Busting Health Myths
Brian Shane
Myth or fact? Today, we’ll look at some of the most popular health trends or fads and see which ones are backed by science, and which are just modern myths.
The first health trend I want talk about is celery juice. It’s currently thought that celery juice, when consumed, will help with weight loss and help cleanse your body of toxins.
Myth. There is insufficient evidence to support claims that consuming celery juice helps with weight loss.
However, there are studies of the health benefits of the antioxidants in celery and its seeds. Notably, celery contains two beneficial antioxidants; apigenin and luteolin. Research shows that apigenin and luteolin may help treat various inflammatory diseases, and they have also been shown in some studies to help with arthritis. But this study has just been done with mice.
So, while celery juice is good for you and very healthy, just don’t believe the myth that it is a magical weight loss solution.
The next health myth or fact that I want to talk about is surrounding a common lifting supplement, creatine.
Creatine is one of the most common and most studied workout supplements there is. The issue surrounding creatine is that it can cause bloating and that it can do damage to the liver and kidneys.
Myth. Creatine does cause your muscles to retain more water initially, but it doesn’t cause full-body bloating. It helps make your muscles look fuller, and there have been countless studies that show that if you drink enough water, there will be no damage to the liver or kidneys.
My next health myth or fact I would like to talk about is the anabolic window.
The anabolic window is a given period after you work out that is believed to be when your body is more receptive to building muscle. Most people think that if they don’t get in their protein in after a lift they lose out on all those muscle gains they worked so hard for.
This is something I thought as well. I would be upset when the lines at Firebox or Nosh would take too long, and I felt like I lost out on my chance to make good of my workout.
Myth. What truly matters is not getting protein during the 30 minutes after a workout, but that you get the proper amount of protein total at the end of the day. That is what is important. To calculate your necessary protein per day, note that it is about one gram of protein per pound of body weight.
So don’t worry, next time the Nosh or Firebox line is crazy long after your next workout, you won’t lose out on any of your gains.
It is important to remember that health myths are everywhere, and it is essential to do your research to decipher myth from fact.