The diet industry has grown into a multi billion pound industry and with this growth, diet myths abound.

Diet myths lead to unrealistic expectations and can also be bad for your overall health.

Here are 6 common diet myths to avoid:

Myth 1. Crash dieting or fasting makes you lose weight

This is one of the most common diet myths - it can be true in the short term but losing weight over the long term involves burning off fat.

Crash dieting not only removes fat but also lean muscle and tissue. It can also make you weak and unhealthy.

It's much better to try for long-term weight loss, as short-term weight loss can be traumatic and unhealthy.

Myth 2. Cholesterol is bad for you, low or zero-fat diets are good for you.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is made mostly by the liver and we all need some blood cholesterol as it's used to build cells and form vital hormones.

There is in fact good and bad cholesterol.

Saturated fats found in food like meat, cheese, cream, butter and processed help raise LDL (low density lipoprotein)