TOP 10 ‘NEVER EAT’ FOODS

DON’T EAT THESE DISEASE-PRODUCING FOODS

When attempting to make change, the rule is to add positive first – meaning, start adding good habits first, then later work on getting rid of destructive habits. So please consult What To Do for the list of health-promoting lifestyle choices you should start to begin or continue your health transformation process.

That being said, the sooner you get bad habits out of your lifestyle choices, the sooner you’ll get back to being healthy. So, if you’re committed to getting healthy as quick as possible, I encourage you to jump in and do this RIGHT NOW!

JUMP START YOUR HEALTH TODAY
Start eliminating the bad stuff from your life, from your cupboards, from the choices you’re making each and every day at each and every meal.

The Top 10 Disease-Producing Foods 1. Artificial sweeteners: Aspartame (i.e. Nutrasweet) and Sucralose (i.e. Splenda), Saccharin (i.e. Equal) – cause brain tumors and increased cravings for sweets leading to insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease and obesity 2. Hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogenated oils – cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity 3. Fried foods (this includes chips) – cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity 4. Pasteurized and homogenized milk and milk products (butter, ice cream, yogurt, etc.) – cause heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity 5. Soda pop (Diet and/or Regular) – leads to insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease and obesity; also, the phosphoric acid leads to calcium depletion, which leads to osteoporosis. 6. White flour foods (breads, pasta, cakes, cookies, crackers, etc.) –Processed grains cause to insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Gliadin, one of the two main protein components of gluten, is very pro-inflammatory. 7. Cured meats (bacon, sausages, and lunch meats; anything with nitrates, nitrites) – causes cancer 8. MSG (monosodium glutamate – i.e. hydrolyzed yeast extract, etc.) – neuroexcitotoxin which hyperstimulate brain cells causing them to burn out and die leading to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. 9. Sugar leads to insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity 9. High fructose corn syrup (found in many foods – too many to list; – leads to insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity 10. Artificial Food Colorings Red, blue, yellow dyes are used widely in many foods. Like, MSG, they are neuroexcitotoxins and a contributory factor in asthma, attention-deficit disorder and hyperactivitity.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind
The first rule: Out of sight, out of mind. One of our first concepts is “out of sight, out of mind”. If you’re like me, if it’s in the the house or on your plate, you’ll eat it, right? Then remove it from your world; get it off your plate, get it out of your house NOW! This means the potato chips, soda pop, candy, bread, ice cream, … whatever you’ll eat if it’s in the house – get rid of it, NOW!

Just go through your cupboards, refrigerator(s) with a trash can or trash bag at hand, and toss out all the following disease foods. These also foods that may contain one of the following as an ingredient:

• Artificial sweeteners: Aspartame (i.e. Nutrasweet) and Sucrolose (i.e. Splenda), or Saccharin (i.e. Equal). Contrary to common belief, they will make you fat.
• Hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils. Commonly found in many foods including ‘non-dairy creamers’ for coffee.
• Chips: potato chips, tortilla chips, pork rinds (do people really eat ‘fried pork rinds’?); yes, even the ‘bake’ ones – they’re still made with bad oils
• Deep Fried foods (this includes chips)
• Milk and milk products (some people can eat sparingly if made from raw milk):
• Roasted, salted nuts – switch to eating raw nuts – they’re incredibly nutritious and energy providing (and non-gas producing – your spouse will be happy!)
• Soda pop (this includes ALL soda pop, ‘diet’ or regular) and energy drinks
• Fake ‘juices’ (you know, the kind that say “10% real juice” – do you ever wonder what comprises the other 90%?). Actually real fruit juices are very high in sugar – yes it’s ‘natural’ sugar, but sugar nonetheless.
• White flour foods (breads, pasta, cakes, cookies, crackers, etc.) this is a stumbling block for many people, but it will prevent you from developing diabetes and being overweight.
• Cured meats (bacon, sausages, and lunch meats; anything with nitrates, nitrites)
• MSG (monosodium glutamate; now disguised as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed yeast extract, etc.)
• High fructose corn syrup – it’s in many, many foods, including ketchup, and sport/energy drinks - I had a pop the other day and my big toe started hurting - HFCS increases your uric acid levels.
  
