Conventional "Wisdom" Part 1

My post today is inspired by a thread on the Mark's Daily Apple forum about the most controversial 'myths' that Conventional Wisdom has to offer us... This is always going to be the hardest thing about adopting a Primal lifestyle - confronting all of those ideas about health, eating, and fitness that conventional wisdom has drilled into us since we've been born. Here's some of the biggest things that I've struggled with on my short journey:-

1. Eating fat will make you fat...
This one has so many things wrong with it, it's difficult to know where to start. Just understanding that weight gain (and loss) is a hormonal event and that our body's preferred fuel is fat is a stretch! Get to know your fats and avoid the trans-fats which are terrible for you and your body will thank you for it.

2. Chronic Cardio is the best way to lose weight...
Another biggy and not one that I have touched on in depth yet. A combo of strength (heavy weight lifting) and interval training as well as low impact cardio (eg walking, swimming) will lead to bigger weight loss than hitting the treadmill every day for an hour. Try it, I dare you!

3. Grains should be the staple of our diet. Wrong! Oh, but the food pyramid says I should eat 6-11 serves of them per DAY. Totally crazy!
Learn the Real Truth about grains because it's scary... and not just for people who have celiacs disease. Cut out grains for a month, a week even, and notice the difference.

4. If it's low fat, it's healthy for me and I can eat as much of it as I want!
This one kind of relates to no. 1 but I think it deserves it's own post. Eating low fat but high sugar is much, much, much worse for you than eating full fat, real food. And the proliferation of low fat, no fat, "skinny" options available to us now are doing so much damage to our bodies. Wake up! Have full fat milk or cream in your coffee and don't feel guilty!

5. Be careful in the sun - never go outside in the heat of the day without sunscreen or appropriate covering.
I bet you didn't know that Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to many serious diseases, including cancer. The idea that we're overdosing on the 'sun safe' campaigns is gaining credibility as more studies come out proving that we actually need vitamin d for optimal health. The recommendation is to get at least 15 minutes of sun, unprotected, per day.

These are just some of the myths I will bring you over the coming months... I'm not telling you that you have to believe anything I say, but maybe just think about it and do your own research - you might be surprised!

Final thought - have you ever heard anyone say "I've stopped drinking soft drink, I only drink Diet Coke now, it's much healthier"!!! Consider the logic of this ;-p