Unhealthy Foods: What NOT to Eat
Staying away from unhealthy foods is a must if you want to have better health.
As the popular saying goes, "You are what you eat." What you put into your body and digest becomes a part of you.
When you fill your stomach with unhealthy foods and junky foods, it deprives your body of the essential nutrients it needs for health and strength.
Fried foods are unhealthy.
Imagine building a brand new house using only the poorest quality materials you can find.
If you are really talented, you may get your house looking good on the outside. But the structure is not going to be strong. Put it to the test, and it will crumble.
The same thing happens in your body. Put in junk and low nutrient unhealthy foods and the structure of your body will not be strong.
You may look good on the outside, but continue on that path of eating harmful, unhealthy foods and your body will not be able to keep holding up.
The constant stress of missing nutrients, food additives, environmental pollutants, and pesticides will eventually take its toll.
The end result? Premature aging, disease, and other health problems.
Research shows that most modern killer diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are definitely related to your diet and lifestyle.
Foods are classified as "Unhealthy foods" if they...
...provide empty calories.These kinds of foods are high in calories but have little or no nutritional value. Donuts are a good example of empty calorie foods. If you eat one standard donut, you will get about 200 calories - mostly from fat and sugar. There are little or no vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients in donuts.
...don't have enough fiber. Low fiber means it will be much harder for your body to get the residue out the food of your system after you've digested it. A good example of a food low in fiber would be white bread. Two slices of white bread will give you only about 1 gram of fiber. Not nearly enough for a healthy gut.
...take nutrients from your body and leave you more nutritionally deficient than before you ate them. A good example would be soda pop drinks that are high in caffeine, sugar, and phosphorus. These drinks do not provide your body with any nutrition. They are full of caffeine, sugar, and phosphorus which cause your body to lose calcium from your bones.
...do damage to your body in one or more ways. An example of a food that does damage to your body is margarine and any other food that contains hydrogenated oils. When oils are hydrogenated, they form trans-fatty acids. Trans-fats do damage to a number of systems in the body and are linked to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
Unhealthy Foods To Avoid
Here is a list of some foods that are not good fuel for your body. Try to avoid these unhealthy foods whenever you can. At the very least, limit how often you eat them.
Canned Soup
Canned soups that you see lining the shelves of grocery stores tend to have high levels of salt, trans-fats, and monosodium glutamate (MSG). You may be able to find healthier options in the health food store, but the best soup is homemade soup.
Commercial Breakfast Cereals
Commercial cereals are often anything but healthy. A lot of them have sugar as one of the first ingredients, and high fructose corn syrup is usually somewhere on the list of ingredients as well.
Most cereals are made from refined grains. That means that you are getting a load of empty calories first thing in the morning. Not a very healthy way to start your day, especially if you combine the cereal with other empty calorie foods.
If you love the convenience of ready-made cereals, then try to stick to healthier choices. Shredded Wheat and Cheerios are reasonable choices. You can find several quality brands in health foods stores. Be sure to read the labels before you buy though. Not everything in the health store is healthy for you.
Commercially Baked Goods
Commercially baked goods such as cookies, biscuits, cakes, and packaged cake mixes almost always contain high amounts of trans-fats. They also tend to have other additives such as artificial flavors, artificial colors, corn syrup, and a variety of preservatives. They may have more trans-fats than any other foods because they are made with hydrogenated oils. Sometimes they are even fried in hydrogenated oils as well.
Donuts are an unhealthy food.
Donuts
Donuts are made from refined flour, white sugar, and partially hydrogenated oil (that means that they contain trans-fats). They also have a healthy dose of artificial flavors and colors. That's what makes them look and taste yummy. Donuts are lacking in fiber and they do not provide you with any nutrients whatsoever.
Fatty Foods
Most North Americans consume at least 37 percent of their calories from fat (usually the wrong kind of fat such as animal fat and refined vegetable oils). This is way more than our bodies can handle.
If you have a diet that is too high in fat, it puts you at risk for obesity, adult onset diabetes, certain cancers, and arteriosclerosis (hardening and plugging up of the arteries).
Foods That Cause Constipation
Chronic constipation can put you at risk for colon cancer and other diseases.
Foods That Give You Too Much Protein
If your diet is heavy in meat and other animal products, chances are you are getting a lot more fat and cholesterol than your body can use. People in Western society eat 2 to 3 times more protein than our bodies need.
Research shows that too much protein (especially animal protein) is not healthy for you. It can cause your body to lose too much calcium and it can even damage your kidneys.
Animal protein has also been linked to cancer and other serious diseases. I highly recommend The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. It will open your eyes to the many dangers of a meat-based diet.
Genetically Modified Foods
Genetically modified foods (GM foods) have been on the shelves of North American grocery stores since 1996.
Hydrogenated Fats and Trans-Fats
Hydrogenation is the process that is used to turn liquid oils into a solid form. Vegetable margarine and vegetable shortening are hydrogenated fats.
Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts
Commercially made ice creams and frozen desserts are loaded with sugar and various chemicals to give them flavor and texture.
If you love frozen desserts, try to stick to brands that are made with pure, natural ingredients. You can also buy an ice cream machine and make your own ice cream creations.
