy for certain myths to quickly grow into serious beliefs and daily decisions about what, when and how much to eat can become overwhelming. At this point you might find it difficult to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources about this topic. It is important to question the things you read and hear and eventually be able to tell facts from fiction. This blogpost seeks to use adequate evidence to identify selected nutrition myths. At the end you will also find some links to further reading and a referencing list.
You might know the feeling of getting tired or exhausted throughout the day without comprehensible reason. Meanwhile there are numerous studies supporting the assumption that sleep is the most important factor in regards to being energetic and being able to perform. However, there are other things that need to be considered too. Your diet, in fact, can help to prevent fatigue as well.
Coffee will make you sick
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The first thing you probably think of in this context is caffein. It is part of some very popular drinks such as coffee or energy drinks for example. Since energy drinks are generally associated with a lot of sugar and other questionable ingredients this entry will focus on coffee.
If you feel tired or weak, coffee represents a quick solution as caffeine is completely absorbed by the stomach and small intestine within 45 min of oral ingestion (Fredholm et. al., 1999). However, there are several misconceptions about whether coffee should be part of a balanced, healthy diet or not. According to several a meta-analysises summarised by Karen Nieber (2017), there is no significant correlation between coffee consumption and a higher risk of CVD (diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels). There even was another meta-analysis concluding that moderate coffee consumption (3–5 cups/day) was associated with a lower CVD risk, and heavy coffee consumption (≥ 6 cups/day) was neither associated with a higher nor a lower risk of CVD (Nieber, 2017). Looking at diabetes type 2, similar findings were made. A study with 1.109.272 people resulted in a significant inverse correlation between coffee consumption and the risk of diabetes. In other words, compared with no coffee consumption, 6 cups/day of coffee was associated with a 33% lower risk of type 2 diabetes (Nieber, 2017). Apart from those findings there is also proof of benefits of drinking coffee in regards to preventing from liver diseases. In the majority of studies coffee consumption blocked toxin-induced liver fibrosis/cirrhosis (liver diseases) (Nieber, 2017). As you can see, drinking 2-4 cups of coffee a day is not dangerous at all but rather beneficial for the human body. However, it is important to highlight that despite all those scientific findings, some people are more sensitive to caffein than others, which is why everyone reacts differently to it. Only drink as much coffee as you can endure.
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If you‘re tired it must be a lack of Vitamin D
Another tiny but decisive part of our diet are Vitamins. When it comes to fatigue, people would most certainly conclude a lack of Vitamin D first. However, Vitamin B12 contributes to that as well. In the following text you will learn why and to whom it is especially relevant. Among other things it helps to prevent from megaloblastic anemia that makes us tired and weak (NIH, 2011). The human body can’t synthesise this micronutrient which is why it is vital for us to take it from our food. The main source of Vitamin B12 is animal protein and the average non-vegetarian diet contains an amount of Vitamin B12 that helps us to at least fill the Vitamin B12 depots to an extended that is assumed to be “normal”. Therefore, it is crucial for especially vegetarians, vegans but also for people who want to reduce their meat consumption to add Vitamin B12 via dietary supplements in order to feel energetic and awake. (Romain et. al., 2016).
According to the WHO (2008) studies have shown a significant increase of energy level for people who suffered from Vitamin B12 deficiency but counteracted with the help of supplements. If you thus often feel tired and weak you might want to try out a Vit B12 supplementation. The NHS (2011) suggested the amount of Vit B12 you need everyday according to your age. This suggestion is listed below (mcg = micrograms):
https://www.goodhealth.co.nz/health-articles/article/ask-our-naturopaths-about-vitamin-b12
You can order capsules online or buy them in your local drugstore. However, it is important to pay attention to the right dosage. Since every country has different guidelines, the dosage recommendations depend on where you buy your supplement. Drugstore products for example often contain a rather low amount of Vitamin B12 because it is prescribed like that in the respective national guidelines. Although, the body could benefit a lot more from a higher dosage. Therefore, in order not to get confused, look at the composition of the individual product instead of at the recommended consumption. Bear in mind that an insufficient dose of Vitamin B12 can lead to the product having no effect at all, whereas you can safely take higher doses. According to the WHO (2008) an intake of Vitamin B12 that was above the recommendation has never been reported to have any side-effects. Your body absorbs only as much as it needs and the excess passes through your urine.
