Inform Yourself of These Bad Food Items
There are certain food items we should avoid at all costs. You might already be aware of some of them, and maybe not of others . You might know that a certain food item is not so healthy, but aren’t aware of the ingredients and implications thereof. This article is designed to inform you of a few food items you should try to avoid, or at the very least, to reduce in your diet.
1. Sugary Drinks
We all know this one and have been told many times before. Even more reason to highlight it again. These days, a lot of foods have added sugar. Add to than the natural sugar in most fruits and foods, and the result is overconsumption of sugar. Sugary drinks have an unhealthy amount of sugar in them, none of which is natural. Large amounts of sugar cause insulin resistance, which can lead to diabetes and of course excessive amount of sugar also increase fat in your body, leading to heart disease and possibly obesity. At best, try to drink things which contain ingredients you know how to pronounce. Water with lemon or fruit is a great, refreshing drink. Tea and coffee is also better than extremely sugary sodas. And unfortunately, fruit juice is considered a sugary drink. I know, it’s quite a sad realisation. I struggled to grasp it too, being a juice lover myself. These days, fruit juice contain as much sugar as some sodas. Despite the sugar content, there are two juices that still have health benefits; these are pomegranate and blueberry juice.
2. Margarine
Isn’t it funny, margarine used to be dubbed the healthy alternative to butter. These days, thanks to extensive studies, we know the truth. Margarine is a processed food that has been engineered to look and taste like butter. Yes, margarine is a butter fraud! So what is the problem with margarine? Margarine is made from industrial vegetable oils and a whole bunch of other artificial ingredients, leading to its high trans fat content. Trans fats, or trans fatty-acids are not good in any shape or from and can lead to increase in cholesterol and to heart disease. It is important to stay away from margarine completely; use butter only. If you think that using margarine with a low trans fat content is the way to go, think again… margarine manufacturers are allowed to label their items with “no trans fats” as long as it is below 0.5g per serving, which is still a large amount.
3. White Bread
Bread is heavenly, especially when warm, but we all know it’s bad. Let's find out why. Bread is wheat-based. However, most commercially made breads baked in huge batches are made from refined wheat. The problem with refined wheat is that it is low in nutrients and leads to increases in blood sugar. For those who are gluten intolerant, bread is a no-no, but there are gluten-free alternatives these days. Bread is not all bad though, there are dozens of alternative recipes you can try if you are willing to bake your own bread. Also, whole grain and brown breads as well as rye are better than white bread.
4. Processed Meat
Processed meats include items such as polony, salami, hot dogs, etc. These items contain a long list of unhealthy ingredients. These include excessive amounts of sodium, more preservatives as well as nitrates and nitrite which are chemical additives (these additives prevent the meat from going off too quickly, enhance the colour of the meat and improve the taste). Excessive consumption of processed meats can lead to the development of diseases such as colon cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Read the labels if you are not sure, but avoid all together if you can.
There are many foods that are unhealthy and not good for your body. The list of food items you should avoid is much longer, but these four are a good start if you are willing to start cutting out bad food items from your diet. And if you are really serious about avoiding bad foods, I recommend you pick up a volume or two from this selection of books on healthy eating.