#151 How many of these myths do you know?
Debunking common nutrition myths and reframing how you view food
In a world full of misinformation, let’s debunk some common myths about nutrition that nobody should be believing in big 2025.
Myth: Calories in vs calories out is all
WRONG: While the calories you consume matter, it’s not all there is to the equation. Your hormones, circadian rhythm and environment itself are important factors that affect your metabolism and the way you actually feel. You need to not only pay attention to what you’re eating, but the very design of your life itself.
Myth: Plant-based milks are healthier for you than animal-based milks
WRONG: Most plant-based milks aren’t actually milk. They lack the essential fat soluble vitamins milk contains. In a proper world, they wouldn’t even be called milk. Most are simply a blend of canola oil, water and unactivated nuts (only coconut milk is decent).
If you cannot tolerate animal milk and you want something plant-based, you could prepare your own healthy oat milk by preparing oats the right way (sprouting, fermenting, etc) before blending it in quality spring water as a makeshift plant based milk - if you don’t fancy using coconut milk.
Here’s some information on how you can prepare oats the right way:
Myth: Dietary cholesterol is responsible for heart disease & blocked arteries
WRONG: A falsified study by Ancel Keys in the 50s led to the AHA (in cahoots with Big Pharma) to start counter-signalling cholesterol. Guess who started selling cholesterol lowering drugs? Dietary cholesterol is not linked to heart disease.
Myth: Brown rice is healthier than white rice
WRONG: Brown rice is just unrefined white rice. While it’s marginally more nutritious, brown rice is not as digestible (could cause gut discomfort) and is really not even tasty. White rice is amazing and there’s a reason you never see a good Asian spot serve brown rice.
Myth: Polyunsaturated oils like canola oil are heart-healthy
WRONG: These oils only increase oxidative stress in the body and are linked with the very radicals that cause the plaque build-up in your inner arterial walls. Nobody deserves to eat food that’s been slathered in canola oil.
Myth: Sugar is bad for you
WRONG: Every cell in the body needs sugar to survive. Obviously don’t eat candy 24/7, but to fear all forms of sugar is stupid. Drink orange juice. Enjoy a Sunday affogato (as a treat). Sip on sugarcane juice. Snack on blueberries. Sugar is essential.
Myth: Only your diet matters
WRONG: Nutrition is just one pillar of health. Movement. Lifestyle. Your light diet. They all matter in determining just how ‘healthy’ you are. There’s more than one piece to the puzzle.
Myth: Toddlers should only eat toddler food
WRONG: They’re just tinier human beings. Breast milk for the formative years, and then once they can gnaw on things you just give them what you eat, in tinier portions. They deserve the best fuel.
Myth: Everyone needs to supplement with Vitamin D
WRONG: Unfortunately, we can’t replace the Sun with a single pill, as much as we’d like to. Skip the vitamin D supplement, long term supplementation has been linked with joint issues. Either get as much raw sunlight as you can or eat vitamin D rich foods like cod liver.
Myth: Dessert and snacks are bad for us and should only be a guilty pleasure
WRONG: The human being’s tendency to snack is natural and hard-coded in our DNA. Just pick snacks made with REAL ingredients. Raw honey. Fruit. Yogurt. Milk. Chips made the right way. It’s possible.
Myth: You need 8 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated
WRONG: Hydration is MORE than just drinking water. Ask yourself the right questions. How’s your electrolyte balance? How much do you lose in exercise? Optimize for sodium, magnesium & potassium NOT just liters of water.
Myth: Fish oil is crucial for brain health
WRONG: Yes, Omega 3s are crucial, but you’re not getting them from fish oil. Most are already oxidized in the bottle. Simply incorporate more seafood and your body will thank you. Sardines. Wild salmon. Cod liver. Fresh sea bass.
Myth: Everyone should avoid liquid calories
WRONG: Just because something is liquid doesn’t mean it’s bad. Liquids can be incredibly nourishing if you drink the right kinds. Fresh coconut water. A hearty gazpacho. Beetroot juice. It just depends on how you fit them in your diet.
Honestly, your relationship with food completely changes the moment you view it as fuel instead of pure pleasure. The food you consume also impacts you for longer than you think… Let me explain.
Everyone thinks of food as perishable. Calories in, calories out. Eat too much, get fat. Eat too little, lose weight. While I agree to a certain extent - there’s something most people are missing, that if understood would transform the very relationship they have with food itself.
