Most of Americans’ household
food budget is spent on processed foods, the majority of which are filled with
additives and stripped of nutrients. Discover which common ingredients in the
foods you eat pose the greatest risk to your health.
Grab the broccoli with
cheese sauce from the freezer, the box of instant rice pilaf from the pantry,
or the hot dogs from your fridge and squint at the ingredient list’s fine
print. You’ll likely find food additives in every one.
Is this healthy? Compared to
the foods our bodies were built to eat, definitely not.
Processed, packaged foods
have almost completely taken over the diet of Americans. Unfortunately, most
processed foods are laden with sweeteners, salts, artificial flavors,
factory-created fats, colorings, chemicals that alter texture, and preservatives.
But the trouble is not just what’s been added, but what’s been taken away.
Processed foods are often stripped of nutrients designed by nature to protect
your heart, such as soluble fiber, antioxidants, and “good” fats. Combine that
with additives, and you have a recipe for disaster.
HERE ARE THE BIG FOUR INGREDIENTS IN PROCESSED FOODS YOU
SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR:
TRANS
FATS
Artificial trans fats (or
trans fatty acids) are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to
liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. The primary dietary source for
trans fats in processed food is “partially hydrogenated oils." 1
Trans fats are in moist
bakery muffins and crispy crackers, microwave popcorn and fast-food French
fries, even the stick margarine you may rely on as a “heart-healthy”
alternative to saturated-fat-laden butter.
Once hailed as a cheap,
heart-friendly replacement for butter, lard and coconut oil, trans fats have
been denounced by one Harvard nutrition expert as “the biggest food-processing
disaster in U.S. history.” Why? Research now reveals trans fats are twice as
dangerous for your heart as saturated fat, and cause an estimated 30,000 to
100,000 premature heart disease deaths each year.
Trans fats are worse for
your heart than saturated fats because they boost your levels of “bad” LDL
cholesterol and decrease “good” HDL cholesterol. That’s double trouble for your
arteries. And unlike saturated fats, trans fats also raise your levels of
artery-clogging lipoprotein and triglycerides.
Check the ingredient list
for any of these words: “partially hydrogenated,” “fractionated,” or
“hydrogenated” (fully hydrogenated fats are not a heart threat, but some trans
fats are mislabeled as “hydrogenated”). The higher up the phrase “partially
hydrogenated oil” is on the list of ingredients, the more trans fat the product
contains.
Replacing trans fats with good fats could cut your heart
attack risk by a whopping 53 percent.
Trans fat is considered by
many doctors to be the worst type of fat you can eat. Unlike other dietary
fats, trans fat — also called trans-fatty acids — both raises your LDL (“bad”)
cholesterol and lowers your HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
A high LDL cholesterol level
in combination with a low HDL cholesterol level increases your risk of heart
disease, the leading killer of men and women. Here’s some information about
trans fat and how to avoid it.
REFINED
GRAINS
Choosing refined grains
such as white bread, rolls, sugary low-fiber cereal, white rice, or white pasta
over whole grains can boost your heart attack risk by up to 30 percent. You’ve
got to be a savvy shopper.
Don’t be fooled by deceptive
label claims such as “made with wheat flour” or “seven grain.” Or by
white-flour breads topped with a sprinkling of oats, or colored brown with
molasses. Often, they’re just the same old refined stuff that raises risk for
high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks, insulin resistance, diabetes,
and belly fat.
At least seven major studies
show that women and men who eat more whole grains (including dark bread,
whole-grain breakfast cereals, popcorn, cooked oatmeal, brown rice, bran, and
other grains like bulgur or kasha) have 20 to 30 percent less heart disease. In
contrast, those who opt for refined grains have more heart attacks, insulin
resistance, and high blood pressure.
Read the ingredient list on
packaged grain products. If the product is one of those that are best for you,
the first ingredients should be whole wheat or another whole grain, such as
oats. The fiber content should be at least 3 grams per serving.
SALT
Three-quarters of the sodium
in our diets isn’t from the saltshaker. It’s hidden in processed foods, such as
canned vegetables and soups, condiments like soy sauce and Worcestershire
sauce, fast-food burgers (and fries, of course), and cured or preserved meats
like bacon, ham, and deli turkey.
Some sodium occurs naturally
in unprocessed edibles, including milk, beets, celery, even some drinking
water. And that’s a good thing: Sodium is necessary for life. It helps regulate
blood pressure, maintains the body’s fluid balance, transmits nerve impulses,
makes muscles — including your heart — contract, and keeps your senses of
taste, smell, and touch working properly. You need a little every day to
replace what’s lost to sweat, tears, and other excretions
What happens when you eat
more salt than your body needs? Your body retains fluid simply to dilute the
extra sodium in your bloodstream. This raises blood volume, forcing your heart
to work harder; at the same time, it makes veins and arteries constrict. The
combination raises blood pressure.
Your limit should be 1,500
milligrams of sodium per day, about the amount in three-fourths of a teaspoon
of salt. (Table salt, by the way, is 40 percent sodium, 60 percent chloride.)
Older people should eat even less, to counteract the natural rise in blood pressure
that comes with age. People over 50 should strive for 1,300 mg; those over 70
should aim for 1,200 mg.
