Hey there everybody,

Although I do not support very strict diets, I truly believe that there are some foods we should do our best to avoid.
So before starting with any diet, and finding out what is good for our health to eat, lets make a short list of the foods we should avoid.

Here they are:

– Sugary Drinks
Why it is bad:
There are a lot of reasons to avoid refined sugar, and not all of them have something to do with weight loss:
– increased sugar intake leads to greater risk of developing depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, irritability and mood swings;
– with increased intake of sugar, the body has a harder time warding off infections; sugar also raises blood preasure; it also reduces good (HDL) cholesterol, increasing your risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes;
– a study from the University of California–Los Angeles showed that sugar might also compromise mental functions such as learning and memory; sugar also increases stress, affecting our attention spans and cognitive abilities; ditching the sugar regulates your body, allowing you to more easily relax and get a good night’s rest;
– sugar consumption could lead to dependency;
– sugar is bad for your skin- Cutting out sugar can make you age more slowly; studies suggest that sugar may also increase your risk of developing acne;
– besides being empty calories with no value in nutrition, no vitamins and minerals, sugar actually robs your body of essential minerals. Sugar causes essential minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium to be leached from the body. This can weaken the teeth and bones, causing tooth decay and diseases like osteoporosis;
– consumption of sugar is detrimental to the liver;
– sugar causes insulin resistance, diabets and weight gain;
Moreover, when people drink sugar calories, the brain doesn’t “register” them as food and don’t automatically compensate by eating less of other foods instead, and end up drastically increasing their total calorie intake.
Alternatives: Drink water instead.

 

– Most fruit juices
Why it is bad:
It is true that the juice contains some antioxidants and vitamin C, but this must be weighed against the large amount of liquid sugar.
In fact, fruit juice contains just as much sugar as a sugary drink like Coke or Pepsi, and sometimes even more
Alternatives: Eat your fruit whole. Drink water instead.

 

– Industrial Vegetable Oils
Why it is bad:
These are highly sensitive to oxidation and cause increased oxidative stress in the body. They have also been linked to increased risk of cancer
Alternatives: Use healthier fats like coconut oil, butter, extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil instead.

 

– Margarine
Why it is bad:
It is loaded with artificial ingredients, and is usually made with industrial vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated to make them more solid. This increases their trans fat content significantly.
This is tragic, given that today, we now know trans fats are responsible for about 50,000 fatal heart attacks a year. Trans fat also increases someone’s risk of developing type II diabetes and several other severe health problems
Alternatives: Use real butter instead.

 

– Pastries, Cookies, Cakes, Candy Bars
Why is it bad:
They are generally made with refined sugar, refined wheat flour and added fats, which are often disturbingly unhealthy fats like shortening (high in trans fats).
Alternatives: Eat a piece of fruit instead, or a piece of real high-cocoa dark chocolate.

 

– French Fries and Potato Chips
Why it is bad:
These foods are very high in calories, and it is easy to eat excessive amounts. Several studies link consumption of french fries and potato chips with weight gain
These foods may also contain large amounts of acrylamides, carcinogenic substances that form when potatoes are fried, baked or roasted
Alternatives: Potatoes are best consumed boiled, not fried.

 

– Low-Fat Yogurt
Why it is bad:
They are frequently low in fat, but loaded with sugar to make up for the lack of taste that the fats provided.
Put simply, the yogurt has had the healthy, natural dairy fats removed, only to be replaced with something much, much worse.
Additionally, many yogurts don’t actually contain probiotic bacteria, as generally believed. They have often been pasteurized after fermentation, which kills all the bacteria.
Alternatives: Choose regular, full-fat yogurt that contains live or active cultures (probiotics).

 

– Ice Cream
Why it is bad:
Most commercial ice cream is loaded with sugar.
Ice cream is also high in calories, and it is very easy to eat excessive amounts.
Alternatives: It is possible to make your own ice cream using healthier ingredients and significantly less (or no) sugar.

 

– Processed Meat
Why it is bad:
These contain cancer-causing substances form when processed meats are preserved. Eating these meats can damage your DNA, raising the risk of colon cancer.
Alternatives: If you want to eat bacon, sausages, pepperoni and other “processed” meats, then choose wisely and try to buy them locally from sellers who don’t add a lot of unhealthy ingredients. Quality counts.

 

 

Here are three main reasons that eating healthy could be the best choice for your diet:
– To provide the necessary nutrients that your body needs to create new cells, to clean toxins and to function better every day!
– Eating healthy now may help in preventing diseases such as diabetes and cancer in the future.
– You will have more energy and be more focused.

 

Eating healthy isn’t always easy, but committing to a healthy diet can be one of the smartest decisions you will ever make! Don’t waste more time! Start your change now!

 

 

References:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/20-foods-to-avoid-like-the-plague
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-22333/8-reasons-to-avoid-sugar-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-weight-loss.html
https://urbanremedy.com/top-10-reasons-to-avoid-refined-sugar/
https://www.webmd.com/depression/ss/slideshow-avoid-foods-anxiety-depression
https://draxe.com/health-foods-you-should-never-eat/
http://www.1body1health.com/8-reasons-avoid-french-fries/
https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/focused-on-health/february-2016/eat-less-processed-meat.html
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/medical-costs/benefits-of-eating-healthy/
http://www.pamf.org/preteen/mybody/nutrition/why.html