The
Five Absolute Worst Foods You Can Eat
By
Dr. Joseph Mercola with Rachael Droege
There
are no “bad” foods, right? Only food you should eat in moderation? Well, not
really. The following foods are so bad for your body that I really can’t see
any reason to eat them. Not only do they have zero nutritional value, but they
also give your body a healthy dose of toxins, which should make the idea of
eating them really hard to swallow.
Doughnuts
Doughnuts
are fried,
full
of sugar and white flour and most all varieties contain trans fat. Store-bought
doughnuts are made up of about 35 percent to 40 percent trans fat. An average
doughnut will give you about 200 to 300 calories, mostly from sugar, and few
other nutrients. It’s too bad that Americans view doughnuts as a breakfast
food as, nutritionally speaking, eating a doughnut is one of the worst ways to
start off your day. It will throw off your blood sugar and won’t stay with you
so you’ll be hungry again soon.
Soda
One
can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of
caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites. I can't think
of any good reason to ever have it. The diet varieties are also problematic as
they are filled with harmful artificial sweeteners like aspartame. Studies have
linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease, yet the
average American drinks an estimated 56 gallons of soft drinks each year. Plus,
drinking all that sugar will likely suppress your appetite for healthy foods,
which pave the way for nutrient deficiencies. Soft drink consumption among
children has almost doubled in the United States over the last decade, which is
not surprising considering that most school hallways are lined with soda-filled
vending machines.
Schools
often make marketing deals with leading soft drink companies such as Coca-Cola
from which they receive commissions--based on a percentage of sales at each
school--and sometimes a lump-sum payment, in exchange for their students’
health. School vending machines can increase the consumption of sweetened
beverages by up to 50 or more cans of soda per student per year. If you
routinely drink soda--regular or diet--eliminating it from your diet is one of
the simplest and most profound health improvements you can make.
French
Fries (and Nearly All Commercially Fried Foods)
Potatoes
are bad enough when consumed in their raw state, as their simple sugars are
rapidly converted to glucose that raises insulin levels and can devastate your
health. But when they are cooked in trans fat at high temperatures, all sorts of
interesting and very unpleasant things occur. Anything that is fried, even
vegetables, has the issue of trans fat and the potent cancer-causing substance
acrylamide. Foods that are fried in vegetable oils like canola, soybean,
safflower, corn, and other seed and nut oils are particularly problematic. These
polyunsaturated fats easily become rancid when exposed to oxygen and produce
large amounts of damaging free radicals in the body. They are also very
susceptible to heat-induced damage from cooking. What is not commonly known is
that these oils can actually cause aging, clotting, inflammation, cancer and
weight gain. You can read the article “Secrets of the Edible Oil Industry”
for more information. It is theoretically possible to create a more
“healthy” French fry if you cook it in a healthy fat like virgin coconut
oil. Due to its high saturated fat content, coconut oil is extremely stable and
is not damaged by the high temperatures of cooking. This is why coconut oil
should be the only oil you use to cook with. I am fond of telling patients that
one French fry is worse for your health than one cigarette, so you may want to
consider this before you order your next ‘Biggie’ order.
Chips
Most
commercial chips, and this includes corn chips, potato chips, tortilla chips,
you name it, are high in trans fat. Fortunately, some companies have caught on
to the recent media blitz about the dangers of trans fat and have started to
produce chips without trans fat.
However,
the high temperatures used to cook them will potentially cause the formation of
carcinogenic substances like acrylamide, and this risk remains even if the trans
fat is removed.
Fried
Non-Fish Seafood
This category represents the culmination of non-healthy aspects of food. Fried shrimp, clams, oysters, lobsters, and so on have all the issues of trans fat and acrylamide mentioned above, plus an added risk of mercury. Seafood is loaded with toxic mercury and shellfish like shrimp and lobsters can be contaminated with parasites and resistant viruses that may not even be killed with high heat. These creatures, considered scavenger animals, consume foods that may be harmful for you. Eating these foods gives you a quadruple dose of toxins--trans fat, acrylamide, mercury and possibly parasites or viruses--with every bite. If you have a taste for seafood, there’s an easy solution. It’s best to avoid your local fish fry and try the only fish I now eat--the delicious wild red Alaskan salmon that was proven through independent lab testing to be free of harmful levels of mercury and other contaminants.
End of Dr. Mercola's information
Note:
The following information is generated by Blueeyedcurse...
Damaged CholesterolIn all of the 5 worst foods you can eat with the exception of soda pop and God only knows what type of an obscene process that goes through with the sulphur involved, they have one thing in common and that is heat. I used to spray fruit crops with sulphur and that was the meanest chemical of them all. I used to come home and shower and my eyes used to burn for hours. I spent two nights in the hospital with my wife looking over me with Rosary beads from sulphur poisoning. Yet I have friends and family that slug this stuff down by the gallon. May God have mercy on their souls.
