Nutritional Mistakes even Healthy People Sometimes Make

It doesn’t matter whom you speak to, when it comes to our health and well being, we can all agree on the fact that diet and nutrition both play enormous roles in determining just how fit and healthy we really are. You can’t out-train a poor diet, so no matter how physically active you are, if you are eating junk you will never reach your full potential. Eating healthily and consuming the right nutrients at the right time, however, is anything but simple. If you want to reap the rewards associated with clean-living you need to ensure that your diet and nutrition is on point. Here’s a look at 4 nutritional mistakes even healthy people sometimes make.

  • Drinking high calorie smoothies – Smoothies are marketed in grocery stores as being incredibly healthy for you. While they are indeed packed full of nutrients, they also often contain far too many calories. This is because store-bough smoothies are often packed full of fruits and fruit juices to give them their delicious sweet taste. Fruit is very good for you, but it is also rich in natural fructose sugars which bump up the calorie contents. If you want a smoothie, why not blend your own as that way you are in control of what goes into it.
  • Eating whole flax seeds – On the topic of smoothies, when blending their own, a lot of people like to add whole flax seeds to their mixes. Flax seeds are packed full of antioxidants and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The problem is that whole flax seeds aren’t always blended properly. Whole flax seeds often pass through the digestive system without being broken down, which means that you are missing out on the nutrients. It is always best to grind your flax seeds yourself, and to simply add the powder to smoothies and protein shakes as this guarantees you’ll absorb the nutrients.
  • Using tinned veggies – Okay, first off, tinned veggies are better than having no veggies at all, but they are nowhere near as healthy as fresh. Tinned vegetables such as beans and legumes for example, are often loaded full salt, sugar, and other preservatives. Not only that, but they also contain a fraction of the nutritional content found in fresh vegetables. As an emergency, tinned vegetables are okay, but you should always prioritise fresh veggies. Even frozen are considered healthier than tinned and canned.
  • Not eating any fat – To lose weight, you need to cut out fat and go super low-calorie, right? Wrong! Not all fats are created equal and some are much better for us than others. We actually need healthy fats for a number of reasons, and one of which is so that we can absorb certain nutrients. Some vitamins out there, such as: vitamins A, K, and E are known as fat-soluble. This means that they can only be broken down and absorbed by the body, in the presence of fat. Without fat, they would simply pass through our systems undigested and un absorbed. Fat is also essential for a healthy metabolism, a healthy heart, a healthy brain, and much more besides. Just be sure to prioritise healthy fats, and don’t consume too many of them.