World Food Day: 6 Bad Food Habits You Must Get Rid of Today

World Food Day is celebrated every year across the globe on 16th October to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. Food supplies our body with energy and provides nutrients like protein, essential fats, vitamins and minerals to sustain life and grow and function properly. World Food Day is dedicated to spreading awareness about food security and healthy nutrition for all. A lot of us underestimate the power of a good diet and how it can impact our health and overall well-being. Bad dietary or food habits can wreak havoc on your health in more ways than you thought. According to Health Practitioner and Macrobiotic Nutritionist Shilpa Arora, here are 6 Worst Food Habits you should get rid-off immediately.

1.Consuming Too Many Liquid Calories

The calories consumed in sugary juices and packaged drinks like Iced-tea, aerated drinks and soda are often missed while keeping a tab on your calorie intake, this is because they are not from solid foods but liquids. Shilpa tells us that these are empty calories. These contain no nutritional value, and often get stored as fat in the body.(Also Read: World Food Day 2017: 5 Ways to Turn Your Kitchen Sustainable)

Calories from sodas contain no nutritional value, and often get stored as fat in the body.

2. Giant Portion Sizes

Got your diet plan in place? Great. But maintaining a good diet is not enough, one must also keep a check on their portions. Did you measure your morning cereal? Or the spoonful of oil and butter used in cooking your omelette? Exercising portion control becomes much tougher when you are having food straight off the packet. Take a moment and put it down on a plate and eat wisely. It is also advised that you take smaller plates for your meals. Plates bigger in size give the illusion that you are eating less. Overdoing portions (even with healthy foods) will invite a calorie overload. Maintain caution.
 

Maintaining a good diet is not enough, one must also keep a check on their portions

3. Missing Meals

Skipping meals regularly shifts your system into starvation mode. This is a defence mechanism used by the body to store energy. Skipping your meals decreases your overall metabolism and slows down the weight loss process. It also tempts you to grab sugary and fat laden foods after a long haul of starvation.
 

Skipping meals regularly shifts your system into starvation mode. 

4. Falling For Fad Diets

There are no shortcuts to weight loss. It is a combination of a balanced diet and exercise. A fad diet is a diet that promises quick weight loss through what could be an unhealthy and unbalanced diet. Following these fad diets can make you shed pounds, but most of the weight that you lose is your water weight which can lead to dehydration and severe health problems. Your body needs calories for energy. Depriving yourself of calories may exhaust you. Cutting down calories is important for weight loss, but being rash about it can bring about a bevy of problems. These diets have also been linked with a host of tummy problems that arise due to hindered digestion. Another problematic diet is a mono diet. This weight-loss plan involves eating only one food or type of food (usually, fruits or veggies) and nothing else. This can deprive your body of essential nutrients that come from different foods.
 

A fad diet is a diet that promises quick weight loss

5. Bingeing on Processed and Sugary Food

According to Shilpa, "Processed food is one of the biggest problems in current times. Most of these processed junk foods are made with Hydrogenated oils that increase the risk of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. Sugary foods like cupcakes, muffins and cookies can also be blamed. The body cannot metabolize the abundance of unnatural sugars that we consume from different packaged foods."
 

The body cannot metabolize the abundance of unnatural sugars

6. Emotional Eating

Another bad eating habit that you must check is emotional eating. Had a bad day at work? Or coping with some emotional upheaval? Resorting to food may seem as the only silver lining to all the miseries in your life, but that is definitely not a sustainable diet strategy. This is a coping mechanism set by your mind to feel good. These reward foods may induce a sense of positive emotions, but they can also invite a few extra pounds than required.
 

Another bad eating habit that you must check is emotional eating

This World Food Day, lets pledge to improve our eating habits and work towards adopting a healthier lifestyle.