20 Diet Myths: Busted. A Manifesto to change how you think about dieting.

By Zoe Harcombe

Conventional Wisdom tells us that all we need to do to lose weight is to eat less and/or do more. Zoe Harcombe busts this, and other diet myths in this thought provoking article.

One pound does not equal 3,500 calories. You will not lose one pound if you create a deficit of 3,500 calories. Eating less/doing more will not work. Five-a-day is not only being a myth, but a contributor to the obesity epidemic. Saturated fat does not cause heart disease. Your body makes cholesterol, your body is not trying to kill you and more.

As well as busting 20 of the most strongly held diet myths of all times, this manifesto includes the full introduction to Zoë Harcombe’s book The Obesity Epidemic: What caused it? How can we stop it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zoe Harcombe
• Release date: Aug 12, 2011
• ISBN: 9781907797187

Zoe Harcombe

Zoë’s passion is her vocation. Zoë spends her time researching and writing about obesity, diets and weight loss and she works exclusively in this field. She is author of the best selling book "Stop Counting Calories and Start Losing Weight", which was the follow-up to "Why do you overeat? When all you want is to be slim". The result of 20 years’ research into the causes of overeating, Zoë’s books go against traditional diet advice and are the first to address the three fundamental medical conditions that cause food cravings and therefore the compulsion to overeat. This understanding has helped tens of thousands of people lose weight quickly, easily and healthily through The Harcombe Diet approach. Zoë was the first person from her state school to graduate from Cambridge University. The paradox of escalating obesity and overwhelming desire to be slim has been a constant fascination to her and she set out to try to understand the obesity epidemic in the late 1980's, when UK obesity rates had just hit double figures. By the end of the millennium, UK obesity rates were 22.6% and 25.8% for men and women respectively and have worsened further since. By studying nutrition and, more importantly, by questioning every principle taught in nutrition and public health dietary advice, Zoë has found virtually every 'fact' to be anything but. From misapplying thermodynamics to five-a-day having no evidence base; from 1lb not equalling 3,500 calories to our eat less/do more advice being fundamentally flawed, very little has stood up to scrutiny. Zoë's most hardback book "The Obesity Epidemic: What caused it? How can we stop it?" is the presentation of what we have got wrong and the evidence for what would be right.

Book preview

20 Diet Myths - Busted

Published by Columbus Digital Services Ltd

www.columbuspublishing.co.uk

EPub ISBN: 978-1-907797-18-7

Rev:187-20110817

Copyright © Zoë Harcombe 2011

Smashwords Edition

Zoë Harcombe has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Please feel free to share this eBook with your friends.

PDF downloads can be obtained from

http://www.zoeharcombe.com/

If you wish to quote, use or publish the work in full or in any part, you must prominently credit Zoë Harcombe as the author and www.zoeharcombe.com as the source.

The advice offered in this book, although based on the author’s experience and over twenty years of research, is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of your personal physician. Always consult a medical practitioner before embarking on any diet. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any loss or claim arising from the use or misuse of this book.

For further information, please visit

www.zoeharcombe.com

www.theobesityepidemic.org

Contents:

Introduction

Myth 1: Energy in equals energy out

Myth 2: Eating less will make you weigh less

Myth 3: Doing more will make you weigh less

Myth 4: Weight gain is the result of too many calories in

Myth 5: One pound equals 3,500 calories

Myth 6: You will lose one pound every time you create a deficit of 3,500 calories

Myth 7: Cholesterol is going to kill you

Myth 8: There is good cholesterol and bad cholesterol

Myth 9: We need to eat five-a-day

Myth 10: Fruit is highly nutritious

Myth 11: Fructose (fruit sugar) is good for dieters

Myth 12: We must eat fibre (25-30 grams of the stuff in fact)...

Myth 13: Saturated fat causes heart disease

Myth 14: Butter is bad and we should be eating man-made-margarine instead

Myth 15: Fat clogs up our arteries...

Myth 16: Meat is loaded with saturated fat

Myth 17: We need to keep our blood sugar topped up

Myth 18: Graze – eat little and often

Myth 19: Sedentary behaviour caused this obesity epidemic...

Myth 20: Exercise will cure it...

The Obesity Epidemic - Introduction

References

Introduction.

Conventional Wisdom tells us that all we need to do to lose weight is to eat less and/or do more. Zoe Harcombe busts this, and other diet myths in this thought provoking eBook

As well as busting 20 of the most strongly held diet myths of recent times, it includes the full introduction to Zoë Harcombe’s book The Obesity Epidemic: What caused it? How can we stop it? available in hardback on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.

The truth is deafening, however quietly spoken - Anon

Myth 1: Energy in equals energy out

One of the favourite slogans of diet advisors is energy in equals energy out. They even add you can’t change the laws of physics/the laws of the universe. I don’t know if they know what the laws of the universe say.

There are four laws of the universe. We can largely ignore the zeroth and the third in the world of dieting. The