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CookingLight.com: The Most Common Nutrition Mistakes

Nutrition Mistakes

Best-selling author Michael Pollan became famous telling us that to eat healthy is to eat simply—just like our grandmothers did. Problem is, Grandma didn’t live in the Information Age, the age of the 25,000-product supermarket, Dietary Guidelines, and all those superfood health claims. It should be simple. But it really isn’t—not with this much daily nutrition noise to contend with.

Consider nutrition science, flip-flopping over the humble egg: villainized as an artery-clogging cholesterol bomb in the 1980s, now a centerpiece of the healthy breakfast (or dinner) plate while activists focus on the well-being of the chickens.

Pollan is right, mostly: The basic rules of healthy eating are simple. But diet is also in the details, as our 22 nutrition mistakes illustrate. In the crazy modern food world, you want to keep your eye on the big picture, but pay attention to the small print, too.

(Photos: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

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Nutrition Mistakes

Nutrition Mistak...

Best-selling author Michael Pollan became famous telling us that to eat healthy is to eat simply—just like our grandmothers did. Problem is, Grandma didn’t live in the Information Age, the age of the 25,000-product supermarket, Dietary Guidelines, and all those superfood health claims. It should be simple. But it really isn’t—not with this much daily nutrition noise to contend with.

Consider nutrition science, flip-flopping over the humble egg: villainized as an artery-clogging cholesterol bomb in the 1980s, now a centerpiece of the healthy breakfast (or dinner) plate while activists focus on the well-being of the chickens.

Pollan is right, mostly: The basic rules of healthy eating are simple. But diet is also in the details, as our 22 nutrition mistakes illustrate. In the crazy modern food world, you want to keep your eye on the big picture, but pay attention to the small print, too.

(Photos: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

1. You pick brown eggs over less-nutritious white.

1. You pick brow...

Result: Up to a 25% price premium paid for what is, basically, an aesthetic choice

Even in the era of fancy omega-3 eggs, brown eggs retain a certain rustic allure. But a large brown egg contains the exact same proportion of white and yolk, and the same nutrients, as a white egg. Brown eggs simply come from a different breed of hens, which are often bigger birds and require more feed than standard white-egg-laying hens. Those costs are usually passed on, adding to brown eggs’ “specialness.”

What to do: Choose by wallet or style sensibility; either way, you’ll pick a good egg.

(Photos: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

2. You drink soy milk for the calcium, but you don’t shake it.

2. You drink soy...

Result: When sludge forms at the bottom of the carton, you toss it—and a whole lot of good-for-you calcium goes down the drain.

Calcium added to soy milk is good for bones. But it tends to settle and then can be quite tough to redistribute into the milk. According to a study from Creighton University in Nebraska, fortified soy milks may deliver only 25% to 79% of the promised calcium, depending on the type used and the way it’s added. In cow’s milk, calcium is naturally suspended throughout the liquid.

What to do: Shake that soy milk each time. And consume calcium from a variety of sources to get the full amount you need daily: 1,000 to 1,200mg.

(Photos: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

3. You favor peanut butter fortified with omega-3s to get your share of those good fats.

3. You favor pea...

Result: Good idea, but you’re probably not getting as much omega-3s as you may think.

Fortification of foods is sometimes good but also marketed a bit ... enthusiastically. You’d have to eat 1 cup of that peanut butter to equal the amount of omega-3s in a single serving of salmon—a whopping 1,520 calories versus about 200 calories in a 4-ounce piece of fish.

What to do: Enjoy the PB, but favor the fish.

(Photos: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

4. You trade ground turkey for ground beef in recipes to save sat fat.

4. You trade gro...

Result: Unless you’re careful, not much savings over lean beef.

Turkey breast is lean, but dark meat isn’t, and some ground turkey contains both. A quarter pound of regular ground turkey contains 3g sat fat. Compare that to only 2.5g in the same amount of sirloin. Ground turkey breast, on the other hand, has just half a gram of sat fat, so the right cut of turkey is a significant fat-cutter.

