Ingredients to Avoid for Shifting to a Healthy Diet
It isn’t terribly difficult to begin a new life in your own bubble of healthy eating. So then why do people often put off much needed changes in their diet? It is usually a combination of not knowing how to shift into a healthy diet along with feelings of being overwhelmed since there is so much to learn. In order to easily transition into the healthy lifestyle you strive for, you must recognize some of the ingredients to avoid for optimal health.
1. Sugar | A Toxic Consumption
Resting at the top of the list of ingredients to avoid, sugar, especially while in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, should be limited. Sugar is currently a rather large problem growing at a steady and rapid pace, so much so that scientists are declaring a health crisis over the widespread over-consumption of sugar. Americans alone are consuming 475 calories worth of added sugars daily on average, which equates to about 30 teaspoons of sugar.
The consumption of sugar is largely fueling cancer and obesity rates while also playing a role in rising rates of heart disease and diabetes. Sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup is especially damaging to your health, as it is heavily processed and often contains toxic mercury. Try to avoid high-fructose corn syrup completely while also limiting sugar consumption more and more each day.
2. Artificial Sweeteners Lurking In Your Food
Avoid aspartame. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener and excitotoxin commonly found in diet sodas. An excitotoxin is named for its ability to ‘excite’ the cells of the body into overproducing a particular chemical, thus burning them out prematurely. This sweetener possesses detrimental cancerous effects and should be avoided.
One study involved feeding 48 mice diet soda and resulted in up to 67 percent of all female rats developed tumors roughly the size of golf balls or larger. Sold as Nutrasweet and Equal, aspartame has been shown to lead to many forms of neurological diseases as well as cancer. What’s more, the substance is created using genetically modified bacteria – adding even more reason for this substance to be among the many ingredients to avoid.
3. The ‘Hidden’ Trans Fat
Avoid hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, or trans fat. Hydrogenated oils are what you would find in the ingredients section of a label, but you may also recognize it more easily by the term ‘trans fat.’
Hydrogenated oils are great for shelf life, which is a primary reason manufacturers use them, but they are contributing to heart disease and other health complications. Other research has shown that junk food containing trans fats can make healthy young men infertile by damaging their sperm. This is one ingredient you will always want to avoid.
There is much more to completely shifting to a truly healthy diet, but by making small dietary changes, you will notice a huge positive difference in your health. But don’t feel overburdened by too many changes, or the changes will likely not happen. Start by omitting the 3 ingredients to avoid mentioned, and enjoy the process of improving your health.
