When it comes to healthy eating ideas, there are all kinds of rules, trends, and advice about what is good for you and what is bad for you.
Some of the advice may be legitimate, but some should be taken with a grain of salt.
Multiple experts and researchers from Mass General Brigham and Co. in Boston have examined some of the popular diet concepts floating around lately and separated fact from fiction.
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Here are six popular concepts, according to experts, and clear explanations of whether they’re valid or not.
True or false?
1. ‘Women should follow the Mediterranean diet to live longer’
That’s true. Recent studies show that the Mediterranean diet is beneficial for overall health.
Mass General Hospital researchers evaluated six myths about healthy eating, including plant-based diets and peanut butter for kids. (iStock)
Massachusetts General University also supports this theory, citing its own research that found that women who followed this eating plan for more than 25 years had up to a 23 percent lower risk of death, along with reduced cardiovascular and cancer-related deaths.
The study also found that including a single ingredient in the diet reduced the long-term risk of death from certain diseases by 5 percent.
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The Mediterranean diet includes healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, nuts, and fish, while avoiding sugar and processed or red meats.
Most people don’t realize the impact nutrition has on health and longevity, according to Dr. Samia Mora, director of the Center for Lipid Metabolomics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The Mediterranean diet includes foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, nuts and fish, while avoiding sugar and processed or red meats. (iStock)
“What we eat today has significant implications for living a long and healthy life,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Benefits [of the Mediterranean diet] “It was seen in both cancer and cardiovascular deaths (the top two causes of death in women and men) and was associated with multiple biological mechanisms, notably lower inflammation and insulin resistance and improved metabolism.”
2. ‘Eliminating trigger foods is always the best treatment for digestive problems’
WRONG. While some people may have food allergies or autoimmune conditions, experts at Mass General have found this dietary concept to be incorrect overall, as many digestive symptoms are known to have “more complex causes.”
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According to Dr. Kyle Staller, director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, the reason patients have bad reactions to certain foods is not the foods themselves but their digestive system’s response to eating “in general.”
A doctor said that poor digestive response may not be due solely to the foods you eat. (iStock)
“Some people may have true allergies to certain foods (such as gluten in celiac disease) or an inability to digest certain foods (such as dairy in lactose intolerance), but many of the symptoms attributed to certain foods are actually caused by your body’s response to the food,” he told Fox News Digital.
Regardless of the type of food eaten, eating sets off “a cascade of neural activity in the gut,” according to Staller.
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People with irritable bowel syndrome may develop gastrointestinal discomfort in the form of gas, bloating, and a feeling of abnormal fullness.
“We call these ‘gut-brain interaction disorders’—feeling abnormal sensations even when digestion appears to be functioning normally,” Staller said.
One doctor said that no matter the type of food eaten, it sets off “a cascade of nerve activity in your gut.” (iStock)
“Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the classic example of this.”
The best way to alleviate these symptoms, according to Staller, is to target the abnormal nervous system responses while eliminating only the “most problematic” foods.
3. ‘Eating blueberries may reduce the risk of some eye diseases’
That’s true. Researchers found this claim to be true: Blueberries may actually be good for your eyes.
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A Mass General study of nearly 40,000 middle-aged and older U.S. women found that eating one or more servings of blueberries per week reduced the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye condition that can lead to significant vision loss, by 28%.
Consuming one or more servings of blueberries per week has been found to reduce the risk of conditions that cause vision loss by 28%. (iStock)
Dr. Howard D. Sesso, Director of Nutrition and Supplements Research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, confirmed that blueberries can improve eye health.
“Blueberries contain anthocyanins, a bioactive polyphenol that gives the fruit its blue color, and has been linked to a possible reduction in eye disease,” one expert told Fox News Digital.
4. ‘Following a plant-based diet will always improve health outcomes’
Wrong, with caveats. Experts at Mass General say a plant-based diet isn’t always best, but it can seem very healthy.
Plant-based eating plans have “diverse and sometimes opposing health effects,” according to Dr. Qi Sun, an associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“Diet alone is not a magic bullet.”
She noted that a plant-based diet rich in refined grains, sugary drinks and candy is drastically different from a diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, coffee, tea and more.
According to experts, a plant-based diet should be balanced, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains. (iStock)
The first diet is associated with “many negative health problems,” according to the researchers.
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The latter diet is considered a “healthy version of the plant-based diet” and is “strongly associated with better health outcomes, including a lower risk of diseases such as diabetes, obesity and gout,” Sun said.
Experts say the “healthy version” of a plant-based diet reduces the risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, obesity and gout. (iStock)
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Sun urged people to focus on quality ingredients like fresh fruits, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, olive oil and other vegetable oils, and to limit sugary and salty foods.
“Don’t forget about regular activity and other healthy lifestyle choices,” she advised. “After all, diet alone is not a magic bullet.”
5. ‘Food location in grocery stores has no impact on purchases’
WRONG. Mass General called this notion completely “wrong” because the “choice architecture” of grocery stores “powerfully influences what we buy.”
According to researchers, when healthy products are stocked in visible and easily accessible places, the likelihood of making healthier choices increases.
“Healthy choice architecture” means stocking healthy products in visible or convenient locations, according to Mass General. (iStock)
In the Mass General Hospital cafeteria, food and drinks are labeled red, yellow and green, with red being the least healthy and green being the healthiest.
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Researchers found that employees were more likely to make healthier choices when the healthiest products were within easy reach or at eye level.
Dr. Anne Thorndike, a primary care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, told Fox News Digital that the opposite is also true.
People were more likely to choose foods that were easily available and visible, the researchers said. (iStock)
“This is well known by the food industry. They place sugary drinks, salty snacks, candy and baked goods at checkouts, along aisles and in store fronts,” he said.
6. ‘Early consumption of foods like peanut butter can prevent allergies’
That’s true. Introducing a young child to foods known to cause allergic reactions can be scary for parents, but Mass General confirms that it can be beneficial in the long run.
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According to the LEAP Trial (Learning Early About Peanut Allergy), introducing “developmentally appropriate” forms of peanuts to children between the ages of 4 and 6 months may reduce peanut allergy in those at high risk by 80%.
Giving “developmentally appropriate” forms of peanuts to children 4 to 6 months of age can reduce peanut allergy by 80 percent in those at high risk. (iStock)
Dr. Michael Pistiner, director of Food Allergy Advocacy, Education and Prevention at Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, emphasized that these findings show that “timing is important.”
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“By the time your child goes to a pediatric allergist, it may be too late to prevent some food allergies that could be prevented with early allergen introduction and family education,” the expert told Fox News Digital.
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“With limited access to allergists and long wait times that can exceed three months, primary care clinicians play an important role in providing support to families in infant feeding, early allergen introduction, eczema management, and food allergy diagnosis and referral,” Pistiner said.