Real World Nutrition News You Can Use

There is a lot of misinformation about nutrition. And nothing in this field is black-or-white, yes-or-no, but many shades of gray and a lot of “it depends.” So, my goal is to help clear up some of that misinformation with some snark, entertainment, and facts (with some opinion thrown in). 

Many of these topics come from interactions with the public, friends, clients, and students. I see sheer misinformation about the science of nutrition, and I do my best to clear things up one blog post at a time. 

If you have a topic you are wondering about, let me know

Looking for a specific topic? Search to see if it is already here.


Shelley Rael Shelley Rael

Muscle Weighs More Than Fat, Right?

Does muscle weigh more than fat?

No, it does not.

You have probably heard this and may have even said it. In your life: "muscle weighs more than fat."

NOT true.

People will argue with me about this, I get push-back on this, and you may have already given up reading this because I am wrong. But I am not.

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Shelley Rael Shelley Rael

Counting Macros? What are they anyway?

In the science of human nutrition, calories are the measure or units of energy that we need, and they come from food (and beverages). There are four sources of calories in human nutrition. Three are nutrients, and the fourth is not.

We call these three nutrients that provide calories “macronutrients” because they are necessary or essential nutrients in large quantities relative to the “micronutrients,” which are vitamins and minerals.

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Shelley Rael Shelley Rael

Food Groups vs Nutrients

One of the on-going things I see and hear is people using food groups and nutrients as interchangeable. They aren’t really.

Like the time my friend said she wasn’t going to have any carbs for lunch – then had a salad and a glass of wine. Really. That was a HIGH carb lunch. I would estimate that 80% of the meal was carbohydrates. It could be more. Look it up.

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