What to do: Read the label; buy the lean.

(Photos: Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

5. Watching your weight, you pull way back on snacking.

5. Watching your...

Result: Less weight-loss success, more hunger, fatigue

It’s a long stretch from a noontime lunch to a 7 p.m. dinner. Snacking helps manage hunger by keeping your metabolic engine running at a more constant pace. Any healthy-eating plan should allow for one or two snacks per day: something nutritious and satisfying.

What to do: Calcium-rich low-fat dairy foods, full-of-fiber nuts, or naturally sweet, low-calorie fruit.

(Photos: Serge Bloch , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

6. You’re on a veggie kick, boiling lots every night.

6. You’re on a v...

Result: Vitamin-rich pot water.

Dropping foods that are rich in water-soluble vitamins (like the Bs, C, folate) into cooking water leaches some of the vitamins. That’s fine for a soup or stew, less so if you’re draining the veggies. A Danish study found that boiled broccoli retained only 45% to 64% of its vitamin C after 5 minutes of boiling; steamed broccoli kept 83% to 100%.

What to do: Haul out that old steamer. Also good: microwaving.

(Photos: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

7. You hanker for fast food. Grilled chicken beats beef burger.

7. You hanker fo...

Result: Sodium city, and not necessarily much in the way of calorie savings, either.

Sodium can soar in a chicken sandwich. The chicken breast may have been injected with a salty brine solution to help the meat stay moist. At Burger King, the Tendergrill Chicken sandwich has 1,100mg sodium, and 75% of that comes from the chicken itself. (A Whopper Jr. burger has half the sodium, little of it from the beef, and 130 fewer calories.)

Lean chicken sometimes picks up salty toppings, like the bacon and cheese on the McDonald’s Premium Grilled Chicken Club. That baby has 1,410mg of sodium, 18% more than a Quarter Pounder with Cheese—and is not lower in calories.

What to do: You have a 2,300mg-per-day sodium budget. Take a minute to scan the restaurant’s nutrition data—online, in-store, or from a smart phone.

(Photos: Serge Bloch , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

8. You leave your hot cereal eating ’til the weekend, when you can slow cook steel-cut oats.

8. You leave you...

Result: You bypass one of the easiest ways to get whole-grain, fiber-rich goodness.

Turns out an oat is an oat is an oat, whether it’s steel cut from the original groat or rolled flat and even presteamed so that it will cook in 90 seconds rather than 15 minutes. Flattening and steaming does not remove whole-grain benefits, so you get all of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and oaty fiber. Yes, the steel-cut variety is nutty, chewy, and delicious, but instant is so darned weekday convenient.

What to do: Embrace all oats. One caveat: Prepackaged flavored oats can contain a lot of added sugar and salt.

(Photos: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

9. You consider fruits like bananas and apples “free.”

9. You consider ...

Result: You’re eating better—but may be taking in more calories than you think.

Last year, Weight Watchers changed its famed point system to make fruit “free”: Dieters can eat as much as they want without eating into their precious daily points. WW’s rationale: It encourages eaters to swap in more healthy low-calorie foods. Fine print reality: Nothing with calories is really free.

We’re not dissing fruit. A nutrient-rich banana only has about 105 calories. An ounce of baked chips has about 120. Swapping one for the other is a good nutrition deal. But simply adding fruit will, in the long run, add up, calorie-wise.

What to do: Focus more on healthy food choices, less on calories, but be mindful that no food is “free.”

(Photos: Serge Bloch , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

10. You automatically swap turkey bacon for the pork kind.

10. You automati...

Result: Not always the hefty salt and fat savings you might expect.

We’re not trying to pick on the poor old turkey here, but bacon is a prime example of why label-reading is important. Pork bacon comes in smoky, super-thick, fatty slabs but also in naturally leaner center-cut slices; the latter can contain as little as 60 calories, 1.5g sat fat, and 260mg sodium per slice.

