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6 (Mostly False) Food Myths Revealed

These “facts” about food range from slightly off to downright nutty. Discover the truth about what’s on your plate

Myth 1: French fries give you zits

The tidbit of truth: Greasy fingers makes acne worse

Excess oil in your skin causes acne, but oily foods don’t contribute to the problem—that is, unless you’re a messy eater. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), when some vegetable oils get on the skin, they could make existing acne worse—so wipe your mouth if you miss, and keep greasy fingers off your face. What about chocolate? Scientists may need to look at this one a little more closely. Though experts agree specific foods don’t cause acne, very preliminary research presented at the AAD conference this year found that eating pure chocolate may exacerbate acne in people prone to pimples.

Myth 2: White flour is bleached with dangerous chemicals

The tidbit of truth: White flour is bleached, but the chemicals are safe

Flour whitens naturally on its own as yellow compounds called xantophylls react with oxygen in the air; this takes several weeks. To speed the process, manufacturers bleach flour, turning it white from its natural straw color, with safe, FDA-regulated chemicals (some of the same ones used to sanitize veggies).

Myth 3: Carrots make you see better

The nugget of truth: Carrots contain nutrients that help keep eyes healthy

They are rich in vitamin A, and vitamin A is absolutely important for eye health—but there’s nothing magical in this orange veggie. Spinach, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin are also good sources. So yes, carrots

are good for your vision, but no, they won’t improve it.

Myth 4: Bread Make You Fat

Contrary to popular belief, bread does not make you fat.

In fact, there isn’t any one food that makes you fat. Weight gain occurs when you eat more calories than you burn. bread, like any food, contains calories, so if you eat too much of it, of course you will put on weight. To give you an idea, 100 grams of bread provides 240 calories, most of which come from carbohydrates, but there are other foods that give you far more calories with the same number of grams (eg, rice: 354 cal,  corn flakes 350 cal, biscuit 456cal, chocolate croissant 469 cal, “Danish” cookies 397 cal, cheese cake 414 cal...). Eating bread is healthy and it doesn’t fatten you as much as people say it does, as long as you do it right.

Myth 5: Eating after dark packs on pounds

The nugget of truth: People are more prone to overeat at night

Consuming too many calories is what makes you gain weight—it doesn’t really matter what time of day you do it. That said, more people tend to overindulge at night out of boredom or other emotions instead of hunger—calories that are then stored as fat. Also, those who eat late-night often wake up without an appetite and skip breakfast, the meal that has been shown to control calorie intake throughout the day. To help curb nighttime noshing: Brush your teeth after your last meal (it sends a powerful message that eating time is over); “close” the kitchen 2 hours before bedtime; and keep snacks out of sight.

Myth 6: Sugar causes diabetes

The nugget of truth: Sugar contributes to weight gain, which ups your risk

It doesn’t lead to diabetes the same way cigarettes cause cancer, but research shows that sugar may play a role. We know

being overweight increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and consuming too much sugar makes you put on pounds. Some science, though, has linked excess sugar intake to increased risk regardless of weight—one study found women nearly doubled their diabetes risk when they increased the number of sugar-added drinks from 1 or fewer a week to 1 or more per day over a 4-year period. To be safe, watch your weight; eat lots of high-fiber foods (which keep blood sugar steady); and opt for water or tea over sugary soft drinks whenever possible.

BARBIE BUNGEE JUMPING

We did an experiment in Math class. It consisted on finding out how many wubber bands were necessary to form a rope and throw a Barbie so that it could bungee jump safely without cracking her head on the floor. Better safe than sorry!

To do this experiment we needed:

-      A Barbie doll

-      A few elastic rubber bands

-      A measuring tape.

We tied one of the rubber bands to the Barbie's ankles and measured its height. Later we added one rubber band and measured the distance of the jump several times so that our information was more accurate.

Then we added more rubber bands and repeated the process. We also measured the stair well to be 4.20 meters.

With all the data we calculated an equation that we used to find out how many rubber bands we needed.

The best one was one in which the Barbie's hair touched the floor (our teacher said that he would not choose that one because it was too risky). Our group wasn't the best but we tried and it was really fun!!!