Seven Mistakes You Make During Meal Time Without Knowing
The habit of healthy eating is fast becoming a popular obsession. The myths about what should or should not be included in our daily diets are many and varied. But when choosing food, there are several mistakes that you can make, even without realizing.
Obsessing over healthy eating
It’s very healthy to watch what you eat and lead a full life, which also includes exercising regularly and avoiding stressful situations; but its another thing to obsess about eating healthy. Obsession can bring many imbalances, both emotionally and within one’s own diet.
Skipping breakfast
In general, skipping meals is not good for the body and with the first meal of the day, it’s even worse. Upon awakening, the body needs to replenish all of the nutrients that it has lost after a long period of sleep, without ingesting anything. You also need to provide yourself with the essential nutrients to face a new day.
The habit of not eating breakfast can lead to repeated episodes of heartburn that, if frequent, will lead to more serious conditions. It’s equally counterproductive towards losing weight.
If we don’t eat anything in the first hour of being awake, we can spend the whole day hungry, so we will end up eating more. In addition we tend to crave foods with no nutritional value.
Fried potatoes
This well-known vegetable provides, among many other things, folic acid, potassium and vitamin C. Three-quarters of the composition of the potato is water, as well as being low in fat and sodium. But frying them is not the healthiest option.
Potatoes coated in oil become one of the least healthy foods that we can eat. They end up being carriers of saturated fats, while all of their nutritional properties dissipate during the process.
Cooking broccoli
When making food choices, broccoli is a nutritious option. Except when, (and just the same as with potatoes), we cook it the wrong way. There are many suggestions as to the best way of cooking broccoli. However, virtually none of broccoli’s nutrients will survive being cooked in boiling water.
Calcium, folic acid, and a long list of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants can be of benefit to those who eat it, it should be gently steamed or sautéed. Either way, cooking only takes a few minutes, so that their stems soften and the Brassica oleracea retains its striking green color.
Avoid fats and carbohydrates
There are some frequent mistakes that we make when choosing food. Those who have not taken professional dietary advice, may make the following mistakes if they are obsessed with eating healthily or losing weight. Either way, fats and carbohydrates are essential elements in a complete and balanced diet.
Unsaturated fatty acids are vital for the generation of lipids in the blood; molecules that function as energy reserves. They are also needed to prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce the risk of diabetes.
Don’t cut out rice or pasta, or grains, such as corn or barley, just because they are rich in carbohydrates.
At breakfast and lunch, (dinner may be optional), at least one food containing carbohydrates should be included. Otherwise, your vital organs may lack the fuel to function.
Choosing food correctly doesn’t mean going hungry
In general, extremes are always bad. The habits of eating very little, or overdoing it with your meals, are to be avoided. Therefore, you should avoid both being hungry and falling into excessive gluttony.
Some diets involve eating small portions distributed among six or eight meals throughout the day; each one of these should contain all of the required nutrients.
Remember that if you accidentally under eat (without professional supervision), you are also at risk of becoming anemic.
Abusing the word “light”
The word “light” is overused in almost all food labeling and it does not necessarily imply a healthy choice. Just because a label uses light (or its variant “diet”) doesn’t always mean that it’s a good choice.