We think we are eating healthy but the fact is there are nutrition mistakes healthy people make all the time. There is a better way to eat healthy things like flaxseeds and beans. Some simple changes can make a big difference.
Even when you try your best to eat well, it’s difficult to know everything about nutrition. I often talk with clients who believe they are making good choices and don’t realize that little oversights stand in their way of optimal health.
Better Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds are filled with omega-3 fats, fiber and lignans (antioxidants), which all benefit heart health. But whole flaxseeds may pass through the intestines undigested, which means you’ll miss out on the health benefits inside the seed. Buy ground flax seeds instead, or put them in a coffee or spice grinder.
Too Much of a Good Thing
It’s easy to toss a combination of superfoods into a blender. Blueberries, cashew butter, chia, kale, bananas and coconut milk sound like a dreamy breakfast elixir, but these concoctions can quickly become calorie bombs. Keep smoothies in the 300-calorie range by serving smaller portions (about 8-12 ounces), using more vegetables than fruit, and by going easy on the high-calorie nuts and seeds.
Caffeine?
Caffeine from coffee can hinder your body’s ability to absorb some of the vitamins and minerals in your supplements, including calcium, iron, B-vitamins and vitamin D. And it’s not just coffee — beverages such as tea and cola contain caffeine, too. Enjoy your coffee about an hour before taking your supplements, and swallow pills with water instead.
Hold the Beans
Beans are an amazing source of fiber and protein, but canned varieties may have close to 1,000 mg of sodium per cup — that’s two-thirds of what you need in an entire day! Look for cans that say “no-salt-added” or “low-sodium.” If you can’t find them, drain and rinse your canned beans, which will eliminate about 40 percent of the sodium. read more at washingtonpost.com
What Are We Getting Wrong About Healthy Eating?
What are some simple nutritional changes that most people can make to be healthier? originally appeared on Quora – the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Gary Taubes, co-founder of NuSi, author The Case Against Sugar, on Quora:
From my perspective, changing your nutrition in favor of your health is pretty simple. The fundamental problem with modern diets is not the fat or calories we consume — the concept of “excess” is tautological — but the carbohydrates, particularly refined and easily digestible carbohydrates and added sugars. As such, I think the first and obvious nutritional change to make is to get rid of most to all of the added sugars we consume — i.e. cane and beet sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup.
Now some form of these sugars are found in virtually every processed food on the market, often for reasons other than sweetness, but if we get rid of the obvious sources of sugars, we’ll be getting rid of the huge proportion of them. So these include sugary beverages — soft drinks, sports drinks, and fruit juices (sugar water with vitamins, in my world) — the sugary cereals, the sweets, pastries, and ice creams, and, my pet peeve, the foods or foodlike substances (thanks Michael Pollan for that term) that are advertised as healthy because they’re low in fat but add sucrose or high fructose corn syrup to make them edible, the iconic example being low- or no-fat fruity yogurt and “healthy” snack bars.
via Huffington Post
thumbnail courtesy of washingtonpost.com