Turkey bacon also wanders all over the nutrition map. A slice of Jennie-O’s ultra-lean version is a nutrition bargain, at 20 calories, 0g sat fat, and 120mg sodium. But others can contain the same sat fat as center-cut pork bacon—and even more sodium.

What to do: If you like pork, choose a lean, high-flavor cut. If you need less fat, find a lean, lower-sodium turkey product.

(Photos: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

11. You spoon on whole flaxseeds to get those heart-healthy omega-3 fats.

11. You spoon on...

Result: The omega-3s are tourists—they don’t hang around.

Flaxseeds are trendy, marketed as something of a superfood. They represent an excellent way to add fiber and omega-3 fatty acids to baked goods, oatmeal, and cereal. And they’re a good alternative to fish and fish oils for vegetarians or vegans. But whole seeds tend to, um, pass right through.

What to do: Grind the seeds; unlock the goodness.

(Photos: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

12. Mindful that many women under 50 are iron-deficient, you’re beefing up on iron-rich spinach.

12. Mindful that...

Result: You may get lots of nutrients—but not much iron.

Iron is important for energy because it helps deliver oxygen to every cell in your body, but it’s tricky to get because it comes in two types. Spinach and other plant sources are rich in what is called non-heme iron. Only about 2% to 20% of non-heme iron is absorbed, versus 15% to 35% of the heme iron found only in animal foods, specifically meat. Chicken liver has the most (13mg), followed by oysters (4.5mg), and beef (about 3mg).

What to do: Vitamin C helps increase your body’s uptake of non-heme iron from foods. Pair iron-fortified breakfast cereal with a glass of OJ, or add grapefruit segments to that spinach salad.

(Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

13. You make time for the gym, but you skip the pre-gym snack to save on calories.

13. You make tim...

Result: Fewer calories can mean fewer calories burned—not the best equation.

“Think of a preworkout snack as fueling, not filling,” says fitness expert Myatt Murphy, CSCS. “Aim for 100 to 200 calories, just enough to give you enough energy for exercise. Too much food, and your stomach will be working out at the same time to digest it all.”

Thirty minutes before exercise is the way to pace this. If you’re an early bird, a preworkout snack is essential—there’s no fuel in the tank. If you exercise mid-afternoon, you might need less.

What to do: The best preworkout snacks provide a mix of carbs and protein—a banana and a handful of nuts or a slice of whole-grain bread with peanut butter.

(Photo: Serge Bloch , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

14. While cooking, you eyeball the oil, the salt, the sugar…

14. While cookin...

Result: More calories or sodium than you might think.

Cookbooks call for swirls, coatings, even “glugs” of olive oil. Others, more precise, call for a teaspoon or tablespoon—but it saves time to just guess. Our experiments with guesswork show that most people overpour common foods and liquids. The difference between a teaspoon and tablespoon of any oil is 80 calories and 9g of fat. The difference between a half-teaspoon and a teaspoon of salt is about 1,200 milligrams—half the daily recommendation.

What to do: Measure.

(Photo: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

15. You do a free-hand pour at the breakfast table.

15. You do a fre...

Result: You likely eat enough for 1.4 people.

When we asked 100 people to show us their typical cereal pour, only 1 in 10 poured close to the recommended portions. For flake cereals, the average pour was 40% more than the 1-cup serving size. A full cup of skim milk in the bowl means you’ve added 40 more calories over the label standard. OJ, coffee cream, jam for toast: Breakfast requires lots of little portion calls, all made on a groggy brain.

What to do: Read labels, then practice with a measuring cup, just to get an idea of the recommended serving. If you change cereals, start over.

(Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

16. You’re careful when you buy your snacks, less so when you serve them.

16. You’re caref...

Result: Healthy choice made, unhealthy quantity consumed.

Here’s the scenario: 94% fat-free microwave kettle corn saves you 6g of sat fat over the full-fat variety. But a typical, not-very-big bag contains 2 servings of about 3 cups each. Said handy bag often joins the eater on the couch for a movie, and soon it’s empty. It’s just human nature to eat what a container contains.

