Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Steer Clear Of These Food Bombs

By Johncoc Hermsin

Americans diets seriously lack healthy ingredients like fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Americans struggle with obesity, heart disease and diabetes and it is no wonder. Our fast paced society values instant gratification, so we crave fast food and our bodies suffer as a result. A healthy diet is one that is balanced and has variety. Sneaking a quick snack from time to time will not wreck your health, but making life-long smart food choices will improve your overall nutrition. If your looking to lose weight or just need to start eating healthier, start by cutting these nutrition nightmares from your diet. In order to lose fat and build muscle you must stay away from these 12 foods and remove them completely from your diet.

Deep fried fats and oils: Deep fried greasy food will wreak havoc on your cholesterol levels. Plus, foods deep fried in fats and oils have been linked to cancer.

White flour: When wheat is stripped of its bran and germ, nearly all the nutrients are lost. The end result is a product that needs enrichment in order to market. Refined white flour products are also associated with an increased risk of heart disease.

Sugar: Besides the added calories, many people are not aware that the fructose in refined sugar also contributes to high cholesterol levels.

Canned soups: Canned soups are flavorful, plentiful and affordable, but many are also loaded down with salt, fat and calories, especially the cream varieties.

Donuts: The pink-frosted orb of delectable goodness offers nothing in the way of nutrition.

Energy drinks: If you need a quick pick-up from one of the many popular energy drinks, be aware that you are also getting high amounts of sugar, caffeine and carbohydrates.

French fries: Extremely high in trans fat, calories, salt and the carcinogen acrylamide, French fires are also responsible for rapidly raising your insulin levels due to the simple sugars found in potatoes.

Granola Bars: While there may be some nutritious components to granola, most commercially available granola bars typically have about as much fat, sugar and calories as candy bars.

Dried Fruit: Though it may be convenient to store and eat, defiantly pass on dried fruit. Commercially processed dried fruit is often sprinkled with sugar and contains additives and preservatives.

Margarine: People used to buy margarine because they thought butter was unhealthy. It turns out that the trans fat in margarine is just as bad, if not worse and will increase your risk for heart disease.

Sodas: Sodas and colas are packed with tons of sugar and caffeine. Even diet sodas contain artificial sweeteners that may lead to long-term, unpleasant side effects.

Hot Dogs: Hot dogs are essentially highly processed meat byproducts loaded with unhealthy additives, sodium, fat and calories.

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