See, everything you eat has a much LONGER impact on your body than you would imagine. Take a step back and think about this intuitively. Without all that you’re eating and drinking, your body would fall apart. It would literally perish.
Everything you put in your system is what BUILDS it. On a long enough time horizon, every cell in your body is constructed with the ingredients you are consuming.
Every single one.
This is the reason why I justify spending that extra 20-30% on the best food money can buy. Most people grossly underestimated how much they will “save” from eating garbage food anyway. You either pay now, or you pay later. It gets collected in the end.
Just like how money compounds, the premium you spend on organic, quality food will compound. You will feel the effects in your everyday life. From how your joints feel more supple as you age, to how your body looks and your general mental wellbeing. It’s all linked.
Gut health = Physical health = Mental health.
It compounds negatively the same way as well. You may not feel the effects of eating like shit now, but it’s all adding up in the background. Then it’ll hit you all at once. In your 40s or 50s. Worth it? Sometimes people forget that we only have ONE life. One toss. That’s it.
It’s a no brainer to me to fuel this one vessel that we are blessed it with the best fuel for our souls to achieve whatever it is we want to in this life. It’s really too short to take a gamble.
Food doesn’t expire.
At least that’s how I view it.
Every fat has a purpose
We need more of this
Gifts of nourishment
As summer turns to fall, normalize gifts of nourishment
Breakfast
How blessed are we to experience breakfast
All the flavors of tiramisu in Tiramisu Madeleines. They are made up of bite-sized chocolate coffee sponge cake, filled with boozy mascarpone cream, and a dusting of cocoa powder on top.
Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts and these Tiramisu Madeleines come pretty close! It is like if you marry Italian tiramisu and French madeleines and you get the best of both worlds.They have all the components that you love about tiramisu – coffee flavor, soft sponge cakes, mascarpone cream, and cocoa powder dust, making them taste like a delicious piece of tiramisu.
These delicious Tiramisu Madeleines are full of flavor. They have chocolate and coffee flavor in every bite, and the rich, creamy mascarpone filling with a dash of Kahlua emulates the mousse-like layers in a traditional tiramisu. A generous sprinkle of cocoa powder is a decadent finishing touch.
❋ WHY THE CHEESE CURLER (AKA GIROLLE) MAKES PARTIES SO GREAT
“Don’t play with your food.”
Like all American children not raised by wolves, I was taught this at an early age. The French were not taught the same thing. And so it was during a trip to Normandy four years ago that I first laid eyes on what appeared to be a toy for cheese—a sort of spinning knife with a big wheel of dairy beneath it. The French call it a girolle; the rest of us call it a cheese curler.
A friend of mine had just married a Frenchman, and his family was hosting the wedding reception in their beautiful 19th-century farmhouse. A bit linguistically challenged, I found myself staring across the room at an elderly French lady, her gray bun bobbing while she operated a strange instrument. I thought, that’s either a very efficient way to churn butter or a very inefficient way to operate a record player. When I asked her what it was, she was shocked I had never seen one before. Her surprise was unwarranted; by that point I had already proven myself a one-cheek kisser and phrase butcherer. Regardless, she showed me how it worked by grabbing the handle and pushing it around a wheel of Swiss Tête de Moine until it produced wispy little feathers. Guests then dipped those petals in balsamic vinegar—like painting the roses red.
❋ DELICIOUS ROASTED BOURSIN STUFFED DATES WITH PISTACHIOS
If you’re looking for an elegant and flavorful appetizer that will wow your guests, look no further than roasted Boursin stuffed dates with pistachios. This delightful dish combines the creamy richness of Boursin cheese with the natural sweetness of Medjool dates, making it a perfect balance of flavors. The addition of crunchy pistachios not only enhances the texture but also adds a beautiful color contrast that makes these bites irresistible.
Whether you’re hosting a dinner party or attending a potluck, these stuffed dates are sure to steal the show. They are easy to prepare and can be made ahead of time, allowing you to spend more time enjoying your gathering rather than in the kitchen. Plus, they cater to a variety of dietary preferences as they are gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly. The combination of sweet and savory notes in each bite will leave everyone asking for the recipe.
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Regarding duck fat, how important is the diet the ducks are fed? Grain-heavy diets can lower the fat quality of the bird.