Food Myths

Old–fashioned myths about food still dominate many Australian consumers’ eating habits.

In research conducted by the AFGC, the nation’s top three food myths—unsafe to refreeze meat after it has been thawed, red food colouring makes children hyperactive and chickens are fed growth hormones—are all are wrong!

The study also shows that other long–held misconceptions about food are slowly losing their currency in the national consciousness. For example, most consumers no longer believe that brown eggs are better for you than white eggs, all fats have a negative impact on your health, and red meat is generally bad for you.

The research also revealed that food myths such as oysters having the ability to improve your sex life were believed to be true by more young people than older people.

It also highlighted interesting differences in misconceptions about food between men and women. For example, 68 per cent of men compared to 83 per cent of women believe the myth that food colourings cause hyperactivity.

The national survey covered 500 Australians and tested 15 separate food myths.                    

1.    It is not safe to refreeze meat after it has been thawed

Contrary to the popular myth, it is actually safe to thaw and refreeze meat. However, this only applied if the thawing process takes place in a refrigerator at 5 degrees Celsius or less. Under these conditions most bacteria responsible for food poisoning cannot grow and those that can, do so very slowly and are killed by subsequent cooking. However, if a piece of meat is repeatedly thawed on a benchtop, parts of the meat will rise above 5 degrees Celsius, allowing bacteria that causes food poisoning to grow. 

It should also be noted that repeated thawing and refreezing of meat will affect meat quality, as it loses juice during each thaw cycle. This may impact on eating quality. 85% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

2. Processed foods typically contain high levels of salt

It is not true to say that processed foods typically contain high levels of salt. In fact, most foods we eat contain some naturally present salt and added salt has been used for centuries to preserve foods and prevent contamination by microbes. Salt also improves the taste of food and boosts other flavours in food. And with the availability of new methods of preservation and antimicrobial agents, salt in many processed foods has been reduced without affecting taste and flavour. While it is true that a significant proportion of our salt intake comes from processed foods, this is not because they typically contain high levels of salt. It is more to do with the fact that our dietary choices include many processed foods, many of which are counterparts of foods which, if prepared in the home, would have salt added during preparation or cooking.  82% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

3.    Chickens are often given growth hormones to improve production

Unfortunately, a large number of people in Australia still believe that chickens are fed hormones. In part, this stems from a television program in July 1985 in which hormonal abnormalities in young women in the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico were linked to feeding of hormones (oestrogen) to chickens.

Without actually saying so, the story implied that the feeding of oestrogen to chickens was a common practice worldwide—and indeed a practice followed in Australia.

However, the feeding of oestrogen to chickens was banned in Australia in the early 1960s—more than four decades ago.

In order to maintain consumer confidence in poultry products, the Commonwealth Government’s National Residue Survey (NRS) regularly tests for growth hormones. No residues have ever been detected. NRS test results can be obtained from the NRS website www.nrs.gov.au/residues/residues.html or by calling (02) 6272 3446.  80% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

4.   Compared with food cooked at home, processed foods have a lot less nutrients

Many processed foods are just as nutritious or in some cases even more nutritious than fresh foods, depending on the manner in which they are processed.

Frozen vegetables are usually processed within hours of harvest. There is little nutrient loss in the freezing process so frozen vegetables retain their high vitamin and mineral content. In contrast, it can take days or even weeks before fresh vegetables reach the dinner table and some vitamins are gradually lost over time.

Some processed foods have added vitamins and minerals for extra nutrition. In fact, the growing interest in health and nutrition has spurred the production of a whole new range of foods with added health and nutritional benefits called functional foods, such as margarines with added phytosterols to lower cholesterol.

Processing can also make some nutrients more available. For example, processing tomatoes into either paste or sauce increases the concentration of lycopene—an antioxidant Harvard University researchers have found may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by up to 40 per cent.  77% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

5.    Food colouring, especially red, can make children hyperactive

The myth that food colourings—also known as colour additives—cause hyperactivity was popularised in the 1970s. However, well–controlled studies conducted since then have produced no evidence that colour additives cause hyperactivity or learning disabilities in children.

A colour additive is any dye, pigment or substance that can impart colour when added or applied to a food. Colour additives are used in foods for many reasons, including off–setting colour loss due to storage or processing of foods and to accommodate variations in natural food colour. Australia’s Food Standards Code requires that any colour added to food is identified in the ingredient statement by name or by its international code number. The Food Standards Code controlling foods, food additives and food labelling is developed nationally by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and adopted by all States and Territories, and New Zealand.  76% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

6. Processed foods typically contain high levels of fat

Nearly everything we eat comes originally from a natural source, but much of it is processed to preserve it so that it keeps better (eg canned, frozen or chilled foods); or to make it easier to eat (eg wholemeal bread, a highly processed food made from wheat); or to make it safer (eg milk that is pasteurised).

Processed foods can be found in all the food groups—bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles; dairy; meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes; fruit and vegetables—so there are processed products high in protein (eg canned beans) and others high in carbohydrates (eg breakfast cereals). Just as some unprocessed foods are high in fat, there are also some processed foods high in fat.

Many food manufacturers understand that consumers want to be able to buy low fat alternatives to traditional products. For this reason, many products on supermarkets shelves also have a low–fat counterpart.

