'Fake food news' myth-busting at Natura Málaga trade fair

Aitor Sánchez, a doctoral student who has been on research projects at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, the UK's Bristol University, and the University of Granada, is co-founder of the Aleris Nutrition Centre and has written a long list of scientific articles, along with the books Mi Dieta Cojea, Mi Dieta Ya No Cojea, and ¿Qué Le Doy de Comer? ('My diet makes me lame', 'My diet doesn't make me lame any more', and 'What shall I feed you?'), the latter of these three written in conjunction with fellow nutritionist Lucía Martínez.

Aitor gives regular conferences and TEDx talks and has two master's degrees in his field – nutritional and dietary education.

Some popular old wives' tales about food include having to drink orange juice quickly so it does not lose its vitamin content, avoiding saccharine or other artificial sweeteners because they are 'harmful' or even 'poisonous', drinking water with meals or fruit immediately after meals makes you put on weight and drinking a glass of red wine during a meal helps you lose weight, eggs are bad for cholesterol levels, sugar-free, 'light' or 'zero' fizzy drinks are better for weight loss than the original versions (in practice, although you avoid the calories from the sugar, your brain believes you have, in fact, consumed sugar and will cause you a craving for it when the 'high' has passed), sunflower oil is bad for health and more fattening than olive oil, avocados make you fat, and white or transparent spirits have fewer calories than coloured ones.

Other myths include believing that as long as you carry out enough exercise to burn it off, you can eat whatever you like (not necessarily, because the whole point of eating is the nutritional quality in food, and exercise does not have to equate to X minutes per calories consumed as its purpose is to boost metabolism long-term by increasing muscle mass and circulation), a glass of wine is good for the heart (although the main ingredients contain anti-oxidant properties, the alcohol content cancels these out – you're better off eating vegetables, blueberries or pomegranate, eating 25 grams of dark chocolate a day with between 70% and 92% cocoa content, or drinking green or black tea), frozen or tinned food is less nutritionally-beneficial than fresh (not always the case, as the freezing process happens within minutes of harvesting or catching, preserving the goodness in them, whereas 'fresh' produce can be on the shelf for several days, losing its vitamin content), vegetarian diets are unhealthy because they are 'always lacking in something', dairy produce is bad for you and increases the risk of breast cancer, and plenty of others.

Some 'fake food news' warns people to stay away from them altogether, and others lend curative properties or slimming qualities to foodstuffs which do not have them – such as claims that asparagus protects against cancer, or that it is necessary to 'detox' by drinking green tea and water and eating only watery fruit and vegetables for at least a day after a heavy feast.

Then there are the 'fad diets' which do more harm than good – carb-free régimes, where the person only consumes protein and vegetables and a small amount of fruit, diets where you eat protein one day and carbohydrates the next and have to follow a calendar telling which 'day' it is, or diets made up entirely of either raw food, or of certain types of food, such as pineapple or grapefruit.

All these and plenty others are urban legends Aitor Sánchez will explain the origins of and the scientific answers to, and give alternatives, as well as ideas for better ways of eating to ensure optimum health and weight loss or maintenance as required.

Anyone who wants to attend the talk should book their place on the Naturamalaga.com website, which also sells tickets to the three-day trade fair.

Held at Málaga Conference and Fair Centre (FYCMA), the 2020 edition includes a host of talks, conferences and workshops on physical and personal wellbeing including yoga, pilates and general fitness; information about recycling and reusing waste; children's activities, even those suitable for toddlers; practical arts and crafts, farming, horticulture and allotment-maintenance workshops; stands giving information about 'healthy tourism', maternity, child-rearing, environmental sustainability and 'green' mobility including hybrid and electric vehicles; and stalls aplenty selling and displaying certified organic produce – foodstuffs, cosmetics and fashion, among others.

Companies exhibiting at Natura Málaga and sponsoring the event include the Centro Mi Matrona ('My Midwife' Centre), the Institute of Yoga Studies, Toys 'R' Us, the Consumers' Union, the Alejandra Universe, and Impact Hub Málaga, among others.

The fair runs from Friday, March 27 to Sunday, March 29 inclusive.

Photograph: FYCMA