Myth #1

Intermittent fasting boosts your metabolism and is great for weight loss.

Long periods of fasting is actually quite stressful on your body. When the body is deprived of food and blood glucose drops, it’s your stress hormones that do the job to elevate your blood glucose levels. It does this by breaking down your tissues including muscle tissue.

This is known as catabolism and sets off a cascade of hormonal implications. It specifically puts stress on the thyroid and really puts the breaks on the cadence of your metabolism.

It's important to keep in mind that if your goal is weight loss, balanced blood sugar and managing stress hormones is critical. Imbalanced blood sugar can lead to intense cravings and cause you to overeat. Elevated stress hormones pumps the breaks on the processes that allow you to sustainably lose weight.

Myth #2

Dairy is inflammatory and should be avoided.

Studies show that there is no link between increased inflammation and dairy consumption. In fact, recent studies confirm that in some cases, dairy can help combat inflammation.

When we avoid dairy, we are missing key nutrients that can support healthy levels of calcium, a nutrient that is critical in bone and muscle health. Consuming full-fat dairy is also known to support fertility in women.

When compared to plant protein, the protein from milk is more complete and higher quality.

Dairy replacements are often highly processed, often contain anti-nutrients such as polyunsatured fats, and are known to have thickeners and emulsifiers that can irritate the gut.

Improving gut health is one of the key factors in reducing inflammation. Avoiding highly processed foods, foods that are known to slow the metabolism, and supporting the gut's microbiome (and reducing stress) are crucial.

Myth #3

Snacking and eating after dinner packs on the pounds.

Diet culture brainwashes us with food rules that completely disconnect us from our biological needs, our hunger cues and do not honor our body's physiology. We've been taught to restrict and suppress and it's not doing us any favors. 

A healthy, supported metabolism needs more calories than you think. Under-eating, not eating enough calories is one of the key contributors to a slowed metabolism.

Consuming a balanced snack or small meal is a great way to keep blood sugar stable and stress hormones low.

Snacking is a great way to keep your energy up (we have better mental clarity & focus when we aren't hungry). When we snack mindfully, we make better food choices because we aren't choosing foods out of desperation.

Myth #4

You have no control over your hormones. PMS is normal. We just have to endure it.

The foods we eat (and how often we eat), the products we use in our homes and on our bodies, the medications we take, our stress levels, all have influence on our hormones. We don't have to be at the mercy of our hormones.

PMS symptoms such as headaches, irritability, acne, bloating, insomnia, cramps, cycle irregularity, etc are a signal that something is out of balance.

Food has the power to heal (or harm) our bodies. Every food we eat, healthy or not, has an impact on our hormone levels such as insulin, grehlin and leptin. These are hormones that impact hunger cues and blood sugar.

Cortisol, the "fight or flight" stress hormone, is vital to our survival. Yet high levels of cortisol can cause us to overeat, gain weight, and can impact thyroid function. We do have the ability to naturally lower cortisol levels, through stress management techniques and a healthy, balanced diet.

Myth #5

Eating carbs will make you gain weight.

Carbohydrates are one of the key macronutrients (protein and fat are the other two) that are VITAL for cellular function.

Let's not forget that those who hold carbohydrates responsible for weight gain have built massive careers (hello keto diet) by demonizing this food group.

Carbs have been demonised as making us fat based on the hypothesis that carbs spike or elevate insulin and insulin as the ‘fat storage hormone’ make us store calories as fat. This hypothesis is untrue.

When we consume carbs, our body breaks them down and turns them into glucose. Glucose is the body's preferred source of energy. When the body doesn't consume the glucose for energy, it gets stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles (for later).

Low glycogen stores leads to brain fog, tiredness/low energy and it triggers the release of cortisol. Yes, when this happens it can cause the body to burn fat for energy. However, elevated cortisol suppresses "non-essential" metabolic functions such as digestion, growth, key hormone functions and more.

More importantly, those who cut carbs in an effort to lose weight typically end up regaining lost weight (and then some) when they resume eating carbohydrates again.