Blueberries are super foods with magical powers, right? According to Britian’s Daily Mail, they might not be as healthy as you thought. The newspaper has debunked a whole slew of health myths that may be putting a damper on your diet. Check them out:
1. Blueberries contain more antioxidants than other fruit
Because of their antioxidants, blueberries score highly on the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) scale, but scientists are finding foods that are even higher – including dark chocolate! Even if blueberries top the scale, they are only rich in one family of anti-oxidants, anthocyanin, which is found in other fruits, like grapes. All I heard was that I should eat dark chocolate instead of fruit. I’m in!
2. Low-fat foods help you lose weight
Okay, I knew this one. Just because a food is low in fat doesn’t mean it’s healthy! Watch out for extra sugar and calories.
3. Eating at night makes you fat
Calories are calories, whenever you consume them. If you mindlessly snack in front of the TV every night, you’re bound to gain weight. But if you’re consuming a healthy total amount of calories, it’s fine to eat at night.
4. Eggs raise cholesterol levels
Although eggs contain cholesterol, our body varies the amount it produces, so simply makes less if we eat an egg. Research by the University of Surrey found that, after eating a two-egg-a-day diet for 12 weeks, none of the test subjects had raised cholesterol levels. And one egg is only 75 calories! 
5. Coffee dehydrates your body
Many people believe that coffee is a diuretic (a substance which causes the body to lose fluid by making the kidneys produce more urine) – but it’s just not true. Nutritionist Angela Dowden says, ‘New converts could be taking more trips to the loo. But your body gets used to it and coffee counts towards your daily fluid intake.”
6. Eating margarine is bad for your heart
Now that margarine no longer contains trans fats, it’s healthier than butter.
7. Decaf coffee won’t affect your energy levels
Decaffeinated coffee actually does contain caffeine – although only a tiny 5mg compared with the normal 90mg or more in a filter coffee. But research has shown it may make you sleepier than no coffee. Dr Crystal Haskell, of Northumbria University, found levels of caffeine less than 10mg actually made people feel more tired, with weaker memory skills. Weird!
8. Always keep fruits and veggies in the fridge
Scientists in Oklahoma in the U.S discovered that a watermelon left at room temperature had double the levels of beta-carotene and 20 per cent more lycopene – both antioxidants – after two weeks than one stored in the fridge. Bananas and peaches are also more nutritious when kept warmer. Time to buy a cute fruit bowl from Anthropologie!
9. Your body needs eight glasses of water a day
When doctors at the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. examined the benefits of drinking this much water, they found no evidence that it led to clearer skin, boosted weight loss or helped the body to detox. Instead, gauge your water intake by your urine color: it should be straw-colored or lighter. 
10. When slimming, eat little and often
Australian scientist Dr Michelle Palmer compared weight loss in people eating big meals and small meals and found they lost the same amount. The only difference was the six-mini-meal group was more likely to put the weight back on. If you’re eating mini-meals, you may pack too many calories.
11. Raw vegetables are better
We’ve always been taught that cooking vegetables makes them lose nutrients. But that’s not always true: when carrots are cooked, the damage to the cells means three times as much betacarotene is released – an anti-oxidant thought to help protect skin.
12. White meat is lower in fat than red meat
This may have been true many years ago, but now white meat and red meat generally have the same fat content. A lean sirloin steak has as little as 5g of fat per 100g, while chicken thighs may have up to 9g per 100g.
13. Pale vegetables have fewer nutrients
Dark veggies are indeed healthy, but don’t discount the lighter ones. White cabbage is full of vitamins A, B, C and K, along with calcium, iron and fiber, while cauliflower is a great source of anti-oxidants, vitamin C and folate.
I love chocolate and this is just more proof that I need to be eating more of it but only the good stuff… I found some great info on healthy chocolate at http://www.mychocolatevitamins.com.