14 Foods You Should NEVER Eat

Put these on your do-not-buy list.

This article was written by Leah Zerbe and Emily Main and repurposed with permission from Rodale News.

What's the one food you refuse to eat? Peas? Tofu? Liver and onions? Whatever it is, it's probably because you don't like the way it tastes, not necessarily because it contains ingredients suspected of causing cancer or because it was picked by farmers wearing Hazmat suits. Yet, there are still a lot of those foods on store shelves, and food-industry insiders—who know what goes on behind the scenes—refuse to eat them.

We polled some of those insiders—people who know the business and work daily to evict pesticides, genetically modified organisms, animal cruelty, social injustice, and unhealthy foods from the food supply—to find out what they know about the dark side of "convenience" foods. Take note so you can avoid the worst of what grocery stores have to offer.

Swordfish
The expert: Philip Landrigan, M.D., professor of pediatrics and professor and chair of preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine

The problem: One of Dr. Landrigan's number one warnings to women pregnant or looking to become pregnant? "Make avoiding mercury in fish a priority," he says. Swordfish is notoriously high in the heavy metal, a potent neurotoxin that can damage developing children and even trigger heart attacks in adults. Aside from obvious health concerns, swordfish is often overfished and some of the gear commonly used to wrangle in swordfish often kills turtles, seabirds, and sharks.

The solution: For a healthy omega-3 brain boost, look for fish that are low in contaminants and have stable populations, such as wild-caught Alaskan salmon, Atlantic mackerel, or pole- or troll-caught Pacific albacore tuna. Got a more adventurous palate? Try snakehead fish to satisfy your fish craving and improve the environment. The invasive species lives on land and water, where it wipes out important frogs, birds, and other critters. Snakehead fish is popping up on some restaurant menus, and the taste and texture is about identical to swordfish.

Nonorganic Strawberries
The expert: Robert Kenner, director of Food Inc. and founder ofFixFood.org

The problem: While filming Food Inc., Kenner says he wanted to film strawberry farmers applying pesticides to their fields. "The workers wear these suits to protect themselves from the dozens and dozens of known dangerous pesticides applied to strawberries," he says. "When I saw this, I thought to myself, 'If this is how berries are grown, I don't really want to eat them anymore.' I haven't been able to eat a nonorganic strawberry ever since." Unfortunately, for the food-concerned public, he wasn't able to get the shot of these farmers. "I guess they didn't think it looked too appetizing."

The solution: Opt for organic! The Environmental Working Group, which analyzes U.S. Department of Agriculture pesticide-residue data, has found 13 different pesticide residues on chemically grown strawberries.

Diet Soda
The expert: Isaac Eliaz, M.D., integrative health expert and founder of the Amitabha Medical Clinic and Healing Center in Sebastopol, California

The problem: Eliaz stays away from any diet soda or foods, sugar-free candies, and gum containing artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K, and neotame, among others. "The safety data on these sweeteners is shrouded in controversy and conflicts of interest with the manufacturers of these chemical compounds," warns Eliaz. "Independent research strongly suggests that when metabolized in the body, these sweeteners can cause health-related issues and problems related to metabolism and weight gain, neurological diseases, joint pain, digestive problems, headaches, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, chemical toxicity, and cancer, among others."

The solution: If you're craving a soda but want to avoid the shady sweeteners, fake food dyes, and preservatives found in popular brands, try a bottle of Steaz zero-calorie green tea soda or Bionade, a fermented soda that's majorly popular in Europe.

Canned Tomatoes
The expert: Frederick vom Saal, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences at the University of Missouri

The problem: The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A (BPA) a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Studies show that the BPA in most people's bodies exceeds the amount that suppresses sperm production or causes chromosomal damage to the eggs of animals. "You can get 50 micrograms of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that's a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young," says vom Saal. "I won't go near canned tomatoes."

The solution: Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (which do not need resin linings), such as the brands Eden Organic and Bionaturae. You can also get several types in Tetra Pak boxes, such as Trader Joe's and Pomi.

Artificial Sweeteners
The expert: Maria Rodale, CEO of Rodale Inc. and author of Organic Manifesto

The problem: Ironically, there's a lot of evidence that suggest using artificial sweeteners, which have zero calories, is just as bad for your waistline as using regular, high-calorie sugar. For instance, research from the University of Texas has found that mice fed the artificial sweetener aspartame had higher blood sugar levels (which can cause you to overeat) than mice on an aspartame-free diet. Not only are they bad for your health, scientists have detected artificial sweeteners in treated wastewater, posing unknown risks to fish and other marine life. Plus, as Rodale says, "They're unnatural, nonorganic, taste horrible, and lead to all sorts of bad health consequences, false expectations, and short-term strategic thinking."

