In order to allow your body to function the way it’s supposed to, you must not only give it nutrition, but the right type of nutrition. Markets nowadays are overflowing with processed and engineered food that serves nowhere near its purpose, other than filling up your belly. Keeping this in mind, we have decided to take a fresh look at these foods and their health safety issues.
The 5 Foods to Eliminate From Your Next Meal
Eating the foods we are about to discuss can lead to weight gain, cause a variety of health complications, and in general, make you feel unwell. In this blog, we are going to discuss 5 types of foods that should be eliminated from your diet as soon as possible.
1. Grains – Particularly Gluten Grains
There is a considerable amount of evidence to support the fact that an increasing percentage of the population are reacting poorly to gluten-based foods. If you are wondering about the heart healthy whole wheat, yes; it applies to that as well. Gluten seems to cause affects that are quite harmful on the digestive system as well as other aspects of your health. Individuals with celiac disease aren’t excluded. When you take a look at the glycemic index of whole wheat, it’s surprisingly quite high. This results in your blood sugar taking a roller coaster ride, which in turn, leads you to crave another carb-snack soon after. Studies suggest that individuals who’re suffering from metabolic issues and are trying to lose weight must avoid all types of grains; the main sources of carbs. However, those people who maintain a healthy diet and exercising routine don’t have to eliminate healthy non-gluten grains, such as oats and rice. Bottom line, grains are that one group of food that contain zero nutrients essential for our bodies. Everyone who is careful about what they put in their body should, without question, avoid gluten grains, particularly whole wheat.
2. Unhealthy Trans Fats
Trans fats are basically unsaturated fats, chemically modified in a way to maintain products at room temperature and increase their shelf-life. Sometimes also referred to as hydrogenated fats, the process that gives birth to these fats requires high-pressured hydrogen gas. As disgusting as the process is to any human watching it, it’s absolutely baffling how anyone ever thought that these industrially produced fats are suitable for the consumption of a human being. Not only do Trans fats raise the levels of LDL cholesterol, but they also lower the good (HDL) cholesterol. The affects of which; increase belly fat and cause a number of health complications, in a domino like fashion over the course of your life. Bottom line is, you should try to avoid Trans fats as if your very life depended on it (this assumption should be unnecessary, as it essentially is a slow poison).
3. Added Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup
You’re probably not the least bit surprised to see sugar in the list of foods to eliminate from your diet. Over the past few decades, sugar is considered unhealthy due to the empty calories it provides. Moreover, the so-called “refined” sugars are a step ahead in this aspect, they also have zero essential nutrients to offer. Now, new research associates sugar with diseases that are proving fatal for those who have them. To gain some perspective on exactly how fatal, the numbers are in the millions; with the diseases ranging from diabetes to obesity, and from cancer to heart diseases. Given that sugar is harmful, what’s worse is its downright addictive nature. This has led individuals, even you and me, to crave sugar products and binge on them. Yes, it makes us gain layers of fat, but the really concerning aspect is that these sugar filled foods will never leave your appetite satisfied. You will continue to crave them, until you develop a really sophisticated, hard-to-crack lock for your mouth. Bottom line is that you should try to avoid all sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juices, and sugary treats to maintain a healthier lifestyle.
4. Unnatural Vegetable and Seed Oils
Mostly portrayed as healthy by the companies that produce them, vegetable and seed oils and anything cooked with them, is tremendously unhealthy for our bodies. A fun fact, these “healthy” oils didn’t exist until quite recently and were developed well after the agricultural revolution took place. These oils contain an abundance of Omega-6 fatty acids. When in reality, our body only needs a very little ratio; and that too, needs to be in combination with Omega-3 for optimal functioning of our body. Excess consumption of these fatty acids leads to inflammation, which in turn, leads to complicated health problems, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The bottom line is to avoid excess Omega-6 fatty acids in vegetable and seed oils. Step up the intake of Omega-3 fatty acids from cod liver oil or fish oil instead.
5. Calorie, but not Risk-Free Artificial Sweeteners
News bulletin, even calorie free ingredients can pose significant health risks, in addition to gradually harming your body, which is more than applicable in artificial sweeteners. For those unaware of the affects of artificial sweeteners and actually considering it to be a fashionable trend or a way to create delicious calorie-free desserts… don’t! Even calorie free ingredients can and do harm your body. Consuming artificial sweeteners shows a strong and rather consistent link with preterm deliveries, and diseases; like obesity (ironically), metabolic syndrome, and type-II diabetes. Bottom line is, if you absolutely must sweeten, use honey or brown sugar instead. Artificial sweeteners have NEVER been proven safe so why risk, when you can refrain.
Conclusion
Maintaining a nutritious diet is extremely important, but knowing what not to put in your body is just as important. The term given to this is known as clean eating, which means selecting meats, vegetable, and fruits that are grown using a minimal amount of processing. They should be organic and should rarely, if ever, contain additives. If you conduct a little research, you’ll find out that the methods being adopted by food producers around the world, are neither clean nor do they provide the necessary benefits to our health. In fact, they damage it instead.