nutrition misconceptions - Nourish by CH

If it Quacks like a Diet…guess what? It’s Diet Culture

by Christina
07/06/202107/02/2025

What is that annoying voice telling you not to have any cookies before dinner? Judging your current pants size… comparing your size to your very active cousin. No, it’s not your mother, despite her comments can be a part of the problem too, but it’s diet culture. The dieting and weight loss industry in the USA alone is worth around $72 billion and yet over 80% of diets fail!

Dieting and weight shaming is everywhere and was especially hard-hitting from the advent of lockdowns in 2020. Queue the social media posts and challenges suggesting that we needed to “use this time to become better” by learning new languages, skills, starting a business and losing weight. How rude! Living a healthy lifestyle is important, but not defined by the number of a scale. And, with everything that has happened last year and this one, you’d think we would have learnt to address people and health much differently.

Body image is often impacted by dieting and weight cycling. Women in a larger body sits on a bed with a mirror in background. — Photo by Anete Lusina on Pexels.com

I’m personally a fan of snuggling up at home, watching my favourite shows and enjoying a giant bowl of popcorn and too many Oreos to count. Lockdowns and the anxiety that came with it made many of us seek more comfort in these small things. While 2020 was an unexpectedly strange and tough year for all of us, just like years before, our problems don’t just go away because someone tells us they should.

Facing the Fats: The Basics and Saturated Fat (Part 1)

by Christina
03/04/202009/03/2022

Fats… poor demonized and misunderstood fats. Almost like the middle child of the macronutrient trio. Aside from Carbohydrates which are quite often condemned, no other nutrient is as unappreciated as fats. Hopefully, in this 4-part series, we’ll be able to unravel some of the misconceptions associated with fats and oils, and by the end be able to make more educated decisions on our fat intake.

Assorted bottles of cooking oils. — Source

Fats, also known as oils or lipids are important for supporting cell growth and maintenance, providing the body with warmth and protecting your organs. Interestingly, 1 gram of this nutrient can provide 9 kcal (calories) of energy, in comparison to Carbohydrates and Protein which provide about 4kcal per gram. Meaning that fats are “energy-dense” (you might want to remember that phrase).

When we speak about dietary fats, we are referring to a molecule consisting of a glycerol backbone and 3 fatty acid chains. These are called triglycerides by scientists and health professionals. Excess fatty acids which have not been used for energy production or other bodily functions are stored as… you guessed it, Fat in tissues around the body called adipose.