Reading the nutrition panel is the best way to determine the amount of nutrients in any food.  76% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

7.    The additives and preservatives used in food and drinks are unhealthy

Many foods depend on additives for safety, stability or preservation. Preservatives inhibit growth of microbes that cause food poisoning. Ham and bacon would be highly dangerous without the preservative that also gives them their characteristic colour. Similarly, emulsifiers are added to food such as ice cream to help give it a smooth, creamy taste. Without other kinds of additives many foods would look less pleasant, or taste less pleasant, or go off more quickly, or cost more.  71% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

8.    It’s best not to eat much after about 7 o'clock at night

It’s not when you eat, but what you eat that counts. No matter when they’re eaten, calories appear to have the same effect on the body. Evidence does suggest, however, that regular mealtimes, including breakfast, reduce fat intake and minimise impulsive snacking, which results in fewer total calories. Staying up late at night may lead to extra snacking, which can increase the total caloric intake. Weight gain would then occur, not because when you ate the food but rather how much you ate.  66% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

9.    MSG is not something that naturally occurs in foods

Glutamate is a naturally occurring amino acid and is one of the most abundant and important components of proteins found in most foods. These foods include cheese, milk, mushrooms, meat, fish and many vegetables. Glutamate is also produced by the human body and is vital for metabolism and brain function.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a derivative of glutamate. It is comprised of nothing more than water, sodium and glutamate.  When MSG is added to food it provides the same flavouring function as the glutamate that occurs naturally in food.

The human body does not discriminate between glutamate added to foods and glutamate found naturally in foods.  60% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

10. It's better to eat three good meals a day than to eat whenever you’re hungry

Don't eat because the clock says it is time to eat. Eat when you have a physiological need for food, stop eating when you have met that need.   

Most people feel like eating something every three to four hours to avoid becoming too hungry. Dividing your calories into three meals and two or three snacks instead of three large meals can help to keep you well fuelled throughout the day and lessen the chances of over–eating when meal times come around. Depending on what you choose, snacks can also make significant contributions to the day’s total intake of vital vitamins and minerals.  55% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

11. Generally, Australians have enough variety in their diet

The very first guideline to healthy eating is “enjoy a wide variety of foods every day”.

Unfortunately, Australians do not always have enough variety in their diet and this occurs in two ways; they don’t always eat from all of the five food groups (bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles; dairy; meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes; fruit and vegetables) and when they eat from a food group, they often don’t choose a wide variety of those foods.

It is important to eat from all of the food groups as this will likely mean your diet contains all the nutrients you need. Selecting a variety of foods from each group also increases your chance of getting all of those essential vitamins and minerals that you need.

Researchers at Monash University have developed a food variety checklist which suggest that for good health you need to be having 30 or more different food types a week. 48% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

12. Sugar is a significant cause of diabetes

Diabetes is a disorder that affects the body’s ability to use glucose properly. Diabetes is often first diagnosed by the detection of glucose (a type of sugar) in the urine, leading many to wrongly believe that eating too much sugar causes diabetes. This is simply not true.

During digestion, carbohydrates (sugars and starches) in food are converted to glucose. The body requires a certain level of glucose in the blood at all times. Your blood glucose (or blood sugar) level rises and falls during the day. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, helps this blood glucose enter our cells, and keep our blood glucose at a healthy level.

People with diabetes produce either too little or no insulin, or their cells do not respond to the insulin produced (insulin resistance). Unable to enter the cells, large amounts of glucose accumulate in the blood (hyperglycaemia) and spill into the urine. If left untreated, these high blood sugar levels can cause damage to the kidneys, nerves, eyes and feet. 48% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

13. There is some truth in the idea that oysters are an aphrodisiac

Oysters are one of a number of foods to which aphrodisiac powers have been traditionally attributed. Others include fish, vegetables and spices. However, none of these foods have been found to contain chemical agents that could affect sex drive. Therefore, it must be concluded that the reputation of various supposedly erotic foods is based not upon fact but upon folklore. Oysters are often eaten in romantic surroundings, and, given that libido is mostly in the mind—if you think oysters work, chances are they will.  40% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

14. Most Australians suffer from food allergies

About one–third of all adults believe they have food allergies. However, true food allergy is estimated to affect less than two percent of the population. Far more common are food intolerances. 

Reactions to food chemicals are not, strictly speaking, allergies. Unlike allergies, they seem to work by irritating nerve endings in the different parts of the body.

Symptoms vary from person to person. The most common ones are recurrent hives, headaches, mouth ulcers, stomach pains and bowel irritation.  Some people can also have flu–like aches and pains or feel unusually tired and run–down.  Children can be irritable or restless, and are sometimes diagnosed as being 'hyperactive'.

Food allergy is quite different from intolerance to food chemicals. It is caused by antibodies to food proteins, and usually involves only one or two foods. It affects mainly infants and children with a family background of allergic disorders like asthma, hay fever and eczema. Peanuts, eggs and milk are the foods most likely to provoke food allergies. Allergies to peanuts, in particular, can be very severe and may last for life.  Reactions occurring from other foods are likely to be due to chemical intolerances. 36% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.

15. It is healthier not to mix carbohydrates and proteins in the same meal

Some fad diets suggest that proteins and carbohydrates should not be consumed together. However, for many people, this may lead to sharp fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Although the glucose in the blood is usually tightly controlled, it can fluctuate sharply with the consumption of carbohydrate only meals, rising sharply and then falling rapidly, leading to feelings of fatigue, hunger or light–headedness. Combining protein with carbohydrates should help avoid these highs and lows

In fact, eating mixed meals which naturally combine proteins with carbohydrates is one of the best ways to control your blood glucose, or sugar levels. 25% of people surveyed believed this myth to be true.