Harmful Habits During Dinner

Cooking dinner at home is a good way to get tasty, filling and healthy meals . However, some habits prevent you from achieving maximum taste and benefit in dinner . Let's find out what should not be done so that delicious dishes do not turn into heaviness in the stomach and excess weight.

Too much salt

A pinch of salt will add flavor to pasta, fish or another favorite dinner dish , but you shouldn't get too carried away with seasonings . Regular abuse of salt can lead to excess weight. Deakin University researchers have found that consuming excess salt can also increase cravings for fatty foods.

In addition, salt can cause addiction. A study published in the Oxford Journal's Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation found that salt addiction is very real, it is processed by the hypothalamus in the brain. Addiction to alcohol, cocaine, and opiates develops and is interpreted in a similar way.

Wrong sauce

If you love adding a ton of tomato sauce to your pasta for dinner , you're not alone. After all, what is pasta without sauce? However, it is important to make the right choice. Many ready-made sauces sold in supermarkets can be high in salt and sugar, as well as ingredients such as soybean oil and preservatives. Carefully read the label to choose the most natural sauce, or prepare it yourself.

Fried food

Do you think that frying chicken at home is more useful than ordering it at a restaurant? Think again. According to the study, when frying food, a significant part of important minerals is lost. In addition, frying food often adds extra calories and more saturated fat.

Incorrect plate size

When it comes to dinner , size matters.

Think about it: if you serve food on a larger plate, the portion looks smaller, so it's very easy to overeat. And if you choose a smaller plate, the portion will seem larger, as the dish will fill the entire area. This makes the brain think that you have eaten more. If you want to keep the size of the dinner under control, choose smaller plates.

Salad dressing

A portion of salad before dinner is a good way to get more vegetables, and if you eat it before the main course , it will help you feel full faster and eat less. An ideal option. However, choosing a salad dressing can be a problem. If you don't stick to the recommended serving size or choose a dressing that contains a lot of sugar or heavy ingredients, it negates all the benefits of the vegetables.

The rate of food consumption

When the working day ends and dinner time finally comes , hunger often makes itself felt. If you eat too quickly, it will be more difficult to control the portion size. A study published by the American Dietetic Association showed that people who ate leisurely consumed 66 kcal less per meal. So stop and enjoy your meal —you may fill up faster than you think.

Dinner in front of the TV

Eating dinner while watching your favorite series or TV show may seem like a good way to relax, but it's not. Television, movies, books — all this distracts from food, because you can not notice what kind of food you are eating and eat more.

A study published in the journal Food Quality and Preference found that participants who were distracted by white noise in headphones were less aware of what they were eating. This prompted them to eat more, compared to participants who were solely focused on food.

Washing canned goods

There's nothing wrong with adding canned vegetables or beans to your dinner every once in a while , but make sure you cook them right. Cans are filled with marinade. If you do not drain it and do not wash the vegetables, you will add a lot of unnecessary salt and starch to the dish .

Water

Fizzy and sugary drinks are never a healthy choice. That is why it is important to drink clean water not only during, but also before dinner . One study found that drinking water half an hour before a main meal, such as dinner , helps control weight. A regular glass of water can do a lot of good.