Javier Morallón, expert in food technology: there are no detox juices, and lactose-free milk is “another absurdity”

The author examines with a magnifying glass and dismantles false myths and half-truths related to contemporary nutrition. One of the great beliefs has given his latest book its title: ‘No, the gin and tonic is not a digestive’. What diets are safe? Does my type of diet affect climate change? Is the gin and tonic a good digestive? Does taking collagen help with anything? What diets are safe? Does my type of diet affect climate change? Is intermittent fasting healthy? What happens when I drink an energy drink? Nutrition is becoming more and more interesting. Its interactions with our health are undeniable and the sentence “we are what we eat” is becoming more and more true. The answers to these questions are found in Javier Morallón, professor of Biology and expert in Food Technology, in his latest book: ‘No, the gin and tonic is not a digestif’, where he applies science to dismantle big and small myths. He writes in a very clear language for everyone. He doesn’t use ‘super scientific’ terms for all of us to know. “It is very fashionable to put the label “enriched in vitamin D” on an article that is crap; that is crap but with vitamin D”, points out Morallón. It is just one example of how part of the industry takes advantage of general misinformation, although, fortunately, food is becoming more and more interesting in society and, “it is vitally important to be informed because what we eat even influences our mood.” ”, assures the expert. In his book, for sale on Amazon for 9.95 euros, the author examines with a magnifying glass many popular theories related to food. He discusses why a gin and tonic is not a digestif, a popular misconception that gives the book its title. He also stops to explain why fiber is essential for a healthy life and delves into the latest on sweeteners or fruit myths. Science against myths Morallón’s objective is to dismantle the myths and “the barbarities that are taken for granted”. Like, for example, the fashion of ‘detox juices’. For him, considering that because a juice is green, because it contains spinach, it can detoxify, is outrageous. “The body does this thanks to the liver and the kidney, in a complex metabolic pathway, and not through vegetable juice,” he clarifies, for believers, according to science. The list of myths related to food seems to go on forever… because when one is dismantled, another appears. And the previous one, in some nuclei they last a lifetime. We are now talking about one that has been in the business for years. How much cocoa is actually in chocolate? “The most consumed currently does not have more than 30 percent chocolate… and if we talk about white chocolate, which does not even have it,” he clarifies. We continue by tap water. Can you drink or not? Morallón lives in Málaga and stops to explain what happens in this area. “When I arrived from Jaén, everyone told me that drinking from the tap was crazy,” he recalls. After seeing the analyses, he came to the conclusion that it is one of the best in Spain. Even so, many people continue to believe that it is better to drink it bottled… “because that is what they have always been told.” The industry plays with the myths and makes it much more difficult to dismantle them. The author also dedicates an explanation to the fashion of drinking lactose-free milk, when one is not intolerant. “Another absurdity”, he says, the only thing he encourages is that those who sell it…because of the demand, make it more expensive. In this book, based on the latest research and in a funny tone, he dismantles many myths that more than one will throw their hands to their heads.