"Thin does not automatically equal healthy... The conditions that lead up to obesity are underway long before you get fat."

Myth 1: Organic food is best.
Truth: Not always. Some of the major food manufactures and retailers like Kraft Foods and Wal-Mart are getting into the organic food business. Expect to see Frosted Flakes, which used to be called Sugar Frosted Flakes, in the organic section sometime soon. Organic Frosted Flakes is a nutritional oxymoron. Some organic milk products come from factory farms masquerading as organic dairies. Be skeptical and do your research. Skip the processed food, even if it is labeled organic and focus on fresh raw produce and humanely raised, pasture-based meats.

If you can find a local farmer to provide you with quality produce, dairy and meats support them with your food purchasing dollars. Often, these small family farms produce better-than-organic quality foods, even though their food may not carry the organic label.

Myth 2: Exercise is the most important component of a weight loss effort.
Truth: Exercise is just one component of a successful weight loss plan. If you rely solely on exercise to lose weight, your chances of success may be greatly reduced. Along with exercise, a well-rounded plan includes stress management, the quality of your sleep, support from friends and family and a better understanding of human physiology. What is the most important component? Food. What you eat determines whether you have sufficient fuel for fitness and the right nutrients for health. Food can also affect your mood, which can be the difference between staying motivated and giving up.

Myth 3: A low fat diet is best for weight loss.
Truth: For many people, low fat diets are great if your weight management goal is to gain lots and lots of weight. Need proof, just ask any livestock producer what's the best strategy for packing on a lot of weight quickly? They'll tell you that from beef to chickens, the answer is a high carbohydrate diet, and minimal exercise. Millions of Americans are on this very same diet right now.

Low fat diets have failed miserably, over the last 35 years, to help Americans trim their waistline. Despite the fact that up to two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, the weight loss industry continues to promote the low-fat approach as a one-size-fits-all solution for everybody. Numerous studies have shown that while people can lose weight on a low fat, they can't keep the weight off. The reason is simple. For most people, a low fat diet is unpalatable and unsatisfying and leads to overeating and undernourishment.

Myth 4: There's no such thing as 'bad' food. You can eat whatever you want so long as you eat in moderation.
Truth: Some health experts are very fond of this idea. It is a lie fomented by the companies that produce the very foods that contribute most to ill health. They rationalize that any food can be part of a healthy diet. When they talk about poor choices, they're referring more to the quantity of the foods you consume, not so much to the quality. The injury wrought by certain foods will vary across a population group based on the relative health and fitness level of each individual. In that sense, some foods may be worse for some people than others.

A good example is soda. It provides almost no nutritional benefit and, in fact, levies a health 'tax' against the body every time it is consumed. Even in moderation, soda is detrimental. For someone who is overweight with unhealthy insulin levels, soda is a ticket to diabetes. The only people who really benefit from unhealthy foods are the shareholders and officers of the companies that make these foods.

Myth 5: It is wrong to deprive yourself of your favorite foods because you'll develop an obsession for them later.
Truth: Food industry propagandists and their supporters in the medical field are quite fond of the don't-deprive-yourself-or-you'll-develop-an-obsession school of thought. They even have the studies to prove it. It's interesting to note that no one believes that depriving yourself of a new car will turn you into a car thief. And yet, there is this belief that not letting your children drink soda today will cause them to uncontrollably swill gallons of the stuff when they're older.

The problem is that people don't really understand the nature of deprivation. Simply put, you cannot be deprived of something you do not desire. Many people will agree that low-fat fake food diets are nothing but deprivation, because they keep dieters in a constant state of desire for something more fulfilling. Once you switch to a balanced diet of whole foods, you're more likely to be satisfied. Once you're satisfied, your desire for most unhealthy foods will cease. No desire, no deprivation.

Myth 6: It takes willpower to lose weight.
Truth: One of the most powerful human motivators is hunger. A law-abiding citizen will steal food if he gets hungry enough. Some people will kill for food and there are enough historical precedents to prove that we'll even resort to cannibalism if the only other choice is starvation. We go to these extremes where food is concerned because eating is connected to our inherent instinct for survival. To suggest that we can override this biological drive to eat with willpower and happy thoughts is ludicrous. In the battle between the body and the mind, the body will almost always win. That's why so many people fail at dieting. Willpower simply does not work long-term.

What does? You've got to give your body what it needs. Good wholesome nutrient dense food is the best way to satisfy your nutrient needs and eliminate cravings for junk food. Once you've done that, you don't need willpower to eat right.

Myth 7: Vegetarianism is the healthiest way to eat.
Truth: Some people do quite well on a vegetarian diet, but for many, perhaps most, vegetarianism will not work. While there are many delicious vegetarian dishes you can choose from, a vegetarian diet is, by definition, a low fat diet. As previously stated, low-fat diets don't usually work long-term. If you're one of the millions of people who don't do well eating vegetarian, than such a diet will be unhealthy for you.

Myth 8: It is important to follow the advice from the latest scientific studies to know what's best regarding diet and exercise.
Truth: Whether it concerns a food or a new drug, study results should always be approached with caution. This is because studies can easily be engineered to produce any results you want. Many studies are funded by for-profit companies with a vested interest in a positive outcome. Most people would call this a conflict of interest, but in the strange and curious world of medical research, this is called business as usual. Unscrupulous researchers can make a study "dance" in a number of ways.

• If you're testing a drug that will be administered to sick people, give it to the healthiest "sick" people you can find and give the placebo to the sickest sick people you can find to ensure that the study results will be positive.
• If the results of the study at 12-months are disastrous, pretend the study was for only six months and report those results instead.
• Obscure the results of a study by focusing on relative risk (which makes the differences seem large) while downplaying the absolute risks. In other words, report study results in percentages rather than absolute numbers. For example, if Moe hits Larry two times with a cricket bat before being dosed with a new anti-aggression drug, but only hits Larry one time after being dosed, we can report a 50 percent reduction in aggressive behavior. Never mind, that we're only talking about two data points. Further, if Moe falls over from a heart attack due to an unintended side effect of the drug, simply bury that small fact somewhere in the study as a "statistically insignificant event."
• Falsify the data.

Ironically, there are a number of studies, which point out just how biased a study can be. Whenever you're evaluating a study, find out who whether the funding came from a for-profit or non-profit source. That alone will give you some idea of the level of built-in bias in the study.

Myth 9: I'm thin so none of this applies to me right?
Truth: Thin does not automatically equal healthy. It is important to remember that obesity is not a disease, but a symptom of a diet/activity/nutritional/hormonal imbalance. The conditions that lead up to obesity are underway long before you get fat. If you're thin, but notice that your waist is expanding, despite exercise, you may have the beginnings of a bigger problem. A weakened immune system, an irregular period, frequent indigestion, etc, may all be signs of a problem. Read, think, learn and see a competent healthcare provider if necessary.

People who are thin and think it's OK to eat junk processed food, may discover years later that they were really pre-fat.

Myth 10: Bariatric surgery is always an option.
Truth: In some circumstances for some people, bariatric surgery may well be their best alternative, but the rush to surgery that we've seen in recent years is troubling. First, surgery--any surgery--is serious business and carries with it a certain amount of risk. Some patients may suffer post-operative problems requiring a return to the surgical theatre. In other cases, problems with nutrient absorption, and even dangerously high insulin levels, have been reported, depending upon the procedure used.

The bitter irony is that even after the surgery, people still have to learn to control their eating behavior. It is a tragedy to hear post-surgical patients wistfully talk about the day when they can return to eating the same junk food that got them into trouble in the first place. Surgery should be an absolute last resort employed to save a life. It should not be used as a shortcut to alleged better health in lieu of returning to a more balanced lifestyle that includes regular exercise and cooking real food.