The most common eating errors are staying too long without eating, consuming lots of meats and soft drinks, eating few fibers and not reading food labels. These poor eating habits increase the risk of diseases like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer, but there are strategies that can help prevent these changes.
Having a healthy and balanced diet helps to control weight and improve the body's metabolism, reducing fat production and free radicals, which are the main substances that cause diseases and premature aging.
1. Skip meals
Staying long without eating is one of the most common eating errors that most contributes to weight gain. Many people say they do not have the time or that if they eat they will always get fat, but making snacks between the main meals is essential for the proper functioning of the body and to avoid getting fat.
The gut of those who skip meals frequently prepares to absorb as much nutrients as possible, while the rest of the body starts to conserve energy. The end result is that you spend less calories throughout the day, and when you exaggerate in the food of a meal you save the extra calories more easily.
How to solve: Eating every 3-4 hours helps to control blood glucose, avoid overeating in large meals and maintain a high metabolism in the body.
2. Exaggerate the meat
Eating too much meat is a common habit that brings health hazards like increased cholesterol and uric acid. Meats, especially red ones, are rich in fats and usually their preparation takes even more fats such as oil and butter, as well as wheat and egg flour to make breads.
Bacon and sausage meats such as sausage and sausage are the worst choices, as well as having more fat and salt, are also rich in preservatives, dyes and flavor enhancers, additives that are toxic to the body and can irritate the intestine.
How to solve: prefer white meats and fish, and eat about 120 g of meat per meal, which corresponds to the size of the palm.
3. Take refrigerant
Soft drinks are fructose-rich beverages, a type of sugar that increases the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes. They are also rich in acids that demineralize the enamel of the teeth, favoring the appearance of cavities, and in gases that cause abdominal pain, intestinal gas and gastritis.
In addition, these beverages contain sodium and caffeine, which causes changes in blood pressure and fluid retention. See other malfunctions of soft drinks in: Soda makes bad.
How to solve: prefer natural drinks like unsweetened juices, teas, water and coconut water.
4. Consume few fibers
Fibers are mainly present in fruits, vegetables, seeds and whole foods, but these foods have been traded for industrialized products rich in carbohydrates, salt and fats, such as packaged snacks and filled biscuits.
A low-fiber diet increases hunger, promotes constipation, and increases the risk of diseases such as colon cancer. In addition, those who consume few fibers also have a poor diet in vitamins and minerals essential for the prevention of diseases such as cancer and premature aging. See which foods are high in fiber.
How to solve: eat at least 3 fruits per day, put salad in main meals and prefer whole foods such as bread and rice.
5. Do not read the food label
Industrialized foods are rich in fats, sugars and salt because these ingredients are inexpensive and help increase the shelf life of the product. By not reading the labels, people do not know the ingredients used and do not realize that they are eating a harmful to health.
A diet rich in fats, sugars and salt favors the onset of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis.
How to solve: read the food label to identify the presence of fats, sugars and salt. Here's how to make good choices in: How to know when not to buy a food and Foods rich in sugar.
Most common eating errors of the elderly
Mistakes made by elderly people are even more damaging to health, because at this stage of life the immune system is weakened and it is easier to have diseases and complications such as infections and dehydration. In general, the main food mistakes made at this stage of life are:
- Drinking little water: the elderly no longer have control of body water and no longer feel thirsty, so it is common to dehydration in the elderly, which can cause dry skin and lips, dizziness and fainting.
- Skipping meals: For tiredness or lack of ability, it is common for the elderly not to snack and not eat well, which leads to weight loss, muscle weakness and increased risk of infectious diseases such as influenza and pneumonia.
- Adding too much salt to meals: The elderly feel less of the taste of food, so they tend to put more salt in the food to make up for the lack of taste, which favors an increase in blood pressure.
Thus, the elderly should always have water or liquid foods within reach, so they can hydrate themselves through small sips throughout the day, and should make main meals and snacks even when they do not feel hungry. They also need to have aromatic herbs at their disposal to use as kitchen dressings, replacing salt, and whenever possible an adult should supervise their food to ensure that the elderly have adequate nutrition.
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