The solution: Refined white sugar isn't any healthier, but you can replace it with small amounts of nutritional sweeteners, including honey, blackstrap molasses, and maple syrup, all of which have high levels of vitamins and minerals.

Butter-Flavored Microwave Popcorn
The expert: Alexandra Scranton, director of science and research at Women's Voices for the Earth, a nonprofit that advocates for environmental health issues that directly affect women

The problem: Diacetyl, a chemical used in butter flavoring, is used in a lot of fake butter flavorings, despite the fact that the chemical is so harmful to factory workers that it's known to cause an occupational disease called "popcorn lung," says Scranton. After news of the chemical got out to the popcorn-eating public, companies started replacing diacetyl with another additive—which can actually turn into diacetyl under certain conditions, she says. Neither chemical is disclosed on microwave-popcorn bags because the exact formulations of flavorings are considered trade secrets. "It's a classic example of the need for better chemical regulation and improved transparency on the chemicals used in our food and other household products," she says.

The solution: Make your own popcorn using real butter. Pop it on the stovetop in a pot, or go an easier route: Put a small handful of kernels into a brown paper lunch bag, and stick the bag in the microwave. The kernels will pop just like those fake-butter-flavored kernels in standard microwave popcorn bags. When they're done, pour some melted organic butter over them. "Makes pretty good popcorn at a fraction of the cost," says Scranton.

White Chocolate
The expert: Drew Ramsey, M.D., assistant clinical professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and co-author of The Happiness Diet

The problem: The right kind of chocolate serves not only as a sweet treat but a brain-boosting superfood, too. The problem is, white chocolate's health profile is blank. "The data on the health benefits of cacao is pretty awesome," says Ramsey. "Much of this is due to a set of amazing phytonutrients that can increase blood flow to the brain, protect blood vessels, and boost mood and focus. White chocolate is missing all this goodness."

The solution: Indulging in a chocolate treat? Look for organic versions or spring for dark chocolate instead.

Click HERE to see seven more foods you should NEVER eat from Rodale News!

The Healthy Food That's Giving You Belly Fat

What you need to know about the Wheat Belly diet

Last month, searches for "wheat belly diet" spiked 580 percent, according to information released by Yahoo Search. Wondering what the diet's all about? It's built around the fact that modern wheat—even the stuff found in whole-wheat bread—causes your blood sugar to spike since it has a high glycemic index. In fact, two slices of whole-wheat bread can increase blood sugar more than two tablespoons of pure table sugar.

If you're young and you don't have diabetes, you may not care very much about your blood sugar. But if you're trying to lose weight, it's time to start paying attention: High blood sugar provokes high blood insulin, which leads to belly fat accumulation.

In his bestselling book Wheat Belly (published by WH parent company Rodale), cardiologist William Davis, M.D., explains that eating wheat can not only provoke a fat-storing insulin response, it also stimulates your appetite so you eat more, too. Davis is continually amazed to see "flop-over-the-belt belly fat vanish" after he puts patients on wheat-free diets.

But the health benefits of eliminating wheat don't stop at the scale. Belly or visceral fat triggers inflammation and abnormal inflammatory signals that underlie diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, says Davis. Other health conditions linked to visceral fat include dementia, rheumatoid arthritis, and colon cancer. Cutting out wheat can also improve the symptoms of acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome(IBS).

Davis, who has put thousands of patients on a wheat-free diet, admits that "it may seem absurd, even unpatriotic, to demote an iconic dietary staple to the status of public health hazard." The problem is that, after hundreds of years of hybridization—that is, crossing different varieties of the grain together—and more recently, 50 years of genetic modifications, altered plants weren't subjected to safety testing until 2003. Modern wheat has made its way into our food supply without the FDA determining if it's safe for human consumption. And that's a lot to stomach.

Tell us: Would you cut wheat out of your diet if it meant better health?

Buy Wheat Belly to learn more on how wheat affects our bodies and get advice on how to undergo a wheat-ectomy, plus wheat-free recipes and eating plans.

Diet Sodas Once Again Linked to Diabetes

With the explosion of sort II DM being diagnosed among our kids, one has to marvel why? I undoubtedly have seen polygenic disorder effects in my observe so so much the common divisor is that the nutrition being given to those kids. One specifically is that the quantity of soda these youngsters ar drinking.

