I'm used to the shaming look I get from my peers when I crack open a can of sugar-free Red Bull. The questions — and judgment — never end. "That stuff'll kill you," someone said to me the other day, shaking his head. "So many chemicals!" was what I heard last week.
Truth be told, Red Bull (at least the sugar-free kind) isn't all that terrible for you. Besides having only 10 calories and no sugar, it has only 80 milligrams of caffeine, about a third of the amount in a tall Starbucks drip coffee. As far as its other ingredients — namely B vitamins and taurine — go, scientific studies have found both to be safe.
But my favorite source of caffeine isn't the only harmless food or drink that gets a bad rap. Here are some of the rest, along with the science behind their safety.
SEE ALSO: 15 'health foods' you're better off avoiding
DON'T MISS: Here's what the maximum amount of caffeine you should be drinking in a day looks like
Gluten
The myth: As more and more of your friends go gluten-free, you may wonder: Is there something to this latest diet craze? Is gluten intolerance a thing? Is it getting more common?
Why it's bogus: Only about 1% of people worldwide have celiac disease, the rare genetic disorder that makes people intolerant to gluten, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. For most of the rest of us, this doughy, chewy ingredient is simply how it tastes: delicious!
Eggs
The myth: The massive amounts of cholesterol in eggs will translate to a massive amount of cholesterol in your veins.
Why it's bogus: Even though eggs are high in cholesterol (a single egg packs roughly 185 mg), eating them likely won't translate into higher blood cholesterol for you. The first studies that suggested that were done with rabbits, as my colleague Kevin Loria reported. So go ahead, pop a perfectly poached egg on that avocado toast. You know you want to.
Caffeine
The myth: Caffeine stunts your growth and messes with your health.
Why it's bogus: According to the Mayo Clinic, the average adult can safely consume up to 400 mg of caffeine daily. Most standard cups of coffee contain between 90 and 120 mg. So if you're limiting yourself to under four cups of joe a day, you should be relatively in the clear. Still, some java packs more of a punch than others. A 12-ounce "tall" cup of Starbucks drip coffee, for example, has about 260 mg of caffeine— putting you well over the daily dose after two cups.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider