Absolutely!!!
When
I started reading labels of foods like my diet bread and diet salad dressings I
found how most of them contained high fructose corn syrup with affected my
Grehlin and Leptin hormone levels and contributed to my ravenous hunger and
cravings and sabotaged my weight loss efforts.
Learning
that the things I was doing to lose weight was actually inhibiting my weight
loss efforts was a valuable lesson to turning my life around.
Nutrition is full of all sorts of lies,
myths and misconceptions.
What people believe to be true is often
the exact opposite of the truth.
Here are 10 “diet” foods that are actually making people fatter.
1.
Low Fat Yogurt
or Fat Free Yogurt
Yogurt
is often considered to be a healthy food… and it is.
But
the problem is that most Yogurts found in stores is low-fat yogurt…
which is highly
processed garbage.
When
food manufacturers remove the fat from foods, they taste terrible. That’s why
they add a whole bunch of other stuff to compensate for the lack of fat.
In
the case of yogurt, they usually add sugar, high fructose corn syrup or some
kind of artificial sweetener.
But
new studies are showing that saturated fat is actually harmless… so
low-fat yogurt has had the good stuff removed, only to be replaced with
something that is much, much worse.
There
is also no evidence that dairy fat contributes to obesity. In fact, one study
showed that people who ate the most high-fat dairy products were the
least likely to become obese!
Important! Low-fat
yogurt is yogurt that has had the good stuff (saturated fat) removed, only to
be replaced with something much worse, like sugar.
2.
Breakfast
Cereals
So-called
“healthy” cereals are the worst foods you can possibly eat at the start of the
day.
They
are usually loaded with sugar and
refined carbs, which are some of the most fattening ingredients in existence.
Starting
your day off with a processed cereal will spike your blood sugar and insulin
levels. When your blood sugar crashes a few hours later, your body will call
for another snack high in refined carbs.
This
is the blood sugar roller coaster that is familiar to people on high-carb
diets.
Seriously…
READ the label. Most breakfast cereals, even those with health claims like
“low-fat” or “whole grain” on the package, are usually loaded with
sugar.
If
you’re hungry in the morning, eat breakfast… but choose something unprocessed
and that has protein in it (like eggs and
veggies).
If
you really must eat cereal for breakfast, find one that doesn’t
include sugar or highly refined grains.
Important: Most
commercial breakfast cereals are high in sugar and refined carbs, which are
highly fattening and extremely unhealthy.
3.
Agave Nectar
Agave
nectar (or Agave syrup) is often marketed as a natural alternative to sugar and
high fructose corn syrup.
The
problem with Agave is that it is not healthy at all. If anything, it is
even worse than sugar.
One
of the main reasons sugar is so unhealthy, is that it contains excessive
amounts of the simple sugar fructose.
Whereas sugar contains 50%
fructose, Agave contains as much as 70-90%!
Of
course, small amounts of fructose from fruit are fine, but consuming excessive
amounts from added sugars can have devastating effects on metabolic
health.
High
amounts of fructose can cause insulin resistance and chronically elevated
levels of the fat storing hormone insulin.
It
can also cause high triglycerides, elevated blood sugars, harmful effects on
your cholesterol, abdominal obesity and a ton of other metabolic problems.
If
you think you’re doing your body a favor by replacing sugar with Agave, think
again. You’re actually making things worse.
Instead, use a natural
sweetener that is low in
fructose.
Important: Agave is
even higher in fructose than sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Excessive
fructose consumption is strongly associated with obesity and all sorts of
metabolic diseases.
4.
Whole Wheat
Bread
Whole
wheat is often recommended as a healthy alternative to refined wheat.
Well…
it’s true. Whole wheat is, at the very least, “less bad” than refined wheat.
But
one of the main problem with most whole grain foods, is that they aren’t made
from actual whole grains. It is a marketing ploy.
Almost
without exception, the grains have been pulverized into very fine flour that is
just as easily digestible and spikes blood sugar just as fast as the refined
grains.
In
fact, whole wheat bread has a glycemic
index (a measure of how quickly foods spike blood sugar) that is just
as high as regular white bread.
Whole
wheat bread might
contain a little more fiber and some more nutrients, but there really isn’t
much difference when it hits your system.
Plus,
there really is NO nutrient in wheat (whole or refined) that you can’t get in
even greater amounts from other foods.
There
are some grains out there that seem to be healthy for people who can tolerate
them, but wheat definitely does NOT belong in that category.
Many
studies show that wheat (even “heart-healthy” whole wheat) can lead to health
problems, especially in people who are sensitive to gluten.
Important: Whole
wheat bread is usually not made with actual whole grains. It spikes blood sugar
just as fast as white bread and can contribute to various health problems.
5.
Granola
If
granola is made with real ingredients, it certainly can be healthy.
But
it suffers from the same problem as most other “health foods.”
When
the food manufacturers start mass producing them, they alter them in a way that
they aren’t healthy anymore.
Granola contains some
healthy ingredients like oats and nuts, but when you add sugar and oil to it
and combine it in a package that encourages overconsumption then it isn’t
healthy anymore (For healthier one you should do my granola Bars recipe).
Important: Granola is
often highly processed and contains added sugar and oil. It is very energy
dense and easy to over consume.
6.
Commercial Salad Dressings
Vegetables
are very healthy. They’re loaded with nutrients, antioxidants, soluble fiber and
various goodies.
For
this reason, salads are usually very healthy meals.
However,
a lot of people don’t like the bland taste of vegetables, so they add dressing
to their salads.
The
problem with most commercial dressings is that they’re made
with nasty ingredients like soybean
oil and high fructose corn syrup.
It
is much better to make your own dressing. Something with extra virgin
olive oil, vinegar and some spices is a much healthier option.
Obviously,
salad dressings can also be very high in calories and
it is easy to consume a lot of them, which can be a major problem.
Important: Most
commercial salad dressings contain unhealthy ingredients like high fructose
corn syrup and soybean oil. It is much better to make your own.
7. Commercial Fruit Juices
Fruit
juice is often perceived as healthy…
it comes from fruit, right?
Well,
not always. Sometimes “fruit juice” is actually just fruit flavored sugar
water.
There
may not even be any actual fruit in there… it may just be water,
sugar and some chemicals that taste like fruit.
But
even IF you can get your hands on real, 100% fruit juice, you still shouldn’t
be drinking it (or at least not much).
The
problem with fruit juice is that it’s like fruit except with all of the good
stuff taken out.
Whole
fruits do contain some sugar, but it is bound within the fibrous cell
walls, which slows down the release of the sugar into the bloodstream.
But
fruit juice is different… there’s no fiber, no chewing resistance and nothing
to stop you from downing massive amounts of sugar in a matter of seconds. One
cup of orange juice contains almost as much sugar as two whole
oranges.
The
sugar content of fruit juice is actually very similar to sugar-sweetened
beverages like Coca Cola.
So…
eat whole fruit, but avoid fruit juice if you’re trying to lose
weight.
Important: Fruit
juice is high in sugar, but has no fiber. It is very easy to consume massive
amounts of sugar from fruit juice.
8. Diet Soft Drinks
One
of the easiest changes for many people to make is to replace sugar-sweetened
beverages with diet soda.
This
is an effective way to reduce both sugar and calories in the diet.
However…
the studies don’t support that this leads to actual weight loss. People who
replace sugary soda with diet soda don’t end up weighing less.
The
reason may be that artificial sweeteners can stimulate the appetite in some
people. Even though the sweeteners themselves are calorie free, they may make
you eat more of other foods.
That
being said, a lot of people can lose weight drinking diet soda, but
that’s probably because they’re changing a bunch of other things as well.
As
with most things, this depends on the individual. On its own, just switching to
diet soda is unlikely to help and may even make things worse for some people.
Important: Artificially
sweetened beverages contain no sugar and no calories, but some studies show
that they can stimulate the appetite.
9.
“Organic” Processed Foods
Organic
whole foods are excellent, but processed organic foods are not.
Walk
down the aisles of a natural food store and you'll find a variety of organic
foods, many of which are healthy whole foods, such as organic fruits,
vegetables, grains, beans, dairy products, nuts and seeds.
Unfortunately, the organic inventory doesn't stop there. Increasingly, stores are widening their organic food choices to include more processed foods, such as organic jelly beans, potato chips, cookies and even vodka. What's wrong with all of these organic food choices? It's a matter of perception: Surveys consistently show that people perceive organic foods -- no matter what they are -- to be healthier than their conventional counterparts.
Unfortunately, the organic inventory doesn't stop there. Increasingly, stores are widening their organic food choices to include more processed foods, such as organic jelly beans, potato chips, cookies and even vodka. What's wrong with all of these organic food choices? It's a matter of perception: Surveys consistently show that people perceive organic foods -- no matter what they are -- to be healthier than their conventional counterparts.
Organic
means that the food is farmed in a different way, which is great for the
planet, but that doesn't mean it's always better for you.
Many organic junk foods are made of highly
processed ingredients, such as refined white flour, sugars, salt and oils,
offering you a great deal of calories and sodium with little nutrient payback.
Important: Even
though organic whole foods are healthy, a lot of organic but processed foods
are made with unhealthy ingredients like sugar.
10.
Gluten Free Junk Foods
Gluten
free is very popular these days.
According
to the survey people is actively trying to reduce the amount of gluten in their
diets.
The
food manufacturers have jumped on the bandwagon and brought all sorts of
gluten-free replacement products to the markets.
The
problem is that they are usually just as bad as their gluten
containing counterparts.
These foods are usually
made with highly refined carbohydrates, sugar and various chemicals.
If
you’re going to eliminate gluten, then choose foods that are naturally gluten
free (like plants and animals)…
NOT processed gluten-free
foods.
Junk
food with “gluten free” on the label is still junk food.
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