Dragon Dept: When Food Myths Attack!
Impact Magazine asked me to illustrate an article about food myths. An interesting challenge because the article mentioned nine myths, and the illustration had to span the top of a 2-page spread. Here’s the final:
One of the myths: energy drinks are the best way to get energized. Not true. The effects of energy drinks are short-term. Worse, they usually contain a lot of sugar and caffeine.
The best way to boost your energy level is based on old-fashioned common sense: eat well, be active, stay hydrated, get enough sleep. Sounds familiar, right?
Here’s a detail image:
Other myths:
- You need to drink 8 glasses of water a day (depends on your physical size, activity level, etc, and other liquids count, including coffee and tea)
- Honey and brown sugar are better for you than white sugar (nutritionally, they’re all similar: concentrated calories, few nutrients)
- “Superfoods” will make you super-healthy (“superfood” is a marketing gimmick: a made-up term attached to trendy foods like acai berries)
- Sea salt is better for you than table salt (they both contain about the same amount of sodium)
- You need vitamin and mineral supplements to be healthy (most people can meet these requirements through a balanced diet)
Here’s a detail image showing how I tried to capture the above myths:
After seeing my rough sketch, the editor asked that I include a fish somewhere in the illustration to emphasize the importance of protein.
I was scratching my head over this for awhile. Then it occurred to me that a fish and a spinach leaf have roughly the same shape. Easy solution. Whew! 
What do you think? Had any experience with dragons? Why are we all such suckers when it comes to food myths and fad diets? Hope you’ll leave a comment.
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