Every day you hear people on TV, on the subway and even amongst your friends talking about healthy eating and the importance of having a healthy diet. The thing is that no matter how much some people think they lead a healthy lifestyle, the truth is that they are making some unconscious mistakes that take a good negative toll on their efforts.
So what are these mistakes that so many of us are making and is there a way to prevent them?
1. A Strict Vegan Diet
A lot of people have adopted a vegan diet, thinking that this is the best way of staying in good health, losing weight and having a beautiful skin. While initially this sounds like a good idea, you’re missing out on something. Did you identify it yet? Well yes, it’s protein. Vegetables don’t contain but vitamins, antioxidants and also minerals, but your body also needs protein so that you don’t feel tired during the day and have enough energy to perform all of your daily tasks and then still have plenty of it to drive home without falling asleep behind the wheel.
So my advice in this regard is that you stick to your vegan diet, since it’s a healthy choice, but don’t forget to add some animal protein as well. This way you’ll not feel tired anymore and you’re going to make your thyroid gland very happy.
2. Too Much Soy Is A Problem
If you’re someone who knows a thing or two about dieting and living healthily, then you are already aware of the fact that non-fermented soy foods can cause various problems to your thyroid gland, not to mention that they also promote goiter.
To include some examples of such foods, they are soy chips, soy nuts, soy meats, soy milk and so forth. It’s best that you avoid such products or limit your consumption of them as much as you can and instead go for traditionally fermented soy. Some examples of fermented soy foods include tamari, natto, tempeh, shoyu and of course, miso.
The biggest shock is that you may be eating non-fermented soy and not even be aware of it. You’ll generally find it disguised as isolated soy protein, plant protein, bouillon, lecithin, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and many more. You’re also going to find it in healthy breakfast cereals, protein powders, natural and energy snack bars. Therefore, from now on, no matter how healthy a product may seem, you need to read the ingredients list in order to know exactly what you’re eating and sometimes you’ll be very surprised of what you discover.
3. Stirring Your Food For Far Too Long
You may initially think that this is not a problem and actually crack a grin, but when you stir your food so that it doesn’t burn, you prevent it from browning. As a result, the food is going to get mushy and depending on what you cook, it may be very bad for your stomach and overall health (think uncooked meat). To make sure you don’t do this again, try to resist the urge of stirring the food constantly unless the recipe states otherwise.
4. High Heat And Nonstick Pans
Did you know that if you’re using nonstick pans, it’s recommended that you turn down the heat? Why is that? Well, it’s because at a high temperature the nonstick lining on your pan is going to release PFCs in the form of fumes. If you Google PFCs, in a few minutes you’ll realize that they can cause developmental problems and on top of that, they may also cause liver damage. To prevent this, just make sure you only turn the heat up to a certain temperature recommended by the pan’s manufacturer and never beyond it.
5. Chewing On Ice
Chewing on ice is something that a lot of people seem to be doing, but the bad news is that it can led to a condition called Pica which makes you want to chew things that may be unhealthy for you. Some examples would include paper and of course, ice. Pica may also be caused by iron deficiency anemia, according to various authority medical websites on the internet.
In fact, when you chew on ice you could also signal to the people around you that you’re actually stressed or have other emotional problems or even suffer from OCD.
6. Drinking Less Water Than Recommended
Our body is made of 70% water, so there’s no surprise to the fact that you absolutely need to ensure you stay hydrated at all times. This is because when you’re properly hydrated, your motivation is intact, you have a stable mood and your memory is also quite sharp. Not to mention the fact that proper hydration makes your joints and muscles work better, your body can easily cool down when it’s too hot and your skin is kept supple thanks to the high amount of fluids in your body. So the question is: how much water do you need to drink a day? Well, most people are drinking coffee and sodas and think that they don’t need to drink water anymore. This is very wrong and that’s because these drinks contain sugar and other ingredients that are bad for your system and some of them may even lead to dehydration. So to answer the question we asked earlier, you need to drink at least 2 liters of water a day, 2.5 to 3 liters if you engage in moderate physical activity and at least 3 liters or more if you engage in strenuous activities.
7. Late Night Eating
Eating late at night is downright unhealthy because that’s when your metabolism slows down and you have a very good chance of getting overweight, especially if you maintain this habit for extended periods of time. Not only that, but according to the NIH, if you keep eating right before you go to sleep, you may get indigestion which is going to interfere with your sleep.
8. Rinsing Your Meat Before Eating It Is Not A Good Idea
Many people are doing this right before they want to cook steak or other foods that use meat as an ingredient, but did you know that this is totally wrong? The argument is pretty simple: even if you think this way you get rid of the slime factor, you’re only going to contaminate your skin with bacteria that eventually increases the risk of causing food-borne illness. So instead of rinsing your meat, you may want to use some paper towels to remove those residues you don’t like to see on it.
With that being said, these are the top 8 most important health destroying habits you need to give up right away. The sooner you do this, the sooner you’ll start living an authentic healthy lifestyle and have more energy, a better mood and a clearer mind than you never had in any other time of your life.