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Nutrition myths, checked
0 common claims with a verdict, what is actually known, why the myth persists, and the arithmetic that settles it — computed live from the food and exercise database.
How a claim is judged here
Four verdicts, and one of them is used deliberately often. False means the claim states a mechanism that does not exist. Mostly false means the headline is wrong but something real sits underneath it. It depends means the honest answer changes with who is asking, or the evidence is genuinely split — that verdict is not a hedge, it is a finding. True means what it says.
Where arithmetic can settle a claim, the arithmetic is done on the page rather than described. Those numbers are computed when the page loads, from the same food database behind every calorie page on this site and the same MET table behind every exercise page, so they cannot drift out of step with their source. No study is cited by name anywhere in this section: where a position belongs to guideline bodies, it is attributed to guideline bodies.
The claims
| Claim | Verdict | The short answer |
|---|
What this page will not do
- Invent a study. Not one citation on these pages names a paper, because naming papers we have not verified line by line would be worse than naming none.
- Pick a side where the evidence is split. Egg yolks and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity both get "it depends", because that is what the evidence supports today.
- Give medical advice. Coeliac disease, raised cholesterol, diabetes and thyroid disease all appear on these pages, and every one of them points at a clinician rather than at a conclusion.
- Print a number the database does not hold. Where a comparison needs a nutrient TempoLife does not store — cholesterol per egg, vitamin C after cooking — the page says so and argues in words instead.
Source: USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) via the TempoLife food database, and the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities for MET values · checked 2026-09-02
Frequently asked questions
Why is "it depends" a verdict?
Because for some claims it is the accurate one. Forcing a yes or no onto a question where good researchers still disagree would be a worse error than the myth being checked.
Where do the calculations come from?
Food figures come from the TempoLife food database, which carries USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy rows. Energy cost of movement uses the ACSM equation with MET values from the 2011 Compendium. Resting energy uses Mifflin-St Jeor. All three are printed on the pages that use them.
Is a myth page ever wrong?
It can be. Nutrition evidence moves, and a verdict that was right in 2020 may not be right in 2030 — dietary cholesterol is the standing example. Corrections are made on the page rather than quietly.
Weekly research digest · Glossary · All calculators
Check a claim against your own numbers
Most of these arguments end at "it depends on your total intake". TempoLife measures that total — meals, steps, sleep and weight in one timeline — so the question stops being theoretical.