Debunking 5 Diet Culture Myths
Happy New Year! I feel like once the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve the diet culture bombardment of advertisements, social media posts, commercials, and plain old conversations begins. I cannot tell you how many of my clients are discussing how the constant diet culture promotion under the guise of “New Year, New You!” messages is incredibly triggering and making their recovery much more difficult.
To support the efforts of those of us in the field who want to promote Health at Every Size principles and flexibility with nutrition, I figured it would be important to debunk some diet culture myths this month. So let’s get into it!
Myth 1: You cannot eat after 7pm or else you will gain weight
Ok, right off the bat I want to be clear that gaining weight is not the worst thing in the world that could happen to someone. I acknowledge it can feel that way sometimes for folks and that is a sign that we need to process and likely work on our body image. I want to focus more so on the eating after 7pm piece of this myth. Our bodies do not simply turn off or decrease our metabolism based upon the time of day. Most people also need nourishment before bed to promote stable blood sugars throughout the night and to prevent the body from being in a perceived state of famine. This myth is also a rule; it is an external factor that pushes individuals away from determining what their bodies are feeling and essentially breaks trust with the body. Long story short, if you want to eat after 7pm please go right ahead!
Myth 2: Processed and Ultra-Processed Foods are Bad
All foods are processed, even fruits and veggies from the farm. Dairy is technically processed through pasteurization. Foods that are packaged are therefore processed. This myth is essentially demonizing foods and creating morality around food. This myth is especially frustrating since many foods that are processed such as canned goods or inexpensive and many low income families rely on canned goods to fed their families. Demonizing processed or ultra-processed foods is inherently privileged and elitist.
Myth 3: Everyone should eat gluten free
No, just no. There are 3 subsets of people who should eat gluten free. Those people include those with an autoimmune dysfunction such as celiac, wheat allergies, and those with non-celiac wheat/gluten sensitivity. A gluten free diet, in these situations, is recommended to protect the function and overall status of the GI tract. However, those who do not have these conditions have no need to go gluten free. Going on a gluten free diet without the expertise of a registered dietitian is quite dangerous actually. Individuals run the risk of seeing a decrease in proteins, complex carbohydrates and fiber, and micronutrients including zinc, folate, iron, calcium, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin D. Currently the nutritional adequacy of gluten free foods is lower compared to products with gluten filled ingredients. In the US and UK gluten free foods are not subject to a law requiring fortification, whereas their gluten containing counterparts are required under law to be fortified. There are obviously ways to work around these things dietarily, and many dietitians work with those who medically need to be on a gluten free diet in order to make sure their diet is adequate. However, if you do not need to be on a gluten free diet, I suggest not doing so.
Myth 4: Eating Healthy is Expensive
We all know that the word healthy has unfortunately been heavily demonized in our society. Social media influencers will try and convince you that you need to buy all organic produce. Or you need to get all pasture raised meat/eggs. The reality is, a lot of food marketing is based upon forcing you as the consume to purchase more. The food industry does not only exist to provide food to us, it exists to make money. The industry makes money by you purchasing either more food, or by purchasing more expensive food.
Coming back to the idea that nutrition and the things we say about it can be elitist I want to point out that food can be healthy simply because it is nourishing our bodies. Many individuals in today’s economy are not able to purchase all organic produce, or even just the dirty dozen. I am shopping the deals, purchasing non-brand options and definitely not getting organic products in this economy! Am I unhealthy because I am not purchasing organic foods? Should I just decide to starve instead? Absolutely not! I have listed some food items that would be considered “unhealthy” if we only looked at price. These foods are staples in food pantries and low income areas including food deserts.
Canned vegetables or fruit
Dry beans
Dry pasta
Oats or dry cereal
Frozen food options
Canned tuna/chicken/spam
Myth 5: Detoxes are necessary
I will not spend much time on this one. Basically our bodies have an organ called the liver. Our liver is responsible for removing toxins from our body. Our bodies also have kidneys that flush out toxins in our urine. Oh, and we have a GI tract that excretes waste from our body. There is no need to spend extra money on overpriced teas and detoxes when your body is already taking care of it.
We’d Love to Hear From You!
Note to Self Nutrition LLC is an outpatient dietetics practice specializing in the treatment of eating disorders, women’s health and fertility including PCOS, endometriosis, and hormonal imbalances, diabetes and prediabetes, disordered eating, along with other chronic health conditions such as heart health, hypertension, and kidney disease. Owner and dietitian Lauren Hirschhorn-Tieu is passionate about empowering individuals to build trust with their relationship with food and their body. Lauren provides multiple services including nutritional counseling, recovery coaching, supervision and nutrition presentations. In person availability is offered in Denver. Virtual telehealth services are offered in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, Colorado, and Florida. We would be honored to join you on your journey to discovering food and body peace!
Contact us for more information regarding our services offered. To schedule a discovery call please visit this link. Be sure to visit our website and sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the page.
