5 Nutritional Mistakes to Avoid

When it comes to nutrition and diet, things can get confusing and complicated at times. There is just so much information available out there that you will, more often than not, be subjected to contradictory information telling you to follow all kinds of things. All this debate over certain foods and whether they should be eaten or not can leave one confused and more prone to making common nutritional mistakes. So here are 5 nutritional errors that you must avoid at all costs and some tips to ensure you stay on track to healthy eating.

Let us take a look at them in detail.

Focusing too Much on Calories and Not on Food Quality and Vice Versa

We all want to eat food that’s healthy, wholesome and tasty. The quality of the food we consume matters a lot, whether your goal is to lose weight, build endurance, gain weight, slow down aging, improve gut health, or simply become healthier and fitter. Some may even argue that the quality of the food you eat is more important than the quantity of calories you consume. Now that may not be true as well, given eating good quality food without any control can also pose a hindrance to your overall weight loss journey and eventually health. Too much of anything is bad for health and that is why a balanced approach is key to developing healthy eating habits.

One thing that almost everyone forgets is that not all calories are created equal. Whatever you eat impacts every aspect of your mental and physical health, right from your sleeping habits to your skin and digestive health, among other things. Not just that, it also affects the regulation of your hormones, which play a significant role in maintaining your body weight and overall health.

The key to eating well is to strike a balance between the quality of food you eat and the number of calories you intake. Yes, you may know that avocado, almonds, and other dried fruits are all examples of good fats, but if you eat too much of them, you could slow down your weight loss process or even end up gaining weight. Remember that fats contain twice the amount of calories per serving compared to carbohydrates and proteins, which means that a few extra servings can add up in a big way. That’s why moderation is key. So while making healthy nutritional choices, strike a healthy balance between portion sizes and quality of the food you eat.

Consuming too much natural sugars

You may have come across people who tell you to choose fruits or fruit juices over cakes and other desserts everytime you crave something sweet. However, remember that all forms of dietary sugar, irrespective of whether they’re natural or refined, disintegrate into glucose and add to your blood sugar levels. Too much of it is obviously bad for you, particularly if you have diabetes. While it is certainly better to consume fresh fruits over fruit juices, jaggery and honey over refined sugar, and the like, too much of any form of sugar is bad for you. Having said that, fresh fruits, that too the ones with more dietary fiber are considered healthier as they cause you to stay full for long and prevent large spikes or drops in blood sugar. But just because most fruits are considered to be healthier, doesn’t mean you can have as many as you want as that could cause calories to pile up. So if you are trying to lose weight, you must limit even natural sugars like fructose and lactose and not just refined sugar.

Doing Away with Fats Entirely

Many people believe that all forms of fats are bad for you but that isn’t true. Saturated and trans fats that are predominantly found in dairy foods, meat, and fried foods are bad as they cause arteries to clog, further resulting in serious heart ailments. On the contrary, mono and polyunsaturated fats that are present in avocado, salmon, almond, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower nuts, and Brazilian nuts, among other things are rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids that are scientifically proven to benefit the body in ways more than one. These benefits include improving heart health, slowing down signs of aging, enhancing skin health, boosting immunity, and the like. So make healthy fats (in moderate quantities) a part of your daily nutrition.

Not Having Sufficient Proteins

People tend to consume too much carbs or fats, but when it comes to proteins, they tend to invariably under-consume. Proteins are usually considered to be important for athletes and bodybuilders. But truth be told, everyone needs protein as part of their daily nutrition, particularly to strengthen their immune system. Apart from that, the protein in your food helps to transport important substances throughout your body, substitute the worn-out cells, bolster muscle strength, repair and build your body’s tissues, among other things. Additionally, it helps to provide your body with a structural framework, and maintain proper pH and fluid balance. Consuming proteins also helps to keep you satiated for long, balance your blood sugar levels and reduce cravings and mindless eating.

According to Dietary Reference Intake(DRI), an average sedentary man should consume 56 grams of protein per day, while an average sedentary woman must have 46 grams per day. However, if you consume more protein, you must supplement it with some form of physical activity. Excess protein consumed is usually stored as fat and can lead to weight gain over a period of time. That is why depending on your age, amount of physical activity you undertake and gender, consume proteins as part of your everyday meal.

Depending More on Nutrition Supplements than on Foods

You must try to meet your nutrition requirements with whole foods and treat supplements as your last resort. Remember that just as the name suggests, supplements must supplement a healthy diet and not be used as a replacement for a healthy diet. The human body is better at digesting, absorbing and assimilating nutrients from whole foods as compared to those from supplements in the form of capsules, powder or drinks. So if you want to develop real, long-lasting health, you must first address your food choices, and use high-quality nutrition supplements to strategically add value to your diet.

Final Takeaway

We need to ace the nutrition game in order to get the desired results for a healthy body and mind. A very important part of this process is to avoid the aforementioned nutritional mistakes, which are very common. Creating a wholesome, balanced, and sustainable diet that best suits you and works for you in the long term is the best possible thing for you! However, if you happen to cheat once in a while, don’t throw in the towel and allow your one cheat meal to completely take you off course. Be consistent with your healthy eating habits and you’ll be fine.

While your diet will comprise more healthy, wholesome foods, don’t shy away from adding good quality nutrition supplements to your diet as a value addition. Wellbeing Nutrition offers a wide range of immunity boosting products that cater to the body's specific needs. These supplements include Daily Greens, Grandma’s Kadha, Probiotics + Prebiotics, and Apple Cider Vinegar with 2x the mother, among other nutrition supplements. In other words, you don’t have to look any further from Wellbeing Nutrition for your additional nutritional requirements, as we have you covered here!

References

• Drywień, M.; Górnicka, M.; Kulik, S.; Górnicki, K. Patterns of Avoiding Nutrition Mistakes in Metropolitan Adolescents Are Associated with Sex, Nutrition Knowledge, Physical Activity, and Family Environment. Nutrients 2021, 13, 433. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020433 (https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/2/433)
• The Best Diet: Quality Counts, (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-weight/best-diet-quality-counts/)
• Natural and Added Sugars: Two Sides of the Same Coin, by Mary E. Gearing, https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/natural-and-added-sugars-two-sides-of-the-same-coin/
• Liu AG, Ford NA, Hu FB, Zelman KM, Mozaffarian D, Kris-Etherton PM. A healthy approach to dietary fats: understanding the science and taking action to reduce consumer confusion. Nutr J. 2017;16(1):53. Published 2017 Aug 30. doi:10.1186/s12937-017-0271-4. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577766/)
• Watford M, Wu G. Protein. Adv Nutr. 2018;9(5):651-653. doi:10.1093/advances/nmy027. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6140426/)
• The balance between food and dietary supplements in the general population, Dr. Marleen AH Lentjes, Proc Nutr Soc. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2019 Feb 14. Published in final edited form as: Proc Nutr Soc. 2019 Feb; 78(1): 97–109. Published online 2018 Oct 30. doi: 10.1017/S0029665118002525. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6366563/)