What to do: Choose that healthier snack—and eat it in measured amounts.

(Photo: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

17. You set the treadmill for a 300-calorie workout so you can eat a 300-calorie treat.

17. You set the ...

Result: More calories in than out.

Cardio-equipment calorie counters are notorious for overestimating your calorie burn. The American Council on Exercise found some machines can be off by 25%. Machines that require you to punch in your weight, height, age, and gender give you a better estimate, but it’s still an estimate.

What to do: If you’re calorie counting, invest in a heart-rate monitor, the kind that straps around your chest.

(Photo: Serge Bloch , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

18. You sprinkle wheat germ on yogurt or muffins for crunchy, whole-grain goodness.

18. You sprinkle...

Result: A good nutrient boost, but not quite a whole-grain boost

A whole grain is a seed with three parts: bran, endosperm, and germ. Wheat germ is only one component of a whole grain. Most of the fiber is in the bran, and the protein is in the endosperm. Wheat germ delivers a concentrated wallop of folate and vitamin E but doesn’t count as a whole grain.

What to do: Enjoy your germ, but not at the expense of other whole-grain choices.

(Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

19. You stock up on fresh veggies on Sunday for your week of healthy eating.

19. You stock up...

Result: Come Thursday or Friday, nutrients have done a vanishing act.

Some nutrients begin deteriorating in a fresh fruit or vegetable as soon as it’s harvested. In a week, green beans lose 77% of their vitamin C, spinach loses 50% of its folate, and prechopped cantaloupe, mango, and strawberry pieces lose 10% to 15% of their carotenoids.

What to do: It’s less convenient, but buy fresh produce a few times a week. Also, shop smart: Ask the produce manager which veggies are freshest. And lean on locally grown, which has a shorter transit time, or frozen off-season vegetables, which are flash-frozen within hours of harvesting, sometimes right in the field.

(Photo: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

20. You buy 80/20 ground beef because it’s a good thing that only 20% of the calories come from fat.

20. You buy 80/2...

Result: Way more fat in your burger or meat loaf than you thought.

The 80/20 percentage refers to the proportion of fat and protein in the grind, not the proportion of calories. Because fat contains more than twice the calories of protein, 20% of fat by weight contributes 72% of the total calories in a 3.5-ounce portion of raw ground beef, or about 180 of the 250 total calories.

What to do: Buy a much leaner grind, such as 90/10, or ask for a lean whole cut like sirloin or brisket to be custom ground for you, which will be fresher anyway.

(Photo: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

21. Big-crystal and flaky sea salts and kosher salts are bulkier, so you figure they also contain more sodium.

21. Big-crystal ...

Result: You miss out on an easy way to cut 20% of your added salt.

Kosher and table salt are chemically the same. But the larger grain size of kosher salt actually works to your advantage. Tiny grains of table salt tend to pack down in the spoon, leaving less air. Coarse flakes and crystals pile up like little, rough rocks, with more air between the pieces. That adds up to 20% sodium savings.

What to do: Have fun exploring the new sea and rock salts now on the market. Stronger flavor means you can use less, too.

(Photo: Charles Masters , Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

22. Recipe calls for mincing the garlic. You stop at coarsely chopped.

22. Recipe calls...

Result: Fewer heart-healthy compounds in your Caesar.

Minced garlic is more redolent than chopped because the smelly, heart-healthy thiosulfinates are created as the clove is cut. More cutting, more healthy compounds. Thiosulfinates prevent blood platelets from clumping, which helps keep arteries unobstructed.

Bonus Tip: Chop garlic early in the prep phase, then set it aside for a few minutes (covered, so it won’t dry out) to give time for thiosulfinates to develop. Grate garlic on a Microplane, and you’ll release even more.

(Story by Phillip Rhodes)

Cooking Light

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

More on CookingL... Click here to see the 10 surprising foods that may benefit your health in ways you never imagined.

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