Drinking diet soda increases appetite and with that leads to weight gain
What you will always find in those sugar free drinks is at least one type of artificial sweetener. It is used to sweeten the drinks without adding any calories. Many people drink diet soda because they assume that the sugar free version is healthier than regular soda. Others in turn strictly avoid those drinks because they think drinking them will increase their appetite. But do artificial sweeteners help reducing weight?
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Surprisingly there are studies, that suggest the contrary. Already in 1986, Blundell and Hill made first attempts to find out whether artificial sweeteners lead to weight gain. Participants were supposed to consume a meal but prior to that a so-called preload was handed to them. This was either water or artificial sweetener/ glucose + yogurt. The test subjects perceived a stronger feeling o hunger after consuming the mixture out of artificial sweetener and yogurt. This led the researchers to assuming that consuming artificial sweeteners would make people eat rather more than less. Both, diet and regular soda were associated with a higher daily energy intake (Blundell & Hill, 1986).
Later studies however proved the opposite. A meta-analysis done by de la Hunty et al. in 2006 looked at 15 different studies dealing with that topic. Those studies examined the correlation between daily energy intake (meals) and the consummation of diet soda. Aspartame has been shown to have a significantly lower energy intake (de la Hunty, et al., 2006). Therefore, aspartame does not necessarily lead to weight gain and the feeling of satiety is not affected as well (de la Hunty, et al., 2006).
In terms of weight loss or weight maintenance it is thus no problem to drink diet sodas. However, those studies were mostly conducted with already overweight people. Taking into account that they drank a lot of regular soda before it makes sense that the change to diet soda had a positive effect on their weight loss. If you like to drink all kinds of soda it thus might be beneficial for you to switch to diet beverages but if you drink water or tea you should stick to that as diet soda can have other harmful effects apart from the weight aspect. If you can, avoid artificial drinks and opt for water or tea instead.
References and Further Reading:
Anton, S. D., Martin, C. K., Han, H., Coulon, S., Cefalu, W. T., Geiselman, P., & Williamson, D. A. (2010). ‘Effects of stevia, aspartame, and sucrose on food intake, satiety, and postprandial glucose and insulin levels’. Appetite, 55(1), 37–43.
Blundell, J. E., & Hill, A. J. (1986). ‘Paradoxical effects of an intense sweetener (aspartame) on appetite’. Lancet, 1(8489), 1092–1093.
De La Hunty, A., Gibson, S. and Ashwell, M. (2006), ‘A review of the effectiveness of aspartame in helping with weight control’. Nutrition Bulletin, 31: 115-128.
Fowler, Sharon P.G.; Williams, Ken; Hazuda, Helen P. (2015): ‘Diet Soda Intake Is Associated with Long-Term Increases in Waist Circumference in a Biethnic Cohort of Older Adults: The San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging’. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 63 (4), 708–715.
Fredholm, Bertil & Bättig, K & Holmén, J & Nehlig, Astrid & Zvartau, Edwin. (1999). Actions of Caffeine in the Brain with Special Reference to Factors That Contribute to Its Widespread Use. Pharmacological reviews. 51. 83-133.
Nieber, Karen. (2017). The Impact of Coffee on Health. Planta Medica. 83. 10.1055/s-0043-115007.
Office of Dietary Supplements. (2011). National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements – Vitamin B12.
Peters, J. C., Wyatt, H. R., Foster, G. D., Pan, Z., Wojtanowski, A. C., Vander Veur, S. S., Herring, S. J., Brill, C., & Hill, J. O. (2014). ‘The effects of water and non-nutritive sweetened beverages on weight loss during a 12-week weight loss treatment program’. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 22(6), 1415–1421.
Romain, M., Sviri, S., Linton, D. M., Stav, I., & Van Heerden, P. V. (2016). ‘The role of Vitamin B12 in the critically ill—a review’. Anaesthesia and intensive care, 44(4), 447-452.
World Health Organization. (2008). Worldwide prevalence of anaemia 1993-2005: WHO global database on anaemia.
Yang Q. (2010). ‘Gain weight by "going diet?" Artificial sweeteners and the neurobiology of sugar cravings: Neuroscience 2010’. The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 83(2), 101–108.