Absurd Foods by: Laura Marciano

8 Urban Myths about Foods - Absurd concepts about what and how we eat

• 1. Drinking too much coffee can indeed induce sluggishness, unnatural and unhealthy heart beats, and can trigger heart problems. Sleep is affected and the caffeine can make you lose calcium through urine.

But moderate amounts have been proven to protect the skin against UV radiation, and are beneficial against eye spasm, gout, muscular and joint pain. They also decrease insulin levels. Moreover, coffee increases sexual drive!

• 2. A common myth says that you should avoid high-cholesterol eggs. "Although they contain cholesterol, it is now known that cholesterol from our diet has little influence on blood cholesterol concentrations in healthy people," said Lisa Miles, Nutrition Scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation.

"Eggs are a source of protein. They also provide vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, niacin, biotin and vitamin B12."

• We should add that they are one of the richest sources of iron, calcium and phosphorus for the organism. Eggs for breakfast have been proven to induce a lower calorie consumption for the rest of the day!

• 3. "Five-a-day" pre-packed salads will bring all the vitamins necessary daily. This is just advertising!

"It's much better to buy fresh and make your own. Pre-packaged salad is very expensive and has been cut up so the vitamin content is reduced or non-existent. It is washed in a chlorine solution and prepared in a way that means it doesn't appear to deteriorate even though it may be up to a month old", explained nutritional therapist Jane Frank.

• 4. Fat is totally bad for you. Wait a minute: this is true only for the artery-hardening saturated fats, like animal lard! But your body requires 'good fats' for its health.

Polyunsaturated fats from sunflower, soya, sesame and corn oils, monounsaturated fats like olive and rapeseed oils and omega 3 fats (essential fatty acids which cannot be synthesized in the body in sufficient levels) from oily fish like pilchards, sardines, salmon and mackerel are crucial for our normal functioning.

Do not forget that some vitamins are found only associated with fat, like vitamin A and D, while some hormones are just fats, like the sex hormones (testosterone, progesterone) and stress hormones (cortisol).

• 5. Skipping breakfast will help you slim!

Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Skipping breakfast rises the need to overcompensate and eat more (and often junk food) later in the day, even have copious dinners. Just before sleeping, when all that you have ingested several hours before goes right to the fat stores. If you want to get slim, what you have to do is the opposite: light dinners!

• 6. "Diet" drinks satisfy a sweet tooth while keeping you slim.

"Sugar substitutes are 1000 sweeter than sugar so they are • going to make you crave far more of the stuff! You can lose sweet cravings

but not if you eat or drink things with sugar substitutes in. It's much better to drink plenty of water and eat fresh fruit" said Liz Tucker, health and wellbeing consultant.

"One theory is that the high sweetness of all soft drinks makes a person more prone to eat sugary, fattening foods. Another is that the caramel content of soft drinks promotes metabolic changes that lead to insulin resistance," said Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, senior author of a recent study showing that "light" sodas induce the same effects as sugary sodas: metabolic syndrome issues, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, elevated levels of the blood triglycerides (saturated fats) and low levels of the artery-protecting HDL cholesterol.

• 7. Fresh food is a waste. In fact, juice extractors are fabulous for using up any 'surplus.'

"Frozen, chilled, canned and dried fruit and vegetables all also count towards five a day, as does 100% juice." said Miles. Moreover, dried fruits or fresh fruits juices are much tastier and healthy, without the huge amounts of added sugar and additives. Drink natural juices, not water mixed with sugar!

• 8. Chocolate is regarded as the devil's temptation, do not touch it, it instantly makes you fat!

Researches have proved that chocolate has numerous beneficial effects on your health: it has antibiotic properties, boosts memory, increases brain's levels of serotonin ("feel good" hormone), acts like a neuronal disinhibitor that increases audacity, attraction, excitement, and giddiness; improves the blood circulation, with good effects on preventing heart disease, brain aging and ... of course, boosting erection!

It is also rich in iron and magnesium. A 1999 research at Harvard University even discovered that chocolate consumers live almost one year more than those who do not eat chocolate.

Crab Claws

EEL

Steckelfisch

• At Augustinerbrau in Munich, I saw the most unusual-looking food: mackerel on a stick. Called Steckelfisch, it was the entire fish (head, eyes, and all), on a stick, like some weird charred popsicle roasting over a fire. Definitely not for the faint of heart. While sitting in a beer tent, a local man who had this fish sat next to us. He insisted we share it with him. We had consumed a liter or so of good German beer, and not wanting to be rude Americans, we sampled it — and it was the best tasting fish, clean white meat, not fishy at all! Who knew it could be so good?

Snails and Needles

Monkey Toes

• (Indonesia) Deep fried monkey toes, eat it off the bone

Bulls Penis

• A couple of years ago, I was browsing the meat section of an Asian market. I found a cylindrical piece of meat, about 1-1/2 feet long and 4 inches in diameter, with an uneven surface, severed at only one end, folded in half and frozen solid. The package was marked "Beef Pizzler." I thought, "Naw... it can't be!" But I always wondered...

Pig Blood with eggs

• (Hungary) Pigs blood with eggs. In Hungary, it is a big deal to kill the first pig of the season. So there I was in the morning watching some of my co-working chasing a pig around in the back yard. they caught it, slit it neck, and colleted the blood in a frying pan and then added scrambled eggs.

Calf's Head

• Tete de veau (Calf's Head). A delicacy in France. A British relative living in France raved about it so I ordered it in a restaurant. I was green until the waiter took it away. Basically, the fleshy bits of a calf's head, cooked for a long time and cut into squares, each consisting of a few strings of slimy meat and a 1cm thick layer of fat/gelatinous glop. The brain is served in the corner of the plate.