Only the “Nutrition Facts”
panel on a food package will give you the real sodium count. Don’t believe
claims on the package front such as “sodium-free” (foods can still have 5 mg
per serving); “reduced sodium” (it only means 25 percent less than usual); or
“light in sodium” (half the amount you’d normally find).
HIGH-FRUCTOSE
CORN SYRUP
What is
it? First, let's take a look at fructose. Fructose is a naturally occurring
simple sugar that's produced by many plants. It's very sweet, and it's more
soluble in water than glucose, another simple sugar that's also made readily
available by nature and is the body's main source of energy. Fructose and
glucose have the same type of atoms but are put together differently. When you
combine fructose with glucose, you wind up with sucrose, which is your basic
table sugar.
Corn syrup is a
glucose-heavy syrup made from corn starch. There's no fructose in corn syrup --
not naturally, at least. In 1957, researchers discovered an enzyme that could
turn the glucose in corn syrup into fructose. This process was modified and
improved upon in the 1970s, making it possible to mass-produce high-fructose
corn syrup (HFCS). The corn is genetically modified by Monsanto.
Compared to traditional
sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup costs less to make, is sweeter to the
taste, and mixes more easily with other ingredients. Today, we consume nearly
63 pounds of it per person per year in drinks and sweets, as well as in other
products. High-fructose corn syrup is in many frozen foods. It gives bread an
inviting, brown color and soft texture, so it’s also in whole-wheat bread,
hamburger buns, and English muffins. It is in beer, bacon, spaghetti sauce,
soft drinks, and even ketchup.
Research is beginning to
suggest that this liquid sweetener may upset the human metabolism, raising the
risk for heart disease and diabetes. Researchers say that high-fructose corn
syrup’s chemical structure encourages overeating. It also seems to force the
liver to pump more heart-threatening triglycerides into the bloodstream. In
addition, fructose may zap your body’s reserves of chromium, a mineral
important for healthy levels of cholesterol, insulin, and blood sugar.
To spot fructose on a food
label, look for the words “corn sweetener,” “corn syrup,” or “corn syrup
solids” as well as “high-fructose corn syrup.”
These “health” food products all contain high
fructose corn syrup
- Yoplait Yogurt
Every variety of Yoplait
contains HFCS! How much do you think it really costs The Premium Yogurt (aka
Yoplait) to slap some ultra-pasteurized milk products, a dash of pectin, and a
swig of sweetener into each pretty little personalized bucket de diabetes?
- Salad Dressings: Oh, the Love!
Most salad dressings contain
corn syrup, but “lite” and “reduced calorie” versions are brimming with it.
Prior to the no-fat craze, salad dressings were typically made with cheap,
poor-quality corn oil. Now they’re made with cheap, poor-quality corn syrup.
Dump them (as in break up with them, not dump them on your salads). Make your
own dressings at home from cheeses, lemon juice, olive oil or balsamic vinegar.
- “Smart” Ice Cream Sandwiches
Many of the low-calorie ice
cream treats are packed with upwards of 20 grams of this nutritionally
deficient sweetener.
- Special K
It’s high time for cereals
to stop proclaiming health benefits. Made from grains, gums and sugars, there’s
nothing smart about cereal for breakfast, no matter how special it may be.
Self-esteem for breakfast?
- Cereals with the Heart Healthy Claims
Many breakfast cereals are
loaded with sugars and processed junk, but because they have a few grams of
fiber or are low in fat (big deal), they are promoted as health foods. Just
steer clear of the middle aisles, period.
- 100 Calorie Snack Packs
When was the last time
anybody starved? We’re all in favor of portion control, but what’s in the
package matters. You’re much better off eating 100 calories of almonds or sugar
snap peas than some processed cookie confection. Although we know this might
make a few friends a little cranky.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF.
- Flush Out Trans Fat from the Body
Trans fat is one of the
major causes of weight gain, cancer, heart disease, liver malfunctions and
diabetes. Trans fat fills the body with toxins in the form of fat causing
fatigue, digestive problems etc. Flushing out trans fat from the body can help
your body maintain a healthy equilibrium. Trans fat is common in fried foods,
baked items etc.
You need to cleanse and
detox your body to begin the process of eliminating trans fats from your body.
Abstinence from these can
stop the continued intake of trans fat but to have a healthy body you need to
flush out trans fat.
- Eat well
These non- foods/toxic foods
need to be replaced with whole foods (think lots of fresh green and brightly
colored produce) healthy fats and proteins and of course plenty of filtered
water. While the specific foods that serve you are quite bio individual,
certainly, eating organic produce and pasture or wild caught animal products is
a good place for all of us to begin.
References
Reader's Digest Editors, ‘’4 Most Harmful Ingredients in
Packaged Foods''. Reader’s digest.com
Accessed january 03, 2017 from
Http://www.rd.com/health/diet-weight-loss/4-most-harmful-ingredients-in-packaged-foods/
Worker Bee. ‘’8 ‘Health’ Foods That Contain High Fructose
Corn Syrup!’’ Mark's Daily Apple.
Accessed january 03, 2017 from
