The myths associated with food multiply exponentially, partly due to ignorance, but above all due to the multiplicity of media that live off of it. clickbait and social networks, that disperse the myths themselves or transform them into even more dangerous myths.
Don't let them mess you up with your food, from the doctor in Food Science and Technology Miguel Ángel Lurueña He has come to put some order and tell us that almost everything we took for granted was actually not true.
Food myths
In 2018, in various national media, It was claimed that McDonald's fries could be the solution to baldness. In reality, the news echoed a Japanese study that talked about producing hair follicles in culture dishes and manufacturing small silicone structures to serve as support and could be implanted in the skin of laboratory mice.
Don't get confused with food: An essential guide to know if you are eating well: 313 (Imago Mundi)
The relationship with French fries was only fortuitous: that used silicone, called dimethylpolysiloxane It is used as a food additive (E 900) in different foods, including frying oils, where they fulfill the function of preventing splashes and the formation of foams. Nothing else.
News like this, distorted by the media, is published every day, which added to all the myths perpetuated by our grandmothers, makes books like these essential: full of useful, practical and, above all, demystifying information. For this reason, the book has been a source of inspiration for entries in Xataka Ciencia such as If there is more air than potatoes in your bag of potatoes, it is not necessarily to deceive you..
"Organic" bananas, "antibiotic-free" meat, cookies enriched with vitamins, yogurts that "help our defenses." To eat safely and healthily you don't need to complicate your life. There's no need to count calories or juggle, either. The problem is that we are very clueless. It is not surprising. Every day we receive an enormous amount of information that is not rigorous and even contradictory. Is a daily glass of wine good for your heart or dangerous for your health? And if you look at advertising, it's even worse: what does it mean that a tomato sauce is “100% natural”? Furthermore, we do not have enough knowledge to properly interpret food labels and recognize their ingredients. In short, the world of food today can be summarized with three words: misinformation, ignorance and distrust.
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The news
Books that inspire us: 'Don't let them mess you up with food' by Miguel Ángel Lurueña
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.