Here Are The Top Controversial Nutrition Myths of 2024 (Pt 1)
This past weekend I had the privilege to speak at the Dairy Council of Arizona Annual Conference as a keynote speaker.
My presentation was on the top controversial nutrition myths, so I wanted to share some of those.
With the internet at our fingertips, you’d think that nutritional myths would be much less common than they were in previous generations.
I always joke with my clients that 10 different gurus tell you 10 different things, and sometimes you get more confused after researching something.
Sometimes it can be hard to tell what is evidence-based without reading the original research yourself.
A century ago, myths were passed through word-of-mouth, but now everyone can read someone’s thoughts through social media.
So let’s dive in.
Myth 1: Protein is bad for you
As someone who lifts weights, I know the importance of protein as the building blocks of muscle.
But I am still met with resistance from critics telling me protein can harm bones and kidneys.
Let’s look at these one at a time.
A little (embarrassing) story about me.
In my freshman year of college, I did my first routine blood test to check my levels.
My family has a history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure, so getting these levels checked is key.
The results showed me that I was perfectly healthy, except I excreted a bit too much calcium in my urine.
My GP panicked, sending me to a whole cascade of nephrologists, imaging my kidneys, making me do 24-hour urine collections running home between college classes to collect it, trying to figure out what was wrong with what seemed to be a perfectly healthy 19-year-old.
Embarrassing, I know.
Turns out, more protein in the diet has been linked to more calcium in the urine.
Some argue that your body draws calcium from your bones to buffer the acid load from protein (proteins are amino ACIDS), suggesting that high protein intake causes greater bone loss.
So I was told to eat less protein, which was disheartening for a late teen trying to gain confidence by building some muscle.
But in reality it’s the opposite.
When you eat more protein, you absorb more calcium from food, so less calcium passes through feces.
Later on, your body gets rid of extra calcium it doesn’t need, so some extra calcium ends up in your urine, which means increased protein intake leads to an overall decrease in calcium excretion.
All in all, protein has a neutral or protective effect on bones.
Which brings me to kidneys.
Some studies suggest that high protein diets increase GFR, which is a measurement of how well your kidneys filter waste.
But in actuality, kidney damage does not result from high protein diets in more recent research.
Most of the research linking protein consumption with kidney damage was done in patients who already have chronic kidney disease (CKD).
So that wouldn’t apply to a normally healthy person.
The truth: High protein diets aren’t harmful to your bones and kidneys (unless you suffer from a pre-existing condition).
Myth 2: You need protein after your workout
During exercise, muscles undergo damage that requires repair, often resulting in increased resilience or size.
Protein serves as the essential building block for this repair process, and after exercise, muscles become more receptive to the anabolic effects of protein, creating a debated “anabolic window” of opportunity.
The idea that “you need protein immediately after your workout” may not be entirely false but rather exaggerated.
What primarily matters is your overall daily protein intake, although ideally, a post-workout protein dose should fall within the range of your recommended minimum protein intake per meal (0.24–0.60 grams per kilogram of body weight, or 0.11–0.27 grams per pound).
If you’ve exercised on an empty stomach, you’ll be in a negative protein balance, so consuming this dose as soon as possible is advisable.
Otherwise, aim to consume it within a few hours—the duration of your “anabolic window” depends on the rate of protein digestion.
Food takes time to digest, so if you’ve eaten in the hours before the workout, odds are you still have protein in your bloodstream that will contribute toward muscle growth.
The truth: Unless you’ve exercised without eating beforehand, immediate protein intake after your workout is not necessary.
However, consuming 0.24–0.60 grams per kilogram of body weight (0.11–0.27 grams per pound) within a couple of hours post-workout may offer benefits.
Ultimately, the most critical factor is your total protein intake throughout the day.
Myth 3: Dietary fat is bad for you
So logically, we should also discuss fat. Eat fat, gain fat, right?
Wrong.
Current evidence suggests that given the same calorie and protein intake, low-fat and low-carb diets produce similar amounts of fat loss.
So while low fat isn’t inherently unhealthy, it can cause some deficiencies that you do not want.
Some essential nutrients for the body are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which of course are found in fat.
Fat is key for absorption of certain vitamins (A, D, E, and K).
But one type of fat I want to discuss more in-depth is saturated fat.
I’m sure you’ve heard that saturated fat is a driver of heart disease, which isn’t necessarily a myth, but it is much more complicated.
A high saturated fat diet can increase LDL-C (the bad cholesterol) which increases the risk of heart disease.
But saturated fat is an umbrella term for a type of fat – many different types of fatty acids are saturated fat.
And not all foods rich in saturated fat increase LDL, like dairy and chocolate. And beyond that, removing saturated fat from your diet doesn’t always reduce heart disease risk, it depends on what it is replaced with.
Milk and cheese have a pretty neutral effect on heart disease risk, but fermented dairy like yogurt and kefir protect against heart disease.
Last note about this, avoid trans fat.
You don’t need to worry about the minute amounts that naturally occur in whole foods (like dairy is one of them) but do avoid the ones in processed foods.
Luckily they have been banned in the US and are phasing out.
So unless you’re hoarding Twinkies from 2010, you should be fine
The truth: if you eat too many calories, a low-fat diet won’t cause any fat loss.
You need fat for omega-3 and omega-6, which are essential nutrients.
Saturated fat won’t necessarily give you heart disease, and limit trans fats as best as you can.
Myth 4: Carbs are bad for you
For decades in the 20th century, fat was the enemy.
But today, we have moved on to carbs. Attacking carbs and insulin seems to get more popular every single year.
You can’t scroll social media without someone yelling at you about how carbs are evil.
Many people believe that the glycemic index rank foods by their “unhealthiness”.
But today’s research shows that when compared to higher-glycemic diets, low-glycemic diets have either no effect or very slight beneficial effects on metabolic syndrome factors, even in people with diabetes.
Another model of obesity that we have theorizes that obesity is caused by carbs and the insulin response they create.
But these aren’t well supported.
In 2017 a meta-analysis of 32 controlled feeding studies was done.
In all these studies, researchers kept calories and protein equal but adjusted ratios of fat and carbs.
The results?
Low-fat diets made participants lose more fat and burn more calories per day (by a very small amount).
This is consistent with real-world studies where participants were allowed to prepare their own meals.
Keto, low-carb, and high-carb diets all lead to similar amounts of fat loss.
It is more about calorie control rather than the specific nutrients consumed.
And these various diets are all different ways to reduce calories in the end.
The truth: Eating fewer carbohydrates (especially processed carbs) can be helpful if it helps you eat healthier.
If you can’t stick to it, consider other options.
As long as you do not overindulge, there is nothing inherently harmful about carbohydrates.
I have several more that I’ll discuss in future newsletters, like detox diets, eggs, salt, red meat, gut health, and dairy.
For now, remember: look at the bigger picture of your diet.
Don’t focus on the small minutiae of your diet.
Zoom out, make generally health-conscious choices, exercise, and sleep enough, and you should be golden.
And if you need more help with maximizing a busy schedule, or with proper training and nutrition to build muscle, lose fat, or improve your health markers, fill out the application below and I will reach out when I have spots available!
Best regards
Dr. CP