Debunking 5 Health Myths You Still Believe

Hello, friends, and welcome to another episode of Uncle Marv's Unhealthy Podcast, the show that takes a look at health and wellness from a different point of view. And yes, while we try to focus on ways to live healthy, we take a look at it from a little different point of view. And of course, we'll always talk about diet and exercise.

And of course, the last few episodes have actually been on other topics such as relationships and menopause, things of that nature. Today, let me tell you what I want to do. So if you've noticed, it's been a couple of weeks since I did a show.

We are in the midst of conference season. So I've been out on the road for my day job at the tech conferences, also had some client projects. We've got clients that are moving offices.

So we've moved three offices already since the beginning of March, and I'll be moving probably two more offices here in the next couple of months. So it is a busy time. But I want to talk about this thing about myths when it comes to being healthy.

So at my tech conference, I actually got into, let's just say, a healthy discussion about my unhealthy podcast because I really don't promote that in the tech circles. But people that know me and follow my tech podcast, they're also crossover and listen to the unhealthy. And we got to talking about some of that stuff.

So it reminded me that I have a whole list of myths that I wanted to talk about when it comes to being healthy. And we actually got into a couple of discussions while we were there. And, you know, of course, he made fun of my AI diet that I put together.

And I told him, I said, look, dude, that was, you know, pretty much just an exercise to see if AI could help somebody create a menu to, you know, eat a little healthier. And there are, to be honest, there's actually some things in that diet that I do on a regular basis. Now, there's a couple of things I don't.

I don't know if I'll ever be a, you know, minestrone soup person. But there have been some things that I have learned from guests and from people over, you know, the last year or so that, you know, have helped me change my diet. We also got into a debate over the Yuka app that I have talked about here on the show.

And I like the app. I use it to help guide me. I am not, you know, 100% following the app.

Listen, there are some things that are completely read and considered bad for you in the Yuka app that I still eat. I do have a goal of sometime in the future, maybe the end of the year, maybe sometime into 2026, where I would love to say that everything that I eat and drink will be in the green, according to the Yuka app. But it's a work in process.

And the whole idea of this show is that, you know, life is a journey and health is a journey. And we figure out what's right for us, what works for us. And we do things in its proper season, time, et cetera, et cetera.

So while I don't think any minds were changed during those discussions, but I did tell the person that, look, I'm going to go back and, you know, between conferences, I'm going to, you know, revisit some of the myths that I have looked at and provide some of those. So this will be one of those episodes. I'm going to look at, I think, five myths today.

The list is huge, but I can't spend all my time going over them. So one of the things that came up, the first myth is you need to stop eating certain foods to lose weight. And, you know, the popular diet claim that you hear whenever you are talking about these diet plans and programs and stuff is that you have to eliminate specific food groups like, you know, carbohydrates, fats, or sweets, and that eliminating those are essential for weight loss.

And, of course, this myth is often, you know, propagated by influencers and fad diets that promise quick results. And the evidence basically says that elimination diets can lead to short-term weight loss but are not sustainable and may result in nutrient deficiencies. And we know this if you talk to people that work at these, you know, weight loss centers and stuff like that, they will tell you most people regain the weight back once they have stopped the program or, you know, once they go back to eating normally, I guess is the best way to describe it.

And a healthy diet is not a one size fits all. It can include the occasional treat when balanced with nutritious foods. The key is moderation and overall calorie balance, not providing certain foods.

So, I think one of the things we can do is that instead of demonizing foods, focus on portion control and building, you know, food plans around fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and, you know, finding a way to enjoy your favorite food in moderation and have that as part of a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Now, you're probably sitting and saying, Marv, where are you getting your information from? Well, some of it I am getting from previous guests that I've had on the show. And you can go back and listen to those episodes.

I have had, you know, some of the functional medicine folks on there, some nutritionists. We're obviously going to have more on the show. But of course, I went to, you know, the AI and the web, and I'm going to include articles to four different sites that talk about health myths.

And you can kind of go through it and look on there. One of them is WebMD, which, you know, some people say is not necessarily a good source because it's all, you know, monetized and stuff. But there are some good things there.

So, I've got an article on WebMD, an article from Harvard Health, an article from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, which I didn't realize was a thing and seems to be a very, very good site. And then I found another thing on here talking about myths from Loyola Medicine. So, I'll have the links to those four articles.

And that's where it helped me kind of put these into proper thoughts. Not that I'm saying that these are the definitive truths, but these basically seem to fall in line and agree with each other. And I'm working to adopt these debunking myth theories into my health and wellness.

The second thing is the person that I was chatting with did this whole thing with me on, dude, you've got to eat organic foods. That's the key. Stop eating the crap from it.

It's got to be organic. And so, I went back and I've kind of known a little bit that organic foods are not the answer. Everybody believes that they are inherently healthier than regularly grown foods the way that we've, you know, known them over the years.

But the evidence is that organic foods are not always nutritionally superior to non-organic foods. I noticed that when I was checking the Yuka app is that a lot of foods that were claimed to be organic or were in the health stores, you know, sprouts, whole foods, or whatever, is that some of them were worse than the foods you get from the regular grocery stores. And the really, the big thing to know about organic is that the real difference is really based on the use of pesticides and farming practices.

