Ethical Consumerism

There have been countless suggestions and theories regarding health and fitness over the centuries. In fact health and fitness is the only topic where so many contradictions exist at the same time. Every few years, a new diet system or exercise regime is introduced to the world and it quickly becomes the fad only to be thwarted by experts after sometime. But during their short-lived glory these fitness fads give birth to lots of false beliefs and information. This article will try to clear up some of the confusions and myths so that people around the globe can develop healthy eating and living habits and stop repeating ineffective or dangerous fitness routines.1) Packaged Fruit Juices Are Good For HealthWhen bottled or packaged fruit juices were first introduced to the commercial market, people immediately became big fans of these beverages. Eating fruit is a healthy habit but people become impatient very quickly when they have to buy, wash, peel and juice each fruit before getting the nutrients inside their body. The bottled juice was the perfect solution for them. Now-a-days, people believe that gulping down a bottle of Real Grape juice is the quickest and best way to make up for their otherwise unhealthy lifestyles. Unfortunately, this is not entirely true. Yes, there is no harm in drinking these juices but there are hardly any benefits either.The manufacturers extract a large volume of juice from the fruits and store them in tanks. This stored juice is then packed and sold throughout the year. This is the reason you can easily find orange juice during summer and Pineapple juice during fall. All the Oxygen from the stored juice is taken out to keep it fresh for months. But as the Oxygen is sucked out, almost all nutrients, vitamins and minerals of the juice are lost as well. So next time you feel like grabbing a bottle of juice, buy some fresh fruits instead. That will give you a lot more benefits at a fraction of the cost.2) Crash Diet Is Great For Losing Weight QuicklyNo matter how much the fitness experts try to preach otherwise, there are still a lot of people who believe that the best way to shed off extra pounds is to go on random diets. Yes these crash diets can help in shorter term but cause much more damage to the digestive system and the body in the longer run. When people eat very less for a month or two, they lose some weight pretty quickly but their body becomes increasingly weak from the lack of electrolytes, vitamins and other nutrients. A month or so in the crash diet, most people often feel tired, dizzy and weak.A greater danger of crash diet is weight gain instead of weight loss. Our body has several defense mechanisms that trigger under different circumstances. When you are eating very less each day, your body can mistake it for famine. It then stores almost all the calorie from the ingested food and spends very less for daily activities. Once this cycle sets in, you will be gaining weight instead of losing. A well planned diet with lots of vegetables and fruits is still the best way to lose fat.3) Certain Fruits Can Give You A Cold If Ingested At NightSome people believe that certain fruits are cold in nature and they can give a person cold or flu if eaten during night. Banana, Sweet Lime, Pineapple and Apple are considered the main culprits behind this phenomena. This theory, however, is absolutely wrong. Cold and flu are caused by viruses and the viruses can spread from anywhere. Coldness of these fruits have nothing do with you catching cold. So next time you feel like grabbing an apple after dinner, do so happily.4) Gluten Free Foods Give More EnergyYes, they do. But only to the people who are Gluten intolerant or suffering from Celiac disease. These people can feel fatigued, tired and sick after eating food that contains Gluten. Once they start ingesting Gluten free food, they feel more energetic and vivacious in all aspects of life. The best example of this phenomenon is tennis star Novac Djokovic. After he started his Gluten free diet, his game improved manifolds and today he is one of the top four tennis players of the world.But for regular people, Gluten free food offers no incentives at all. They might feel more energy after eating Gluten free food but the reason for that is more mental than physical. Also these special diets cost much more than regular food. So before you go munch on Gluten free food, get yourself checked for Gluten intolerance. If you are not Gluten intolerant, stick to your regular diet.5) You Can Eat As Much As You Want As Long As You Exercise RegularlyThis is true to a very small extent. If you are eating a cheese sandwich and expecting your workouts will cancel out the extra calories, it probably would. But if you are ingesting too much carbohydrate and fat, then your exercise routine may not be enough to shed off the calories unless you exercise like professional athletes. Getting calorie inside the body is much easier than driving it off. So do not set any wrong expectations.I sincerely hope that these tips will help bust some long-lasting myths about food and diets. There are tons more that can be written on this topic but that is for another article.