Dr Ron Ehrlich* says it’s important to debunk some common health myths, which have been repeated so often they have become accepted as gospel.
Photo: Martin Brosy
Health messages are often confusing and contradictory.
If repeated often enough, they become part of life, and, if the evidence is anything to go by, health has suffered.
Preventable chronic degenerative diseases, like cancer, heart disease, over 80 autoimmune disease, diabetes, not to mention mental health issues for young and old alike, are affecting an ever-growing number of people.
The time to take control of individual health has never been more urgent.
Sometimes going back to basics is a good place to start, converting confusion to clarity and information to knowledge, empowering individuals to fulfil their potential.
Here are some myths to consider:
No. 1 & 2 health myths: (1) Fat is bad; (2) seed oils are a better choice
This myth changed everything.
It really is a double whammy when it comes to “myths”.
Healthy fats are essential to good health.
Saturated fat and cholesterol are an integral part of every cell in the body and many important hormones.
Healthy fats also keep insulin levels down and reduce chronic inflammation, both of which are the common in almost every chronic disease.
Healthy fats stop hunger and actually reduce the likelihood of getting fat.
The promotion of seed oils, like sunflower, safflower and canola, as a healthy alternative is another important myth that needs addressing.
Seed oils were developed and marketed for the first time in human history by the food industry in the early part of the twentieth century.
They were developed to extend the shelf life of processed food and provide a source of inexpensive fat.
They are an integral part of an economic model, but not a health model.
Seed oils are hydrogenated to avoid rancidity, but such oils produce trans-unsaturated fatty acids when heated to high temperatures — and these trans fats have been implicated in cancer and other degenerative diseases.
Traditional saturated fats, which have been used for thousands of years, are stable when heated.
This demonisation of fats that have been consumed for thousands of years, in favour of “modern” industrial fats, has happened at a time that has seen cancer rates skyrocket while diabetes, obesity and mental health problems have also reached reach epidemic proportions.
That’s no coincidence.
Healthy fats are fundamental to almost every aspect of physical and mental health.
No.3 health myth: I don’t need eight hours’ sleep
This is a big one.
A consistently good night’s sleep is a function of quantity (getting enough sleep) and quality (breathing well while you sleep).
Getting both right improves every health measure, physical and mental.
Getting it wrong could shorten your life.
Some 90 per cent of people need seven to nine hours’ sleep.
People who sleep for only a few hours usually acknowledge they aren’t getting enough sleep.
The most interesting are the people who consistently sleep six hours who share many things in common with people who are sleep deprived.
Poor sleep affects memory and the chance of getting dementia increases; insulin resistance increases predisposition to prediabetes, diabetes and obesity; the hormone responsible for fat metabolism, leptin is reduced, and the hormone responsible for hunger, grehlin, increases so you tend to eat more, increasing weight gain; sex hormone production is reduced, affecting sex life; the immune system is compromised; the thyroid hormone, which helps regulate metabolism, is affected; and chronic inflammation increases.
Quality is about breathing well while asleep.
Snoring indicates a restricted airway, but there is another condition called obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), which means breathing either stops or is restricted frequently throughout the night.
In severe cases, it can be life-threatening.
A consistently good night’s sleep is the body’s built-in life-support system.
No.4 health myth: Dairy is important for healthy bones
Strategic sponsorship of respected health organisations has enshrined this myth as gospel.
But, according to one of the most respected and independent-of-industry nutrition researchers, Dr Walter Willet, head of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, milk doesn’t reduce fracture risk.
In fact, dairy may increase the risk of fractures by 50 per cent.
Countries with the lowest rates of dairy and calcium consumption (such as Africa and Asia) have the lowest rates of osteoporosis.
No.5 health myth: Salt is bad
Like cholesterol, salt is an important part of cellular and bodily function.
Too much salt in conjunction with processed food is certainly bad.
Good-quality salt, which contains the 60 trace elements needed for good health, is an important part of a healthy balanced diet.
No.6 health myth: No pain equals no disease
This is untrue of all health but when it comes to oral health especially so.
Over 90 per cent of oral disease, including tooth decay, gum disease and oral cancer, has absolutely no pain associated with it.
So, if you aren’t taking oral health seriously you should.
Your body already does.
* Dr Ron Ehrlich is the author of A Life Less Stressed and the weekly podcast Unstress with Dr Ron Ehrlich. His website is www.drronehrlich.com. His email is [email protected].
