Debunking food myths

IT usually starts with a seemingly logical statement that gets circulated in the press, re-circulated by word of mouth, and, presto! before you can whip up a bowl of Maggi mee, a food myth becomes an iron-clad fact.  

Many food myths are either old wives’ tales carried too far, the results of improperly carried out research or just plain “common wisdom” that was overturned by modern science or upon further examination. Others are over-simplifications or poorly understood scientific research. Worse, some are deliberate marketing hype aimed at gullible consumers.