Nutrition plays a vital role in our health.
By eating the right foods, you’ll improve your physical and mental health.
Regrettably, many people fall victim to one or more of the following nutrition mistakes.
Drinking Soda
Can soda really pose harm to your health?
Because of its high caloric content without the presence of beneficial nutrients, soda is considered an empty-calorie beverage. While different types of soda contain different ingredients, they all receive their calories from processed sugar. It’s not uncommon for a 12-ounce serving to pack up to 40 grams of processed sugar, which is more than the daily allowance recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA).
That excess sugar will wreak havoc on your health by suppressing your immune system, disrupting your sleep cycles, promoting body fat and more.
Counting Calories
When trying to lose weight, many people reduce the number of calories they consume, believing this will lead them to a slimmer waistline. However, not all calories are the same. Calories from protein are treated differently than those from sugar.
So, counting calories doesn’t always work. A better approach is to focus your diet on nutritional foods that are low in processed sugar and sodium.
Using Too Much Dressing or Sauce
Loading up on salad dressing, sauce or other condiments can quickly negate the otherwise positive health benefits of your food.
These products are often loaded with sugar, sodium, and artificial preservatives.
Assuming All Fats Are Bad
There are different types of fats, not all of which are bad for your health. Trans-unsaturated fatty acids, or what’s more commonly known as trans fat, is the worst type of fat. Studies have shown that consuming trans fat, even in small amounts, increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Most of the trans fat in the foods we eat is formed through a manufacturing process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil, which converts the liquid into a solid fat at room temperature. This process is called hydrogenation. Trans fat also occurs naturally in food products from ruminant animals (e.g., milk, butter, cheese, meat products, etc.).
Eating trans fat raises the level of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the blood. An elevated LDL cholesterol level in the blood increases your risk of developing heart disease, the leading cause of death in men and women in the U.S. Removing PHOs (phosphorus) from processed foods could prevent thousands of heart attacks and deaths each year.
FDA has taken steps to remove artificial trans fats in processed foods. In 2015, FDA determined that PHOs, the major source of artificial trans fat in the food supply, are no longer “Generally Recognized as Safe,” or GRAS. For the majority of uses of PHOs, June 18, 2018, remains the date after which manufacturers cannot add PHOs to foods. However, to allow for an orderly transition in the marketplace, FDA is allowing more time for products produced prior to June 18, 2018, to work their way through distribution. FDA is extending the compliance date for these foods to January 1, 2020. This action balances the health benefits of removing PHOs from the food supply with the need to provide an orderly transition in the marketplace.
You will still find many foods with trans fat, some of which include microwaveable popcorn, cookies, crackers, breakfast meals, and doughnuts.
On the other hand, unsaturated fatty acids are good for your health. They have the opposite effect by lowering your risk of heart disease. Unsaturated fatty acids raise levels of good cholesterol and lower levels of bad cholesterol to promote a healthy heart and cardiovascular system.
You can find unsaturated fatty acids in the following foods:
– Fish
– Olive oil
– Canola oil
– Nuts
– Avocados
– Dark Chocolate
Consuming Artificial Sweetener
With its zero caloric content, many people assume that artificial sweeteners are better for their health than real sugar.
Whether it’s aspartame, sucralose, saccharin or acesulfame, though, artificial sweeteners are processed by the body the same way as processed sugar.
Therefore, they too can contribute to weight gain and elevated blood glucose levels.
Avoiding these nutrition mistakes will set you on the path to better health.
Always be conscious of what you eat and the ingredients your food contains.