Even when you do your best to eat well, it is very difficult to know everything about nutrition.
Here's a top 10 list of common but easy-to-repair nutrition mistakes:
1. You add whole flaxseeds to your breakfast
Flaxseeds are filled with omega-3 fats, fiber and lignans (antioxidants), which all benefit heart health. But when you add whole flaxseeds to your breakfast, they 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.
2. You blend a nutritious smoothie, but it's a calorie bomb
Mixing a combination of superfoods into a blender is easy, like blueberries, cashew butter, chia, kale, bananas and coconut milk. This which may sound like a dreamy breakfast elixir, but these concoctions can quickly become calorie bombs. You should just keep smoothies in the 300-calorie range by serving smaller portions and by using more vegetables than fruit, and by going easy on the high-calorie nuts and seeds.
3. You take your supplements with coffee
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. This is why it is better to enjoy your coffee about an hour before taking your supplements, and swallow pills with water instead.
4. You use regular canned beans for your meatless meals
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.
5. To cut back on sugar, you cut out fruit
The top source of sugar is usually sweetened beverages, not fruit. Sugary soft drinks have no beneficial nutrients, while fruit has fiber, vitamins and protective antioxidants. Therefore, always choose fruit and skip the sodas.
6. You trust claims like 'low-fat' and 'sugar-free'
For many years, we've relied on label claims that tell us what our food fat-free, sugar-free or gluten-free. But it is more important to look at what the food does contain. While ultra-processed foods may be fat-free or sugar-free, they are in fact loaded with preservatives or refined ingredients. Read ingredient lists and choose foods that are as close to nature as possible.
7. You drink almond milk for calcium but don't shake the carton first
Milk alternatives made from soy, almonds, cashews, rice, etc. are often stimulated with calcium and vitamin D. But the added nutrients don't stay in the liquid very well, and tend to sink to the bottom of the container. If you drink without shaking first, you totally skip on the benefits of the added vitamins and minerals. Shake well before serving.
8. You skip the dressing on salad
Vegetables contain fat-soluble vitamins A, E and K, and a host of antioxidants that require fat to be absorbed. If you skip the oil and vinegar, you miss out on key nutrients from the salad. Don’t skip the dressing.
9. You refuel with sports drinks
Sports drinks are meant to replace fluid and electrolytes that are lost when you sweat excessively, and are suitable after endurance sports like a soccer game or marathon. But the extra sugar and salt in sports drinks are not needed for casual exercise with minimal perspiration.