Healthy sounding habits that you should avoid
How many healthy sounding habits have you heard about? Maybe you took a week or two to try them — and perhaps some worked and some did not. In the age of the super speedy information highway (aka the internet), many of these so-called healthy habits may have passed by your screen more than a few times. Many may sound too good to be true. That’s because they are.
Before venturing out to start a new healthy sounding habit to improve your nutrition or for self-care, read about seven common habits you should skip.
Eat a light breakfast.
“While it might sound like a good idea to eat ‘lighter’ at breakfast, the truth is that oftentimes people that eat less in the morning eat more later in the day,” explains Amy Goodson, a Dallas-based sports dietitian and author of “The Sports Nutrition Playbook.” Goodson explains that often these individuals may crave sugar and snacks at night.
Instead: “The key to a balanced day is starting with a balanced blood sugar,” Goodson says. That means you want to eat a breakfast that consists of high-fiber carbohydrates and protein. “In fact, research suggests that including 20 to 30 grams of protein at breakfast may help you ward off cravings later in the day.”
Try oatmeal with eggs or Greek yogurt with berries, nuts and whole-grain, protein granola.
Follow a plant-based diet.
The hot word in the nutrition world is “plant-based,” but there is no formal definition and to many, it has come to mean a vegan diet.
Amy Myrdal Miller, founder and president of Farmer’s Daughter Consulting and co-author of “Cooking à la Heart: 500 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Help Make Every Meal Heart Healthy,” says “I wince when I hear people say they are following a plant-based diet. Yes, of course I want to see everyone eating and enjoying more plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, but avoiding sources of high-quality protein from foods like fatty fish, dairy and lean beef puts you at risk of not getting enough protein to maintain muscle mass as we age.”
Instead: Enjoy animal-based foods like fish, eggs, lean meats and poultry as part of your balanced plate complimented with plant-based foods. Myrdal Miller explains that maintaining muscle mass as you age helps with weight control as muscle mass burns more calories than fat mass, but it also helps reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes.
Take a green powder.
“Although most green powders are made from plants, it’s not the same as eating whole food fruits and vegetables,” says Natalie Rizzo, a dietitian based in New York City and author of “Planted Performance.” Rizzo explains that to turn a fruit or vegetable into a powder requires some processing that breaks down the nutrients and strips out the fiber.
Green powders add those nutrient back in, but research shows that eating single nutrients is not as beneficial to overall health as eating the food. “For example, a published review found that lycopene from tomatoes was more able to improve cardiovascular health than lycopene from supplements,” she notes.
Instead: Eat whole fruits and veggies — choose produce that’s fresh, canned, frozen or dried.
Have a cheat day.
“While it might seem like a good idea to stick to your ‘healthy’ eating plan five to six days a week and cheat on the weekends, the truth is that many people end up consuming so many extra calories on the weekend, they counterbalance the (calorie) deficit they created during the week,” explains Goodson. “Then folks wonder why they aren’t meeting their goals, and it’s because their caloric weekends are just that, too many calories.”
Instead: It’s great to stick to a healthy eating plan and splurge on higher-calorie, lower-nutrient foods now and then, but the key is to eat what you want, not everything you ever wanted.
Goodson says that if you want a cookie on Tuesday, you probably do better eating the one cookie instead of trying to satisfy that craving with 500 other calories. “Healthy eating is about balance. Extremes on either end can backfire if you are not careful.”
Tell your child to clean their plate or else.
Although this sounds reasonable to tell your kids that you must “clean your plate or no XYZ,” says Malina Malkani, registered dietitian nutritionist and author of “Simple & Safe Baby-Led Weaning,” “an authoritarian approach to feeding — where caregivers force, bribe or punish a child to clean their plate and pressure them to finish or try a portion of a food they don’t want — teaches kids to ignore their own internal cues for fullness and is associated with a higher likelihood of disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders.”
Instead: Malkani says that offering a variety of foods at regular intervals throughout the day and allowing kids to decide whether and how much to eat allows them to honor their own hunger and fullness cues, meet nutrient needs and learn to accept new foods on their own timeline.
Do a juice cleanse.
“Juicing fruits and vegetables strips away the beneficial fiber that helps you feel fuller longer, improves intestinal health and feeds the healthy bacteria in your gut — and only about 5% of the population meets the daily recommendation for fiber,” Malkani explains. “Furthermore, the idea that a “juice cleanse” makes you healthier by ridding the body of excess toxins is a myth.”
Instead: Your body is already well equipped at removing waste as a part of its metabolic processes. Instead of juicing, Malkani recommends blending your fruits and veggies which allows plant food ingredients to retain their fiber, as well as their vitamins and minerals.
“A well-balanced smoothie can include enough nutrients to serve as a meal, meet your nutrient and energy needs and boost vegetable and fruit intake.”
Eat fish and seafood at every meal (when you’re pregnant).
Seafood provides important nutrients that support brain health during pregnancy, including DHA omega-3 fatty acids and choline. It also provides protein, vitamin B12 and a slew of other nutrients.
However, Lauren Manaker, a Charleston-based registered dietitian, explains that “while eating seafood two to three times a week is a fantastic choice, eating more than that may increase a person’s risk of consuming too much methylmercury, which can lead to serious negative health effects over time.”
Instead: Manaker recommends pregnant women include salmon, shrimp and other low-mercury seafood choices in a balanced diet two to three times a week, which is a smart and heart-healthy choice.
7 healthy sounding habits to avoid:
— Eat a light breakfast.
— Follow a plant-based diet.
— Take a green powder.
— Have a cheat day.
— Telling your child to clean their plate or else.
— Do a juice cleanse.
— Eat fish and seafood at every meal (when you’re pregnant).
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Examining the Healthiness of Common Habits originally appeared on usnews.com