Potato chips, French Fries, and other Fried Foods/Snacks
Potato chips and French fries make it to the list of unhealthy foods because they are fried at very high temperatures.
French fries are on the list of foods to avoid.
Any time food is cooked, fried, or processed using high heat, a substance called acrylamide is produced. Acrylamide is a known carcinogen and neurotoxin.
French fries and potato chips also contain trans-fatty acids which increase your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
These foods are usually high in calories and very low in nutrients. They may satisfy your cravings, but they will not satisfy your body's need for real nutrition.
Processed and Refined Foods
When you take food in its natural state and alter, process, refine, and package it, it loses fiber and a whole lot of nutrients.
Processed Cheese Products
The name doesn't lie. Processed cheese is exactly that. Processed. It is made from cheese and a long list of other ingredients including, extra salt, food coloring, and other milk ingredients. It also contains harmful chemical additives such as sodium aluminum phosphate.
Aluminum has been linked to many diseases including anemia, osteomalacia, Lou Gehrig's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.
Sausages, Hot Dogs, Cured Meats, and Luncheon Meats
Sausages, hot dogs, cured meats, luncheon meats, bacon, pepperoni, and other processed meats are dangerous because they contain a cancer causing ingredient known as sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrite is a close chemical relative of sodium nitrate. Stay far far away from these unhealthy foods!
Soda Pop and other Artificial Beverages
It is pretty common for North Americans to prefer drinking anything except water. It is typical to have several servings of soda pop, juice, and other sweet drinks every single day.
These kinds of drinks are high in calories from sugar and/or alcohol. The sugar can send your blood sugar levels skyrocketing only to crash later on leaving you feeling tired and moody. They can get in the way of your efforts to lose weight.
Sugar-free sodas and beverages are usually sweetened with aspartame or other artificial sweeteners. They are not a healthier choice.
The caffeine, sugar, phosphates, artificial colorings, and other chemicals found in these beverages are damaging to your health. They can cause your body to lose much needed minerals such as calcium.
Over time, drinking these beverages on a regular basis can cause you to gain weight. This is true even for the so called "diet" drinks since aspartame can cause weight gain. They can also lead to tooth decay, diabetes, and other diseases.
6 Tips To Help You Avoid Unhealthy Foods
Do you ever find yourself eating unhealthy foods simply because they are quick and easy, and readily available? Follow these tips to help you reduce your dependence on convenience foods.
1. Plan ahead. Each week, make up a menu that focuses on nutritious whole foods and stick to it.
2. Try to do some of your cooking or meal preparation in advance. For example, you could make extra portions on days that you cook and package some for lunch the next day.
3. Use a fruit and vegetable wash on your fruits and veggies when you bring them home from the store. Cut up veggies and store them in a container in the fridge, or in plastic bags in serving size portions. That way, you can just grab and go when you need to.
Avoid packing unhealthy foods in your lunch.
4. Pack your lunches the night before rather than waiting until you're already behind schedule in the morning.
5. Never shop on an empty stomach. If you shop while you are hungry, you are more likely to fill your cart with unhealthy foods such as cookies, biscuits, and other snacks.
6. If you have a sweet tooth, or love "junk food," you don't have to resort to unhealthy foods to satisfy your cravings. There are better options available. You can find a wide range of sweet (but healthy) treats and savory snacks in the health store. Their ingredients are so much better.
Foods that promote cellulite!
The main “friends” of cellulite are: sedentary lifestyle and improper diet. Since the most important cause of unwanted orange peel aspect is represented by unhealthy eating.
Fat fried foods
Fat-fried foods (except the palm oil, butter, lard or other fats) are particularly toxic to the body. Metabolism of these substances also lead to the production of substances toxige difficult to eliminate from the body, accumulating in fatty tissues.
Juices
Some juices contain a total trade of calories, sugars, and chemicals that lead to the secretion of endorphins (happy chemicals), and diuretics, which cause us to eat and drink more after the first two reasons lead us to our feel good and indirectly by stimulating the thirst center diuresis. But the problem is not excess calories, but artificial substances such as flavorings, preservatives, colors.
Energy drinks
Energy drinks do not make them a very high calorie intake, but energy production dry liver glycogen stores, but do not take the surplus energy in fat tissues. As such, does not favor a slim body, but the exhaustion of energy. So if you do sports or other physical activities is recommended not to consume these drinks, because the body begins to consume and fat, avoiding greasy hub and the formation of cellulite. In the same category come alcohol.
Sausages and other fatty
Sausages and animal fats have a chemical structure quite complex, so that daily consumption leads to significant accumulation of fat in adipose tissue and promotes cellulite.
Sweets
Sugar, and cookies are “submitted” very quickly, leading to an increase in the weights and the formation of cellulite. Replace cakes with homemade fruit and suger with honey. (source: http://www.my-slim-body.com/foods-promote-cellulite-html)
TIPS FOR A HEALTHY AND SEXY LIFE
It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this ‘sludge’ reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
Eat your fruits on an empty stomach or before meals! You have heard people complaining – every time I eat water-melon I burp, when I eat banana I feel like running to the toilet etc – actually all this will not arise if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. The fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas and hence you will bloat!