There is one thing in common in these foods that is not written on and that is the fact that they all are processed with high heat methods. On our latest feature that we just updated it will provide you with our latest findings on what is called damaged cholesterol. Cholesterol is a vital element in our bodies. Clean Cholesterol has many benefits. Damaged cholesterol from primarily heated foods that have thrown the molecular chemistry out of whack, is probably the most harmful thing that takes place in your body. Check out the http://www.blueeyedcurse.com/twoterrorists.htm feature as it goes into great detail, but we have inserted below a small portion of material out of the feature to give you an idea what does happen when you partake in foods that have been heated.
Due to the influence of heat, cholesterol in food is oxidized. Already at 100°C, cholesterol oxidizes 'spontaneously'. (19) Through oxidation, the cholesterol molecules gain or lose atoms, originating new cholesterol-like molecules.
Due to the influence of heat, approximately 30% of cholesterol oxidizes into oxy-cholesterols. About 6% of oxy-cholesterol is absorbed into the body. (20) ABSORBED INTO THE BODY
Essential Cholesterol
10 to 20% of the
brain is composed of cholesterol. Thanks in part to cholesterol in animal food,
humans are as intelligent as they are. Essential substances like the sex
hormones and vitamin D are also constructed of cholesterol. Therefore it is
absolutely not true that a low cholesterol level is healthier.
Now we realize that most people cannot eliminate cooked foods entirely, we can't. Eating meats is important, especially for the amino acids in them. There are those that will go for uncooked fish as in Sashimi, but there are risks in that. The way to counter this is with an abundance of anti-oxidant foods and our twoterrorist feature gets into that. We will include a list below with the most powerful anti-oxidant foods though.
Top-scoring fruits and vegetables ORAC units (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity) per 100 grams (about 3½ ounces)
Prunes
-- 5570
Raisins -- 2830
Blueberries -- 2400
Blackberries -- 2036
Strawberries -- 1540
Raspberries -- 1220
Plums -- 949
Oranges -- 750
Red grapes -- 739
Cherries -- 670
Kiwi fruit -- 602
Grapefruit, pink -- 483
Go easy on the fruits as sugar is sugar and too much turns into fat.
Kale -- 11770
Spinach -- 11260
Brussels sprout -- 1980
Alfalfa sprouts -- 1930
Broccoli Flowers -- 1890
Beets -- 1840
Red bell pepper -- 1710
Onion -- 1450
Corn -- 1400
Eggplant -- 1390
Fresh strawberries are available most times of the year. Black and Red Raspberries are not. Blueberries are not. They are all available frozen. Actually I believe that the frozen products are better than some of the so called fresh products that are kicking around on the shelves, especially when they are brought in from other parts of the world and their prices are out of the world. It appears that the frozen products we purchase are well taken care of and my bet is they are blast frozen within a very short time of harvest. Make sure that they are loosely packed instead of in a brick state. This way you can easily distribute them modestly, as again we are talking sugar and concentrated. Sugar from fruit does have an advantage as it has the fiber with it and doesn't blast into your system as refined sugar does and getting your pancreas all excited.
The prunes and raisins you will see are on the top of the anti-oxidant list.
We use some dried cranberries and apricots as well, especially in the morning on cereal. With our regular rather active sports activities we feel that the sugar is burned shortly. In fact I personally have a glass of orange juice after sports or heavy gardening's and we buy it with the pulp (fiber). When the sad day comes that I cannot participate actively I will have to adjust my natural sugar intake.
Berries again are a powerful anti-oxidant and the more diversified you can be, the better chance you will have to capture all of those honorary renegade free radicals.
Note on the Kale. Kale is a powerful cruciferous type of vegetable. Actually at certain times of the year it is quite sweet, but still a little strong tasting. Light boiling softens it some, but if eaten raw it is important to chew it very thoroughly, as it can cause digestive problems. In addition, there are those with thyroid conditions that can be adversely effected by these types of vegetables. There is some kind of a conflict. It might not be a bad idea to check with your Doctor before eating them. In any event just a little cut up quite well in a salad with other greens should be fine. I personally eat Kale on a modest basis, but pig out on spinach one of the heavy hitters you will see and berries and other fruits and vegetables to gain my anti-oxidants to buffer my cheating on the other stuff. Sunday night homemade pizza comin up.
Oh yeah I cheat! Another cheater below. GRRRRRRR
This information is intended to heighten awareness of potential health care alternatives and should not be considered as medical advice. See your qualified health-care professional for medical attention, advice, diagnosis, and treatments.