Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [nutrition]

Use this tag for claims regarding the way we eat, and the effects eating has on our bodies.

Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary (in the form of food) to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthful diet.

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Does having late or heavy dinner make you fat?

Of course, taking calories in general tends to make one fat. My question is whether, relatively speaking, having heavy dinner has more probability of making you fat than, say, heavy lunch. And whether late dinner (closer to your sleep, like 9pm)…
Louis Rhys
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Does Red Bull Energy Drink contain sperm from a bull?

I heard this claim and burst into laughter assuming it was a joke, but the person said he was being serious. Is this true that Red Bull contains bull's sperm?
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What's wrong with processed food?

Jamie Oliver always talks about how processed food is awful, and we should stop eating it. By processed food he means food which is pre-prepared and contains additives. He instead insists that food cooked from fresh local ingredients is much…
Sal Rahman
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Is eating eggs bad for me?

I read yesterday that a single egg contains 70% of my daily cholesterol. I will frequently cook myself an omlette for lunch with 2-3 eggs. Is this unhealthy if I do it more than once a week?
fredley
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Are saturated fats unhealthy?

I've been taught since I was a kid that eating fat is bad for my health. Later on, I found out that unsaturated fats (especially ones containing Omega-3 and Omega-6) are actually good for your health. Now I've heard that there's dispute among…
StackExchange saddens dancek
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Is it true that "carbohydrates are of no use for the basal metabolic need"?

In this video (at 5:09 mark) Zoe Harcombe says the following: The body needs those basal metabolic calories in the form of fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals. And that's all it needs for those. Carbohydrates are of no use to the body whatsoever…
BMR Skeptic
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Does Skippy chunky peanut butter contain trans fat?

According to their website, Skippy brand peanut butter does not contain trans fat. However, the current label for their chunky peanut butter contains the following ingredient in the listing: Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Cottonseed, Soybean and…
Chris Redford
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Are there no naturally blue foods?

I've heard it claimed that there are no naturally blue foods and that blueberries don't count, because they are more purple. However, I have a hard time believing such a blanket statement so I want to ask this here. If you count foods that are blue…
TheEnigmaMachine
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Is Soy bad for you?

The internet is full with stories about how soy contains phytoestrogenes, how the protein is actually not readily used by our bodies etc. I especially remember quite a long rant in Tim Ferriss's book "The 4 hour body", which I consider a great…
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Is carbonated water unhealthy?

I have a coworker who says that drinking soda leads to kidney problems. I did some Googling and while I found a lot of blogs and message board posts saying such, the only credible link I found was this paper, Carbonated beverages and chronic kidney…
Scott Mitchell
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Are artificial hormones in beef something to worry about?

I've been trying to research whether artificial hormones fed to beef cattle are harmful to the consumer, and just can't seem to find any source that I can rely on. There are a lot of people out there with "better safe than sorry" attitudes (which…
rob
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Can you deduce the quality of watermelons by tapping on them?

It is believed that by tapping on a watermelon and listening to the feedback sound, one can deduce whether the watermelon is ripe and tasty or not. This belief seems to be very common in some areas of the world. Some references which mention…
Hello World
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Did Ancel Keys disregard reliable data that did not fit his conclusion that saturated fat was a leading contributor to heart disease?

Ancel Keys in the 1950s published the famous Seven Countries Study, which tied saturated fat intake to heart disease (among other findings). Critics claim that he hand-picked data from countries to fit his hypothesis. From wikipedia: Critics of…
Flimzy
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Are diet sodas as healthy as drinking water?

Looking at the side of any diet soda, you can see 0 calories, 0 fat, 0 sugar, and tons more zeros. Does this mean that diet sodas are actually somewhat HEALTHY? Or at least not at all bad for you?
nopcorn
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Is whole-grain bread healthier than white bread?

Claim: whole grain (specifically wheat) bread is healthier than white bread. Source: Stack Exchange podcast #55
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