• ‘Low fat’, ‘non-fat’ or ‘lite‘ foods
• Non-dairy “creamers”
• Candy
  
• Chewing gum (especially ’sugarless’ – it has artificial sweeteners which are neurotoxic and cancerous)

MICROWAVE OVENS – FOR WARMING PLATES ONLY: One last note: Stop microwaving your food, any food. A great illustration of the nutrient-depleting effect that microwaving has on food (as well as the differences in water) is to take three identical small potted plants and feed one purified water, the second tap water and the third plant, water that has been microwaved (and cooled).

In New York City, Trans Fat Ban Is Working

In New York City, Trans Fat Ban Is Working
Success has spawned similar efforts across the U.S., report finds

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- When the New York City Health Department mandated that city restaurants change their menus to restrict trans fats, known to be a health hazard, the action was greeted with resistance and grumbling.

"There were the usual 'nanny state' comments," said Dr. Lynn Silver, assistant commissioner of the department's Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control.

Initially, the campaign was voluntary, Silver said. "But after one year, there was no change," she said, so public health officials decided to make the ban mandatory.

In December 2006, the city required that artificial trans fats be phased out of restaurant food, and the mandate was in full effect by November 2008. Silver and colleagues from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene report on the effort in the July 21 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

And they deem it a success. Total saturated fat and trans fat in French fries, for instance, decreased by more than 50 percent in New York City restaurants, according to the report. Overall, the health officials found, the use of trans fats for frying, baking or cooking and in spreads declined from 50 percent to less than 2 percent.

Consumers didn't seem to mind. "It became clear that trans fats were being successfully replaced, and no one noticed the difference," Silver said. "Foods tasted just as good, and diners are healthier."

Trans fats were often used, she said, because they last longer than traditional vegetable oil, but "there was nothing terribly delicious about trans fat."

Trans fats, also call partially hydrogenated oils, are made by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. The fats are commonly found in French fries, doughnuts and baked goods, as well as margarine and shortening.

The problem with trans fats, Silver and her colleagues wrote in their report, is that increasing intake by just 2 percent can increase the risk for a heart attack or other cardiovascular problem by as much as 23 percent. Trans fats raise bad cholesterol levels and lower good cholesterol levels.

Restaurants' fears that diners would protest or the ban would affect business didn't happen, Silver said, and the good news for restaurant patrons is that they don't have to guess about what they're eating as much as they once did.

Silver said the idea seems to be catching on, too. At least 13 jurisdictions, including California, have adopted similar laws since New York's took effect, she said.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noted in an editorial accompanying the report that Tiburon, a small community north of San Francisco, actually restricted trans fats in its 18 restaurants as early as 2003.

"The scientific rationale for eliminating exposure to artificial trans fatty acids in foods is rock solid," she wrote. Not only do they not have health benefits, but they are harmful, she said.

Though some experts have called for federal intervention to restrict trans fats, Gerberding said that idea "seems premature," but she doesn't rule it out for the future. Among other actions, she said, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could enhance educational efforts to inform consumers about the risk.

Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis and a past president of the American Dietetic Association, said that banning fats is not enough.

"While mandatory elimination of trans fats can help reduce intake, consumer understanding about healthy food choices is essential," Diekman said. Healthful eating is a joint responsibility, she said, shared by food processors, providers, health-care professionals and consumers.

Silver took it a step further. She compared the trans fat restriction to an earlier public health decision to remove lead from paint, now known to be a health hazard, especially for children.

And once those health risks were known, she said, "you really wouldn't ask a parent to choose a paint with lead or without."

More information

The American Heart Association has more on trans fats.
SOURCES: Lynn Silver, M.D., M.P.H., assistant commissioner, Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Department of Health, New York City; Connie Diekman, M.Ed., R.D., director, university nutrition, Washington University in St. Louis; July 21, 2009, Annals of Internal Medicine

The “New” Belly Fat Diet... Why It Works

The diet claims to target that “sometimes stubborn” weight right around the middle, the BELLY FAT. The recent book “The Flat Belly Diet” by the editors of Prevention Magazine has people talking about how to have a flat belly and it has people talking about MUFAs. MUFA is short for Mono-Unsaturated Fatty Acids the GOOD fats found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, and avocados.

The creators of the Flat Belly Diet got interested when a group of Spanish researchers published a study in the journal “Diabetes Care” showing that eating a diet rich in MUFAs could help PREVENT abdominal weight gain. The researchers studied three diets: one high in saturated fat, another high in carbohydrates, and a third rich in MUFAs on a group of patients with “abdominal fat distribution” which is the scientific way a saying “belly fat”. All three diets contained the same amount of calories but only the MUFA diet was found to reduce belly fat.

Let me emphasize that this was not a reduced calorie diet with a lot of exercise. The participants who simply ate more MUFAs lost belly fat.

MUFAs are in the “good” fat category along with polyunsaturated fats and omega 3 fish
oils. These “good fats” are an important energy source. They are used by the body in the production of cell membranes and hormones, and help the body absorb nutrients.

Prevention magazine’s Flat Belly Diet isn’t so much about eating LESS, eating LOW FAT, or eating LOW CARBS, it’s about eating moderate amounts of MUFAs with every meal.
Another study cited in the book “Flat Belly Diet” was given to illustrate the fat burning power of these mono-unsaturated fatty acids.
The study was performed in Australia. It compared fat-burning rates after two different types of breakfasts: one with saturated fat from cream, and the other with MUFAs from olive oil.
The group that had the MUFA breakfast burned significantly more body fat in the 5 hours following breakfast, particularly in the subjects with greater abdominal fat, which suggest the MUFA breakfast actually SHIFTED the body into more of a fat “burning” mode.

The data is impressive, but as a chiropractor I’m always interested in the nutritional integrity
of the diet. Many research studies have looked at the link between MUFA intake and life expectancy. A follow up to the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging 8 1/2 years later found that a higher MUFA intake was associated with an increase of survival. There was no effect found in any other selected food group.

Another study done in Greece found that the exclusive use of olive oil in food preparation
was associated with a 47 % lower likelihood of having cardiovascular disease. Olive oil has been shown to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol. Research has shown that olive oil as well as other MUFAs found in plant fats including nuts, seeds, and avocados have been shown to reduce rates of type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, breast cancer and inflammation.

MUFAs are responsible for healthier blood pressure, brain function, and lung function. I think you get the idea. From a nutritional viewpoint, the new Flat Belly Diet is very similar to what some call the Mediterranean diet. Mediterranean countries have considerably less heart disease than in the U.S. The biggest difference with the flat belly diet is that you eat 400 calories each meal, you never go more that 4 hours without eating, and you eat a moderate amount of MUFAs at every meal. You can learn more about the book and the diet at Prevention Magazine’s website…. flatbellydiet.com.

As many of you know, monounsaturated fats or MUFAs are found in almond butter, natural peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, canola oil, sesame oil, olive oil, peanuts, pine nuts, brazil nuts, hazel nuts, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, green and black olives, avocados, and best of
all dark chocolate. Now that's what I'm talking about!

YES YOU CAN ask about the Flat Belly Diet, I’d say give it a thumbs up,
but with just one qualifier. Remember to keep a balance of the other GOOD fats as
well, omega3 fatty acids found in fish or high quality supplements. I tell patients:
think “lifestyle change" rather than a diet, which means of course less of the saturated fats, animal fats like butter, cream, the fatty marbling in meats, and absolutely stay away from the hydrogenated oils and trans fats in processed foods.

O g Trans Fats?

Did you know that 0g trans fats on PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED oils is the same as having trans fats. The loophole for manufacturer is they ROUND DOWN anything less than 0.5 g trans fatty acids. So next time you see O g Trans Fats READ THE LABEL!