Over the past decade, health culture has been on the rise. This happened partly thanks to social networks, and is reaching an increasingly young audience. But a lot of the information being disseminated online, especially regarding nutrition, has no evidence.

This is written by experts, including Christy Harrison, a registered nutritionist and author of the new book "The Wellness Trap", reports yahoo.com.

Harrison talked about just some of the most common myths about nutrition. She explained why it was necessary to abandon them immediately.

"Detoxification" of the body is a myth

According to Harrison, the word "detox" — rid the body of toxins or substances — has entered the culture of healing. Be it sugar or social media. These so-called detoxifications are touted as ways to cleanse the body and mind.

"It's a very harmful health trend," Harrison says, adding that detoxification usually involves extreme or restrictive behaviors. Juice cleansing, nutritional supplements and fasting are touted as ways to detoxify the body, Harrison says, even if the body is set up to self-detoxify.

"Your liver and kidneys are great at removing toxins in your body without any intervention on your part," she said.

Extreme cleansing won't make these organs work better, she adds, and they're certainly not a necessary support measure.

"Wellness culture seems to view the liver and kidneys as filters in the sink that clog up debris. There is a lot of talk about the need for detoxification or cleansing in order for the organs to work properly. But that's simply not true, she emphasizes. If you do not have liver or kidney disease or rare cases of acute poisoning... You don't have to do anything to keep your liver and kidneys functioning," she added.

Myth two about the "treatment" of juice

Juices have become a panacea that can heal from a number of diseases. This is a myth. There is no solid scientific evidence for juice purification, but they are still touted as a "pill" for everything.

According to Harrison, any recovery trend is a wake-up call if it is advertised as a medicine or a way to help with a wide range of different diseases.

She adds that celery juice, in particular, remains a popular trend among influencers and celebrities, with many claiming that it promotes rapid weight loss, improved gut health, increased energy levels, and cleansed the skin.

"There are probably a dozen chronic diseases for which celery juice supposedly helps or even cures, such as autoimmune diseases, skin diseases, allergies or digestive disorders. But studies confirming these claims are extremely lacking," she said.

Although fruits and vegetables provide the body with vitamins and nutrients, squeezing juice out of them does not enhance these benefits, experts say. Juices can be a great addition to your diet along with whole, nutritious foods, but drinking them as a substitute or cleansing really isn't worth it.

"Clean" food

Wellness culture has generated an obsession with the cleanliness of what we eat, says Harrison.

"A prerequisite for a clean diet is to focus on consuming whole foods, avoiding processed foods, reducing sugar intake, limiting saturated or trans fats, and limiting or avoiding alcohol and caffeine. It's one thing to try to include more nutritious foods in your diet, but a clean diet is often a problematic hidden diet," says Harrison.

Some pure food diets involve the exclusion of entire food groups (for example, grains or dairy products) and excessively restrictive behavior. Most worried about how this can lead to disordered eating habits or full-blown orthorexia.

According to the National Institutes of Health, orthorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by an obsession with healthy eating and related restrictive behaviors. This often involves fixation on food sterility.

The myth of the harmfulness of all processed food

Moralizing food — or labeling certain foods as "good" or "bad" — is one of the most damaging myths of health culture, Harrison says.

"There is no good and bad food," she explains. Some foods are more nutritious than others.

"Demonizing processed foods and sugar is harmful," Harrison says.

This makes people feel that if they eat any of these foods, they will have immediate health consequences or get poisoned. Such a mythcan lead to disordered food trends.

Processed foods are those that have undergone some processing from their natural state, containing anything from candy and cookies to canned fish or canned vegetables. One step above these are ultra-processed foods, which have undergone major changes and are associated with an increased risk of certain cancers.

Harrison admits that while research suggests that eating too much processed food or sugar may be associated with bad health outcomes, she doesn't believe it justifies the level of fear around certain foods that many in the wellness industry promote.

"Nutritional supplements cure" is a myth

According to Harrison, wellness culture often insists that taking vitamins and dietary supplements is a more "natural" solution to achieving good health.

However, the benefits of dietary supplements to the population are widely disputed. And research continues to show that vitamin pills and chewy candies advertised to support our health may not have much effect at all.

What's more, nutritional supplements can be harmful for a number of reasons, says Harrison. In large doses, they will have unpleasant side effects and even health risks.

Harrison explains that supplement manufacturers may not claim that their products cure or cure diseases, but they may make more vague claims, such as that they "increase energy" or provide "immunity support."

"It's scary because no one really monitors what's included in supplements before they hit the market," Harrison says.

Recall that controlling blood pressure can prevent illness and prolong your life. Unfortunately,cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death among citizens.

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