Food Myths

“Only fruit and vegetables are healthy foods.”

The human body needs to eat many different types of food to stay healthy. The Chinese Food Guide Pagoda shows us what food we should eat. While fruit and vegetables are healthy choices, it is just as important to eat foods from other food groups. Milk, for example, contains many nutrients and is good for our bones. We should include milk or dairy products among the things we eat.

“Eating fat makes you fat.”

Eating fat is important for keeping us healthy. It gives us energy and helps our body to take in nutrients. Not all fat makes us gain weight. Some fat can even encourage our body to lose weight. It is necessary to include some, but not too much, fat in our food to help our body work well.

“It’s OK to eat only what I like while I’m young.”

When we are young, it might feel like we can just eat whatever we want! For example, sweets and fried foods taste delicious. But we cannot eat those foods alone. Eating balanced meals is very important when we are young. It helps our body and brain to grow well. Bad eating habits may stay with us our whole life, so it is best to develop good eating habits early!