Yet again a replacement massive scale study has incontestable  the affiliation between diet sodas and developing sort a pair of polygenic disorder. this point French researchers found that by drinking only 1 twelve ounce will of unnaturally sugary drink PER WEEK can increase the danger of developing polygenic disorder by a thumping thirty third. might you imagine if you drank one or 2 on a daily basis, like a number of my patients?

The study was printed within the yankee Journal of Clinical Nutrition and lined sixty six,118 middle aged adults whose dietary habits and health were half-tracked from 1993 to 2007. this can be an oversized scale trial over multiple years that holds way more credence than a number of the smaller scale studies antecedently done.

The results went even more and figure that those participants United Nations agency drank diet soft drinks had the next risk of developing sort a pair of polygenic disorder than those that drank regular, sugar crammed sodas. Those participants United Nations agency drank 100 percent natural squeezed fruit juices instead had NO further risk .

 

 Researchers tried to elucidate the affiliation by stating that sweetener, one amongst the most artificial sweeteners used these days, causes "an increase in glycaemia (high aldohexose levels within the blood) and consequently an increase within the hypoglycemic agent level as compared thereto created by plant product (fruit sugar)".

The translation: drinking unnaturally sugary drinks causes a chemical action in your body that creates you crave and need alternative sweet things and despite the claims that sweetener may be a benign sweetener, the info shows the body will so react an equivalent thanks to it because the body would to plain recent sugar.
Wait a moment, weren't these artificial sweeteners designed within the laboratory to specifically NOT raise blood sugar levels? Wasn't this claim the ignition to the explosion of the diet revolution? however did these artificial sweetener's information at first get by the scientific community?




This is truly information we've illustrious for years, however as I aforementioned before this can be the most important study done thus it ought to carry a lot of weight with the scientific community.

However, i do not see abundant dynamical within the world of artificial sweeteners. It's simply found in means too several things. i'm wondering if the biological process Councils can ever cotton on right for our kids? They in all probability will not, thus it's simply up to you!
Bottom line, eat and drink a lot of natural foods and avoid soda the maximum amount as attainable. easy enough to Maine.

A Look on Diet Fitness

Many people nowadays are very much conscious about their own health and fitness. In addition to that, these people, and many others as well, are now having that desire to sculpt their bodies to ahieve that magazine-cover look. As a result, gyms, health spas and other fitness centers have proliferated all over to cater to the needs of the fitness buffs and afficionados.

Even on television exercise machines, weight loss products, and other paraphernalia to improve fitness have more or less gained control over the airwaves and made their way into the households. But exerise is not the only way to build that body beautiful. It also entails certain amount of responsibility on the foods one chooses to eat. Being healthy and fit requires one to observe diet fitness.

Diet fitness is as essential as exercise itself. Diet for fitness provides the essential nutrition one needs to restore worn-out muscles and for healthy growth. Diet fitness should never be taken for granted. With the popularity of keeping fit, many different views, methods, programs and dieting strategies have been formulated by many professionals. Among these are high carb diets and high fat diets. Whih one is more effective and which one should one choose to follow?



First thing to know would be the fundamental differences between these two diet approaches. As the name implies, high carb diets concentrates on taking in carbohydrate-rich foods while high fat diets endorses fat-rich foods. High carb diets are utilized to glycogen stored in the liver and muscles. Glycogen is a glucose complex that provides large amounts of energy ready for use in anaerobic exercises.

Fats, on the other hand, is well-nown for being the richest source of calories. It actually contains 2.5 times more calories than carbohydrates and proteins alike. Studies also show that it takes the body 24 calories to metabolize carbohydrates while it only takes 3 to burn down fat. So which one to follow? A person can follow a high carb and low fat fitness diet or the other way around. It is absolutely not recommended to follow both at the same time; unless of course if you want to gain body fat.

But then diet fitness is not all about losing fat, one must also consider his diet in order to keep fat away. Research shows that sustainable loss of weight can only be achieved on a diet which suits the individual food preferences, lifestyle, medical profile and satiety signals.



Diet programs all over can help you shed off excess pounds, but only one diet can help you stay sexy, and it is the one that satisfies you most. Other important aspects of having a fit diet are moderation, balance and variation. One must be careful not to leave out important nutrients and other substances necessary for healthy body functioning. health organizations are clear about the amounts of nutrients an individual should have in the body.

Low fat high carbs, high carbs low fat; the question is not which diet program will work out but which is it that will work for you. Striving for a sexy and healthy body does not have to burden an individual, diet fitness does not have to mean sticking to the same kind of food for life. One may even try to be adventurous and try out new foods out there. Who knows? one may even discover spinach interesting.