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Here are the top 15 Nutrition Myths – I’ve reviewed, summarized and debunked each one. Let the Myth Busting begin!Nutrition Myth #1: Natural saturated fat in our diet is a villain. TRUTH: Saturated fat is essential for healthy cells and heart. That’s correct: SATURATED FAT is REQUIRED for a HEALTHY HEART!! The villain is the high omega-6 fat found in vegetable oils like safflower, cottonseed, corn, soybean, sunflower, canola and peanut. The healthy fats come from butter, coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, free-range meat and eggs.Nutrition Myth #2: Low fat diets are healthy. TRUTH: Low fat eating requires the consumption of excessive carbohydrates to obtain the daily energy requirements. This leads to high insulin production, which kick-starts the cycle that eventually leads to heart disease. The more fat, the more bile salts required, the more cholesterol the liver makes. Therefore, blood cholesterol may increase with a higher fat diet. But, that’s OK!Nutrition Myth #3: Polyunsaturated vegetable are a healthy substitute for animal fats. TRUTH: The polyunsaturated vegetable oils have been rendered toxic by the extreme high temperature and pressure extraction process used by the food industry. In addition, these polyunsaturated oils are mainly omega-6 which increases the INFLAMMATORY response throughout the body.Nutrition Myth #4: Only lean protein should be eaten. TRUTH: Animal fats contain many nutrients that protect against cancer and heart disease; elevated rates of cancer and heart disease are associated with large amounts of vegetable oils. Also, saturated fat from meat is critical to insure the necessary stiffness of cell walls. Consume fewer animal products and substitute vegetable oils for animal fat.Nutrition Myth #5: Consumption of red meat increases the risk of cancer and heart disease. TRUTH: There has been NO research results correlating UNPROCESSED red meats with cancer or heart disease. Red meat is rich in iron and zinc, both of which play important roles in the body’s use of essential fatty acids; and, as we have seen, consumption of saturated fat poses no threat to our health.Nutrition Myth #6: When drinking milk, consume only that which is low fat. TRUTH: Powdered skim milk is added to 1% and 2% milk to give it body. Commercial dehydration methods oxidize cholesterol in powdered milk, rendering it harmful to the arteries. High temperature drying also creates cross-linked proteins and nitrates which are potent carcinogens. The fat in whole milk protect the intestine against infections, as well as other health benefits.Nutrition Myth #7: Be sure milk is pasteurized before drinking. TRUTH: Real milk-full-fat, unprocessed, and from pastured cows-is a fully “self-sufficient” food. Raw milk contains many enzymes that when exposed to the pH of the intestinal tract, become, active and make the milk easy to digest. But pasteurization destroys these enzymes and the body must work hard to supply its own to break down the milk protein, sugars and fat.Nutrition Myth #8: Growth hormone (r-BGH) is of no concern in milk. TRUTH: Many scientists are concerned that r-BGH-treated cows could pas unhealthy bacteria into milk products. Also, r-BGH stimulates the production of insulin-like growth factor 1, which promotes cell division and growth. Thee is speculation that this could lead to cancer. It is banned in Canada, Australia, Japan and the European Union.Nutrition Myth #9: Raw milk is not safe and should be banned in all states. TRUTH: Raw milk contains lactic acid producing bacteria that protect against pathogens. Pasteurization destroys these harmful organisms, leaving the milk devoid of any protective mechanism should undesirable bacteria contaminate the milk supply.Nutrition Myth #10: High fat foods, especially saturated fat, increase the levels of blood cholesterol. TRUTH: As far back as the 1950s, the Framingham study found NO CONNECTION at all between fat consumption and blood cholesterol levels. Further studies by the British (1963), the Israeli’s (1969) and the University of Michigan (1976) confirm the Framingham results. Just another ploy to sell low-fat concoctions.Nutrition Myth #11: High levels of cholesterol in the blood cause atherosclerosis, the buildup of the fatty plaques that obstruct arteries. TRUTH: Research evidence indicates that high blood cholesterol has NO RELATIONSHIP with the degree of atherosclerosis. For example, a Canadian study (1963) showed men having low cholesterol had as much atherosclerosis as those with high cholesterol. Many other studies, honestly evaluated, showed the same results.Nutrition Myth #12: The USDA food pyramid promotes health because it leads to a diet low in cholesterol and saturated and promotes carbohydrates from grains, vegetables and fruit. TRUTH: Restriction of animal fats and cholesterol is particularly harmful for pregnant women and growing children. Such a diet can lead to birth defects, poor growth and neurological development. It greatly increases the profits of the processed food and drug companies.Nutrition Myth #13: Soy foods are healthy and prevent heart disease. They are also an excellent substitute for milk in infant formulas. TRUTH: Soy does not lower cholesterol and does