SEVEN HEALTH MYTHS!

1.myth: dairy products are high in fat and should be avoided. after all,teenage girls can't be fat, right?

THRUTH: Wrong! avoiding milk & other dairy products is very, very dangerous. the dairy group is our main source of calcium, which is part of our bone composition. during puberty, calcium is necessary in the blood stream, and is necessary for optimal bone health. if a teen does not ingest enoungh calcium, the body will take calcium from the bones and use them in the bloodstream, decreasing the bone density over time. this is why many older women get osteoporosis, decomposition of the bone. and dairy products are not necessarily fattening. skim milk is not fattening, yet it still provides calcium. low-fat yogurt has almost no fat, and it provides enough calcium . so teens, don't deprive yourself of calcium. not all dairy products are fattening. even if they all were, would you rather brittle bones that crumble as you age?

2. myth: vegetarianism, whether out of concern for animal life, for ecological reasons, or to avoid the contaminants in animal products, is not harmful to an individual. rather,a vegetarian would be much more healthy than a meat-eating individual, w/ lower body fat, caloric intake, and cholesterol.

TRUTH: vegetarian diets which contain absolutely no animal products, are very low in vitamin B12 and, unless carefully planned, may be deficient in vitamin B6, riboflavin, calcium, iron,and zinc. strict macrobiotic diets, which include everything except grains, are extremely hazardous. more moderate vegetarian diets that include milk and eggs and perhaps fish, and/or poultry, meet the nutritional needs of growing teenagers if carefully planned. this is why many adolescents that are vegetarians are also anemic.

3. myth: overweight people are overweight because they eat a lot.

TRUTH: this is generally true, but there are many, many exceptions. obese teens may actually have a LOWER caloric intake than their thin counterparts. a common occurrence is the cycle of obesity. when teens are obese, they are often embarrassed at their appearance and tire easily, so they exercise much less than normal teens. even if their caloric intake is very low, they still would not lose any weight. some overweight teens do eat a little, but because they do not exercise at all, they remain obese.

4. myth: it is not a problem to overheat and become fat during puberty, because adolescents grow into their weight.

TRUTH: this myth is very, very dangerous, and may decide if you go through yo-yo deiting all your life, or if you become a consistenly thin adult. adolescents only grow into their weight before their main growth spurt. if they are past their main growth spurt, they will not grow into their weight, and eats heavily, he'll become obese. during adolescence, the number of adipose cells, which hold fat, become set in stone. if you have five trillion cells while maturing, you will have five trillion for the rest of your life this is why the odds against an obese teen becoming a normal-weight adult is 28 to 1. it is possible, but t is very, very difficult. adolescence is not good time to put on weight.

5. myth: fasting is a quick way to lose weight>

TRUTH: there are nutrient requirements that must be met, and if you fast for too long, your body will just shut down. yes, fasting would result in weight loss, but muscle would be burned as well as fat, and muscle is much harder to develop than fat. the only true way to lose weight w/o hurting yourself is to combine a mild diet w/ adequate execrcise. fasting is quick way to die, not to lose weight.

6.myth: since retinoic acid, a form of vitamin A, is very often prescribed as a topical treatment for acne, a quicker way to cure acne is to ingest vast, vast quantities of vitamin A supplement.

TRUTH: following this myth may very well kill you. any substance is toxic in large amounts, and if you ingest too much vitamin A, you suffer poisoning. vitamin A, is prescribed as a topical treatment, a cream or gel that is rubbed onto the acne pimples, although an adequate amount of vitamin A, is necessary in your food, increasing the amount would not likely impact your condition, and it may lead to poisoning.

7. myth: if extra protein is ingested, more muscles will be developred.

TRUHT: yes, extra protein is good for muscle development. when a person does weight training, the muscles need more protein to build themeselves up. but, the ingestion of the protein by itself does nothing . and if excess protein is ingested, it will be deposited as fat. the more protein you eat, the more you will have to work out to make useof it. otherwise, you will become more obese instead of stronger.

"so eat healthy foods and make exercise to fight obesity"