5 FOOD TO AVOID TO RETAIN A GOOD HEALTH
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Soda is one food that health experts and dieticians
alike unanimously agree should be cut out of your
diet completely if possible. A can of cola contains
around 10 teaspoons of sugar, and when you
consider that the recommended daily allowance of
sugar is six teaspoons, it quickly becomes
apparent why these drinks should be avoided. The
diet versions aren’t any better; a study by
researchers at Purdue University found that people
who regularly have diet soft drinks are more likely
to be obese than those who don’t, due to the
mixture of artificial sweeteners these drinks contain
causing increased levels of hunger.
Try instead: You can easily make a drink that’s
sweet and carbonated but still healthy. Mix natural
fruit juice with sparkling water to create your own
super-healthy soda.
2 Cinema and microwave popcorn
Popcorn has long been seen as a great healthy
snack choice, and that’s led many people to
believe they can enjoy the movie-theatre variety
guilt free. Sadly when you delve deeper into the
nutritional value of cinema-produced popcorn,
you’ll soon find those people are wrong. According
to the Food Standards Agency, an average bag of
cinema popcorn contains over 1,500 calories,
which is 75 per cent of the recommended daily
amount for a woman. A lot of that is down to the
oil used to make this popcorn, which contains
more than 90 per cent saturated fat. Research
published in the American Journal of Pathology
also suggests that you should avoid microwaved
popcorn, as the sweetener pentanedione has been
shown to cause respiratory problems.
Try instead: Making your own popcorn is both
simple and healthy. All you need to do is mix some
popcorn kernels with olive oil and salt, put it in the
microwave and pop away.
3 Pre-made pasta sauces
Pre-made pasta sauces are tasty, affordable and
easy to cook with. What’s not to like? Well, take a
closer look at the label and you’ll see most of them
are extremely unhealthy. This is one area where
food manufacturers like to stretch the truth on their
food labels. For example, a Ragu brand tomato,
garlic and onion sauce claims to contain two and a
half servings of vegetables per serving, but that
one serving actually only contains one measly gram
of fibre, and less than 10 per cent of the vitamins
you need to be eating every day. And that’s not
even the worst part. Behind that healthy label is
hiding huge amounts of sugar and sodium, with
over a third of your recommended daily amount of
both in one serving.
Try instead: Yep you guessed it; make your own.
Starting to see a pattern here? Whipping up a pasta
sauce is simply a case of combining chopped
tomatoes, onions and herbs to your liking.
4 Non-organic apples
A surprise addition to this list but a worthwhile
one; the only apples you should ever be eating are
organic ones. According to food expert Mark
Kastel, non-organic apples are notorious for being
‘doused in pesticides’ more than any other fruit,
and should be avoided wherever possible. This is
because of the way these apples are grown, which
means they don’t develop a natural resistance to
pests. These pesticides can be extremely harmful,
and Kastel explains that farm workers who have
been exposed to them display higher rates of
various types of cancer. Researchers at the
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute also
identified links between pesticides and Parkinson’s
disease.
Try instead: Organic apples are the obvious
alternative here, and they’re better for you in every
way. Not only are they pesticide free, but they also
contain higher levels of important nutrients, as
discovered by scientists at Warsaw Agriculture
University.
5 Processed foods
Even if they claim to be ‘low fat’ or have a ‘light
recipe’, processed foods are bad for you. End of
story. That’s because of the high fructose corn
syrup (HFCS) they contain, which is the number
one source of calories in America. HFCS is a
sweetener, but you’ll find it in all sorts of surprising
places such as microwave pizzas and long-lasting
bread. Countless studies have shown that HFCS is
bad for your body, but the most alarming of them
all is perhaps one conducted at UCLA. They found
that far from just making you fat, HFCS actually
affects your brain to the point that it can inhibit
both learning and memory.
Try instead: Whenever you’re considering eating
processed foods, it’s usually safe to assume that
the natural alternative is much better for you. If
you’re tempted by the lower prices of processed
foods in supermarkets, head down to your local
cheaper.
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