And there is a list called the Dirty Dozen which talks about produce like strawberries and apples and stuff that may retain more pesticide residue while others like, you know, avocados and corn, which are part of the Clean 15, they call it, have minimal residues. And so, people have talked about, you know, trying to eat a variety of foods and vegetables, you know, that are, you know, considered the Clean 15. But just know that organic does not necessarily mean superior.

While we do want to obviously, you know, have fruits and vegetables in our list, it's not necessary that they have to be organic. And the added cost of organic foods may not always be justified by the health benefits. So, that's all I can really say on organic foods.

I'm sure I'll have somebody on later that'll probably give me, you know, more information on that. Another thing that came up is that, you know, just do some detoxing every now and then because detoxes and cleanses make you healthier. And I have, you know, not really had any success with those.

Not that I've gone on a full detox or anything, but I've started to look at a little of those. There's some foods that supposedly are natural, you know, detoxers. And they're, you know, marketed as a way to remove toxins from the body, boost energy, promote weight loss.

But it turns out that they're actually a little more restrictive. And from what I've seen in my little bit of research and what I've heard from the expert is that there are no scientific evidences that detoxes or cleanses remove toxins from the body. Our organs, the liver, you know, kidneys, lungs, and even our skin actually naturally detox the body in a very, very healthy ways.

And we should also know that many of the detox products are unregulated and can be harmful. And the best way to support your body's natural detoxification is just simply by eating a balanced diet. Yes, it can be plant-based, but staying hydrated is a big key to that.

So our body is a detox machine already. And we should not be, you know, giving into the gimmicks, but we should invest in whole foods, plenty of water, and of course, regular physical activity. Another thing that came up, of course, one of the goals that I had was to, you know, lose my belly.

And I've kind of, I don't want to say I've abandoned that process, but I've also learned that, you know, just because you have a belly doesn't mean you're unhealthy. So the topic that came up is that thin equals healthy. And I mean, again, inherently, I think all of us know that that's not necessarily true.

But all of the marketing, everything that we see in television and movies and stuff is that, you know what, you have to be thin. And, you know, thin is in. But body weight alone is not a reliable indicator of overall well-being.

And, you know, we've been learning that health is determined by a combination of factors. You know, yes, it is about diet, but it's also about physical activity, mental health, genetics. And we're learning that people with a low body weight can still have poor health and that some people that are heavier may have a healthy metabolism.

So you can't go by, you know, the easiest thing to say is, you know, just lose weight, just get thin and you'll be fine. That's not always true. What matters most is regular movement, balanced diet, engagement in healthy behaviors.

That's what we're trying to do with this show. That is part of my journey. Moving on to the fifth myth.

And, of course, this came up because of being at the conference. You know, your time is always off at conferences and you don't eat regularly, even though they try to schedule breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But a lot of times you're, you know, up late eating, stuff like that.

So, of course, the topic of late night snacks or late night eating causes weight gain. And everybody thinks that this is true because metabolism slows down during sleep. So one of the things that came up in my research is that weight gain is not determined by the time you eat, but by what you eat and how much you eat overall.

While late night snacks are often high in calories and low in nutrients. Yes, those can contribute to weight gain if they push you over your daily calorie needs. However, eating small, healthy snacks at night is not inherently fattening.

So, of course, the goal is if you are hungry at night, reach for, you know, a healthy snack. You know, they're always talking about Greek yogurt or a handful of nuts, but find something that is healthy to you that you like because it's, you know, the calories and the quality of the food that matters and not necessarily the clock. So those are the five myths.

I do want to mention, I guess this would be an honorable mention, because the idea of eating gluten-free came up. And I have had many podcasts with my friend Elikqiti, who is a celiac and talks a lot about, you know, having to eat gluten-free. And she does it because she has to.

So, you know, even though gluten-free diets have become popular, they are not necessarily popular for people that have celiac disease or even gluten sensitivity. So there is a scale that you have to look on. So unless you have a medical reason to avoid gluten, there's no health benefit to going gluten-free.

And, you know, what might be a bigger thing is that you might be missing out on key nutrients that are found in whole grains. Because, you know, for those people, they have to watch the grains and stuff like that. But for everybody else, gluten-free foods do not, you know, make things healthier.

They, you know, might be lacking in things like fiber, iron, B vitamins, you know, that you would find in whole grains. Some of them can also be higher in calories and lower in nutritional value. So I'm going to, I should probably put a link into my episodes with Elikqiti, because, again, gluten-free is not a fad diet that people should be doing.

That did come up because I do have friends in the tech space that have gluten sensitivity and they do have to look out for that stuff. But it's really not something that regular people should be looking at as a way to lose weight or to eat healthy. So that's a little bonus thing I wanted to throw in there.

So that's really it. I wanted to get those out. Because of that, I wanted to get something in between these conferences, basically, as a rebuttal to my friend in our discussion that we had.

And I'm going to leave, I guess, with this as a final note. Health is about how you feel and what you do, not just about what you weigh. And our focus should be on being active, eating well, no matter what size you are, no matter what your diet is, all of that stuff.

You've got to find what works for you. And that's the goal, folks. So that's going to do it for this episode.

Sorry that it's a little mis jointed and all over the place. But like I said, I wanted to get this out. This had been sitting in my stack to go over.

And having those conversations with my friend at the tech conference said, well, let me go ahead and get this out. But that is going to do it. I encourage you to go back and listen to some of the exercise.

Again, go to the show notes, follow the links to look at the articles that I referenced. And of course, go out there and do what you need to do to make yourself better. Live healthy, be happy.

Holla.