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!!!
