8 nutritional mistakes that even health professionals can make…

Even if you are doing your best to maintain a healthy diet for those who are not professional in the field, it is generally very difficult to know everything there is to know about proper nutrition, and then what happens is that despite your good intentions you end up doing things which could lead to opposing results.

It's never pleasant to find out we're wrong, but when you're making a mistake conflicting with your desired goal (being healthy), it's more annoying. You spend good time, money and sometimes compromise on taste or give up a dish you really like, just to keep your body healthy in a way which may not exactly be in your best regards. Is it not a shame to discover that all this effort was for nothing? Here is a list of some common mistakes that even the most advanced health professionals can do. The good news about these mistakes is that they can be fixed very easily if only you are aware of them.

1. Adding flax seeds to your breakfast

Flaxseed is enriched with Omega 3, fibre and antioxidants - all great for heart health. However, whole flax seeds are a little difficult to digest and may pass through the digestive system as they are, without being digested and absorbed in the body. This means that you will miss all that good they contain. How do you fix it? Buy ground flax seeds or lay them alone in a coffee grinder or spice, or just soak whole flax seeds in liquid from minimum of 10 minutes to a maximum of overnight.

2. Health shake is a calorie bomb?!

What is easier than throwing a handful of foods on a blender? Some blueberries, chia, cashew butter, kale, bananas, and coconut milk that will turn this paste into a delicious liquid that easily passes through a straw. But these mixes can easily turn a health oar into a calorie bomb. Try to keep your shakes in the range of 300 calories or less. You will do this by reducing the portions to about 300ml glasses, using most vegetables and fruits and do not overdo it with the nuts.

3. Cutting down on the oil in the salad

Vegetables contain vitamins A, E, and K, and antioxidants that are all fat soluble. That is, they should be eaten along with any fat to soak in the body. If you eat a salad without dressing or without oil - you are not actually maximising the absorption capacity of these vitamins. If you want to make the best of the vegetables you eat, serve your salad with oil-based sauce or add nuts - which also contain fatty acids.

4. Supplements with your coffee

Caffeine may interfere with your body's ability to absorb some of the vitamins and minerals you wish to add to yourself by taking supplements such as calcium, iron, B and D vitamins, and more. And by the way, not only is your coffee problematic also drinks like tea or cola containing caffeine, are equally harmful to absorption. Make sure to keep an hour's gap between drinking it and taking the supplements (supplements should be taking with water).

5. Putting trust into labels like sugar free or fat free?

On some food labels its shouted headlines like "sugar free" or "fat free". But what your food does contain, is much more important than it being sugar or fat free. Highly processed foods may not contain sugar or fat, but they may contain a high amount of preservatives and distilled ingredients instead. When you look at the labels of the food you are buying, you should prefer those closest looking to their natural state.

6. Reduce sugar intake by eating less fruit?!

Are you serious? Sweetened drinks are a much higher source of sugar consumption than fruits. In addition, although they contain sugar, fruits also contain other nutrients such as vitamins, fiber and more while the polluted soft drinks do not have these benefits. It is much easier for us to overdo soft drinks than to eat fruit, because they satisfy us more. Therefore, if you are looking for where to cut sugar, soft drinks are the immediate suspects, not fruits

7. Drinking almond milk, without shaking the carton

Equitable milk substitutes made from soy, almonds, cashews, rice, etc. usually contain calcium and vitamin D. These nutrients, added to the milk, are not well assimilated and tend to sink into the bottom of the carton. When you drink the milk without shaking it first you miss all these good additions… So as far-fetched as this may seem don’t forget to give the carton a good shake before pouring.

8. Yogurt

Yogurt is basically fermented milk, and fermented foods containing probiotic bacteria are beneficial to the health of our digestive system and supports our immune system. Therefore, logic suggests that all yogurts are rich in friendly and beneficial bacteria. Right? Well not exactly… If the yogurt underwent heating or pasteurization, this process damaged its probiotic content, in some of the manufacturer's products, the probiotic bacteria are added back to the products after they have been pasteurized, but not in all of them. Look out for yogurt that clearly shows that it contains active bacteria, or look for names of specific bacteria in the list of ingredients, such as: lactobacillus acidophilus, bollagricus L etc.