Heart Disease: Does the Media Impact What You Eat?
It’s very easy to let media hype influence eating choices. A new study comes out telling you this or that food increases your risk of having a heart attack and that food is off the menu. It’s hard to remember that the media is trying to get your attention. They need you to keep reading or watching whatever information they share. So, they are going to take a study (whether it is a solid study or not) and sensationalize it to keep your interest. Doesn’t mean the whole story is going to be fully shared.
This puts you at a disadvantage because you may not have the background to determine if the information shared is valid or not. How do you know if the study was peer reviewed? How do you know if the results have a statistical significance? How do you know if the study was funded by a company with a conflict of interest that caused results to be skewed in the direction they wanted? There are many factors to consider when determining the validity of study results.
Yes, you need to be aware of new research being conducted, but don’t let the TV, newspaper, magazine, etc. be the final determinant on what is a healthy food choice and what is not.
Here are a few foods that have been impacted by such media hype:
Preserve potassium when preparing potatoes
If you’re making mashed potatoes or many other potato dishes, what do you do? Cube the potatoes and throw them in a pot of water to boil? If you want to hang on to the potassium potatoes offer, it’s best to boil the potato whole – skin and all. When potatoes are cubed or shredded then boiled, studies show a 75% loss of potassium.
Also, good news if you like to soak your potatoes in water overnight. Soaking potatoes does not result in a significant loss of nutrients to the water they’re soaked in.
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