These five foods could kill you
In my opinion, five main foods are the root cause of obesity, even death. As a society, we have gotten away from eating fresh, nutritious foods. Instead, we consume processed, manufactured food products capable of surviving a nuclear attack. Any food that can outlive the consumer can not be good for you.
Our digestive system is identical to our prehistoric ancestors some 30,000 years ago. They ate nuts, berries, plants and some meat. Imagine if we replaced that diet with white bread, Cheese Whiz, Fruit Loops and bologna. Digestive issues would result. Our bodies are not designed to digest these types of foods. As a result, many types of illness can occur.
Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic fatigue are some of the illnesses that affect people that eat poorly. Many researches state that 90% of all disease begins in the colon. The number one way to keep your body lean is to monitor what we you eat. Ultimately, it could save your life.
1. SUGAR
Sugar is complex. It is the preferred fuel source our body uses to perform any activity. Our brains use sugar in order to function properly.
However, too much sugar can cause devastation to our bodies. Sugar increases insulin levels, which promotes fat storage and prevents fat from being burned as fuel. Over time, too much sugar intake will cause the body to resist insulin and become desensitized to it.
The main problem is that insulin’s function is not just blood sugar control. It helps store protein, minerals, vitamins and acts as an anabolic hormone helping us build muscle. When one develops insulin resistance, that person becomes resistant to the other life sustaining functions of insulin. Chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease will begin to follow.
Pregnant women who are insulin resistant will pass it on to their child. Excessive sugar intake has been associated with ovarian, prostate colon and breast cancer. Sugar also increases cholesterol and triglyceride levels. No wonder this substance has often been referred to as “white death”.
2. PROCESSED CARBOHYDRATES
Over the past few years, carbohydrates have taken on a bad reputation. Books such as “The South Beach Diet” and the “Atkins Diet” have planted fear that carbs will make you fat. Yet, the authors recommend eating fried bacon, sausages and cheeseburgers, sans bun. You do not have to be a dietician to know these types of proteins are unhealthy.
Any carbohydrate, protein or fat can be good or bad for you. Pastries, white bread and French fries are bad carbs. They will make you fat and promote disease in your body. Oatmeal, whole grain bread and yams are good carbs. They are full of energy, vitamins and minerals.
These books also state that you should not eat carrots because there is too much sugar in them that releases too quickly. A medium carrot has approximately 18 calories. Watch out ladies – that is going straight to your hips!
The type of carbohydrates to avoid are processed, refined carbs – boxed cereals, Eggo waffles, granola bars, white bread, cookies, chips, donuts, pies, canned soups, ketchup, crackers etc.
Eighty percent of foods sold in grocery stores are processed, refined carbohydrates that should not be eaten by anyone in any quantity. These are the carbs that are making North Americans obese. Processed, refined carbohydrates contain many calories and are depleted of important vitamins and minerals. Worse, many processed carbs contain trans fats.
The food we eat should benefit our bodies, not destroy it.
3. TRANS FATS AND HYDROGENATED OILS
Trans fats are found everywhere. Manufacturers put them into food products to give them a longer shelf life, making it more economical to create greater quantity that never goes bad. When hydrogen is added to a substance, such as margarine, it makes the oil harder and more stable at room temperature.
Trans fats and hydrogenated oils are considered to be more of a health risk than those occurring naturally. The big problem with trans fats is that it changes the molecular structure of the fat, which destroys the metabolic activity in our cells. Trans fats increase the bad cholesterol (LDL) and decrease the good cholesterol (HDL) in our bodies. Blockage in the artery walls increases dramatically.
North Americans are taking more prescription medication than ever before. By 2015, over a trillion dollars per year will be spent on drugs. The majority of these drugs are to combat disease arising from poor food choice consumption. Many dieticians believe 80% of all illness is attributed to diet.
In the near future, I predict that the medical system will be burdened by overweight people and their associated illnesses. As a result, there will be no choice but to form an obese tax for those who are overweight.
4. ADDITIVES AND FLAVOR ENHANCERS
When you buy a box of Pop Tarts, you have the choice of many different fruit flavors. However, if you read the food label, none of these fruits are listed as an ingredient. There are no strawberries in a strawberry Pop Tart.
Companies that sell these food products send their recipes to people called Flavorists. Their job is to mix chemicals together and create different cocktails to add to our food supply. These chemicals are used to color, texturize, preserve, sweeten, add or remove flavor, stabilize and more. A flavorist could even make a Pop Tarts taste like fresh cut grass, just by mixing the appropriate chemicals together.
The FDA lists 2,800 food additives and 3,000 chemicals that are added to our food supply. The average North American eats 150 lbs of food additives per year. If you see a natural or artificial flavor on a food label, leave it on the shelf. Natural flavor does not mean it is good for you.
Alcohol, cocaine and tobacco are all natural. Natural and artificial flavoring is essentially the same thing. The difference is just the process of extracting and mixing the chemicals.
The problem is that the liver must process and filter all the chemicals entering the body. It becomes overworked and flooded with foreign matter. As a result, some chemicals enter our bloodstream, accessing all of our body’s cells. This can cause free radical damage, resulting in disease, an accelerated age process, and weakened immune system.
In the documentary, Super Size Me, a man consumes fast food for 30 days in a row. The doctor said that his liver was pickled, much like the effect alcohol would have. He was sick, nauseous and lacked energy to do anything. This was only after a month. Imagine what a lifetime of food additive consumption will do.
5. ALCOHOL
Alcohol is a part of human culture and has been around for centuries. Having a drink on occasion is ok. However, alcohol is a sugar, and contains no significant nutrients.
Research states that red wine is good for you. Yes, a glass of red wine per day can be included in a healthy diet. Still, excessive consumption of wine or any other alcohol (more than seven drinks per week) can cause serious gastrointestinal inflammation, leading to Leaky Gut Syndrome. This causes toxic substances to pass into body tissue, leading to cancer, diabetes, heart disease and joint pain. Too much alcohol blocks the absorption of valuable vitamins and minerals, and should be avoided in any weight loss program.
It would be impossible to not consume any bad foods in our lifetime. With fast food outlets on every corner, commercials targeting children to eat junk food, and pizza only a phone call away, it is easy to make unhealthy food choices. Before you eat something, take a moment to decide whether the food will benefit your body. Are you eating it for the right reasons?
Every time you eat something there is a resulting consequence. Add up everything you have ever put into your mouth over your lifetime. Now look at yourself naked in the mirror. Are you happy with how you look? If the answer is yes, good job! If the answer is no, you know what needs to be done. Your life depends on it.
