Indi Maharaj

Staff Photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Cucumbers, grapefruit and celery are photographed in the Times Free Press studio.

You wake up in the middle of the night with hunger pains ricocheting through your stomach. Your first thought is bread and peanut butter waiting in your kitchen. But you've always heard that snacking at night is one of the worst things you can do if you're trying to stay in shape.

Not true, according to nutritionists at womensfitness.net. This is just one of many food myths that confuse dieters trying to follow more healthful lifestyles.

No matter when you eat, you gain weight when you eat more calories than you burn off. So exercise is the key word.

Indi Maharaj, registered dietitian at Erlanger's Chattanooga LifeStyle Center, offers her opinion of five additional food myths.

Myth: Certain foods can burn fat.

Reality: No foods can burn fat. Caffeine-rich foods may speed up your metabolism rate for a short time; however, they do not cause any weight loss. The best way to lose weight is to reduce the number of calories you eat and increase your physical activities. According to the "negative calorie effect," the act of chewing and digesting certain foods burns up more calories than the food itself contains. Cucumbers, celery and grapefruit top the list of foods rumored to have "negative calorie" value. Low calorie, high-nutrient foods certainly will help you lose weight -- not because they create negative calories but because you're munching on them instead of crackers, chips and cookies.

Myth: Fresh fruits and vegetables are healthier than frozen and canned ones.

Reality: Actually, you may get more nutrients from some frozen fruits and vegetables. The same holds true, but to a lesser extent, for some canned vegetables. That's because the "fresh" produce you just bought at the grocery store may be a lot older than you think. After being harvested, produce can spend days being sorted, packaged and then shipped, often cross-country. During that time, fluctuations in light and temperature rob fruits and vegetables of important nutrients such as vitamin C and folate. Food manufacturers often add salt, sugar and fat to otherwise healthy products. If you become a label sleuth, you can bypass foods that contain these additives.

Myth: Low-fat foods help you lose weight.

Reality: A low-fat or fat-free food is often lower in calories than the same-size portion of the full-fat product. But many processed low-fat or fat-free foods have just as many calories as the full-fat versions of the same foods and possibly even more calories. They may contain added sugar, flour or starch thickeners to improve flavor and texture after fat is removed. These ingredients add calories. Make sure to read the Nutrition Facts label on the food package.

Myth: Vegetarian dishes must be a healthier choice.

Reality: Research shows that people who follow a vegetarian eating plan, on average, eat fewer calories and less fat than nonvegetarians. They also tend to have lower body weights relative to their heights than nonvegetarians. Choosing a vegetarian eating plan with a low-fat content may be helpful for weight loss. But vegetarians, just as nonvegetarians, can make food choices that contribute to weight gain, like eating large amounts of high-fat, high-calorie foods or foods with little or no nutritional value. Vegetarian diets should be as carefully planned as nonvegetarian diets to make sure they are balanced. Nutrients that nonvegetarians normally get from animal products that are not always found in a vegetarian eating plan are iron, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc and protein.

Myth: You should drink eight glasses of water a day.

Reality: You may need to modify your total fluid intake depending on how active you are, the climate you live in, your health status and if you're pregnant or breast-feeding. Also, strong evidence now indicates that not all of the prescribed fluid need be in the form of water. Careful peer-reviewed experiments have shown that caffeinated drinks and other beverages should indeed count toward the daily fluid intake in the vast majority of people. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.