NUTRITION MYTHS AND FALLACIES

Baltimore Fitness

Vitamins will enhance your strength and endurance.

This is a fallacy. Vitamins supply the body no calories and cannot be used as fuel. The body excretes 70% of the vitamins that it does not need. Only people who are deficient in an area should take necessary supplements. Please consult a physician, registered dietician, or other health care professional before increasing your intake of vitamins. Some vitamins can be toxic.

Diet pills enhance metabolism and contribute to weight loss.

Initially one will lose weight after taking diet pills due to a lowered basal requirement of food and calories, but in the long run one will usually gain more weight back. In most cases, a diet pill taker has not yet learned how to control their weight through proper nutritional counseling once off the pills.

An intake of refined sugar carbohydrates from sources like honey, sodas, and/or candy bars, when feeling low, will boost energy levels.

Unfortunately, you will probably experience the opposite. A sugar snack before a workout will deplete your performance and cause you to crash in need of good carbohydrates. Choose a complex carbohydrate instead.

Caffeine stimulates the appetite and should be avoided if trying to lose weight.

The issue that caffeine acts as an appetite stimulant has never been scientifically proven. If taken properly, it can aid in raising the body temperature and possibly contribute to fat loss.

Excess protein will be used as energy if too much is taken in.

This is true only when carbohydrate and fat sources are depleted. The body will use protein as fuel only as a last resort. Most excess protein is stored as adipose tissue (body fat). Make sure to consult a registered dietician or health care professional about how much protein is necessary for your lifestyle.