not prevent heart disease. High levels of plant estrogens found in products like soy milk, soy nuts and other soy foods put women at risk for cardiovascular disease. Concerns about the dangers of soy have suggested a ban on infant soy formulas.Nutrition Myth #14: Beta carotene is converted to vit.A, therefore animal products are not necessary as a source of vit.A. TRUTH: Only under optimal conditions can humans convert beta carotene to vit. A in the intestinal tract. This conversion requires bile salts and fat enzymes. Adding butter to vegetables is WISE as it stimulates the secretion of the needed bile, and enzymes, as well as, supplying easily absorbed vit. A.Nutrition Myth #15: Protein powders are a healthy choice for protein. TRUTH: Isolated protein powders made from soy, whey, casein and egg whites are usually obtained by a high temperature process that denatures the proteins making them virtually useless while increasing nitrates and other carcinogens. In addition, soy protein…isolates have mineral blocking and thyroid depressing agents.

Good mental health is fundamental to maintaining good physical health. And you want your employees to experience total worker health, correct?The fact that the mind and the body cannot be separated results in an inseparable relationship between physical and mental health. Despite the fact that the connections are striking, integration of the two fields in worksite wellness programming still has not occurred in any meaningful way. Worksite wellness practitioners need to better understand the connections between physical and mental health so they can intervene more effectively with employees to improve the outcomes in both areas.It is important to address the integration of physical and mental health for the following reasons:• The individual employee’s mental health status or the presence of a mental illness such as depression or anxiety can affect an individual’s ability to undertake health promoting behaviors that address their physical health status. It is therefore critical that individuals have a better understanding of the integral link between all aspects of their health.• Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer can have a profound impact on an individual’s mental health.• An individual’s mental health status affects an individual’s ability to participate in their treatment and recovery from a chronic disease.• Family members and caregivers of people with chronic diseases are also affected psychologically thereby potentially resulting in their neglecting their own health.Integrating all aspects of health within a worksite wellness program requires partnerships and integration at multiple levels. Integration and partnerships allow the partners to leverage their strengths and resources and to work on common goals. Integration needs to occur at the program level, the policy level, between vendors and potentially between the employer and community based resources.The elements necessary to support integration include:• Making the business case through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data on the interrelationships between all aspects of employee health. The data should also show how integration and partnerships can better advance the employer’s core mission and objectives.• Developing a champion at every level within the organization. While integration requires leadership and motivation from the top, it is best to have a champion at each level to initiate, implement, and sustain the integration.• Forming an integration management working team to sustain the integration effort. The integration effort cannot be sustained if it is only the work of just a couple of people.• Developing integrated interventions that are based on identified needs or gaps where positive outcomes and early wins can be achieved. Early on, look for interventions that are simple, targeted, and within the scope of the missions, resources, infrastructures, processes of the partners’ existing program initiatives.• Monitor, measure and evaluate integrated initiatives by establishing goals, measures and collecting the appropriate data. Evaluation could include process, output and outcome types of evaluation strategies. They could include assessing improvements in access to and satisfaction with care, services, or programming, determining the effect of policy changes on outcomes or services, and making the case for cost-benefit and/or cost-effectiveness.Programming is one of the key areas where integration can and should be implemented. The four levels we see for physical health programming can also be applied to other health areas as well. These are: awareness, education, lifestyle change and policy/environmental change.The traditional core physical health programming topics have included physical activity, nutrition, sleep and stress management. These four core programming areas also have implications for mental health as well. This makes the leap to integrated programming real easy. Prevention and self-care activities are also areas where integration can be applied.Good mental health is fundamental to maintaining good physical health. Ultimately, there is no health without mental health. A worksite wellness program is a necessary and ideal venue to support program integration.