The more we discover about our health and our susceptibility to disease, the more it points towards our diet as a huge contributing factor. Eating a poor diet not only deprives us of certain nutrients we need, but it upsets the homeostasis, or balance of our body as a whole.
One huge aspect that it affects is the bacteria in our guts, in both the type that reside there and how they act. When we don’t eat the right foods it causes problems like inflammation, which over time can decrease the integrity of our digestive tract.
This means that both nutrients and toxins are leeching out of the digestive tract in to the blood stream and in to other parts of the body, which can cause a whole host of disease and illness as a result.
Many of these health problems we suffer from are the result of a poor diet, and there are some foods which we should avoid altogether to best improve our health. Here are some of the most common foods that are making you sick, and what alternative options are out there.
1-Eating the Wrong Grains
Many of us don’t look at the ingredient label on our foods period, and those that do tend to look for the wrong things. When it comes to bread and grains it seems that calorie counts are the most important aspect to people, however they are neglecting to look for other important nutrients as well.
When it comes to breads and grains in general, you want to be looking for whole grains. This means that the grain itself is intact, and the product will contain plenty of fiber and other nutrients as well.
Fiber is important here because it helps to slow down the digestion of these grains, which helps to better regulate the sugar that goes in to our bloodstream as a result.
Foods like white bread and white rice have little to no fiber due to processing, meaning that they are almost immediately digested and absorbed in to the bloodstream. This is a quick way to pre-diabetes, so make sure to eat more whole grains.
2-Foods High in Sugar
No one is suggesting that you should eliminate fruits from your diet here, as many of them such as the berry varieties tend to be high in fiber, antioxidants and other nutrients which greatly outweigh the negatives.
With that being said however, other foods with added sugars or foods high in sugar and low in fiber are ones which you should look to eliminate from your diet.
Sugar is not only bad as far as weight gain is concerned, eating too much sugar is a great path to take towards diabetes, and can do damage to our cardiovascular system as well.
Sugar is also the preferred source of fuel for cancer growth and other disease, giving us even more reason to avoid foods with added sugar altogether.
3-Avoiding Fats or Eating the Wrong Types
Fats are probably the most misunderstood macronutrient out of the three, as many people tend to approach them in the wrong way. People tend to take the all or none approach, as they tend to avoid animal products and fatty foods altogether, or take the opposite approach and just eat whatever they want.
Both of these approaches are bad for your health as we do need some fats in order to maintain our health, such as in the production of hormones for example. Eating foods high in transfats which are found in many baked goods are especially bad for our health, and have been linked to heart disease, strokes and other cardiovascular problems.
Avoiding fats on the other hand is bad as they are essential in hormonal production, so your mood, energy levels, ability to think clearly and other aspects of your life will be greatly affected.
The best solution here is to eat healthy types of fat, mainly those we find from plant sources. Seeds and nuts are particularly good sources of unsaturated fats, and provide a good amount of vitamins and minerals along with it.
As far as meats are concerned, you want to try to avoid eating too much saturated fat whenever possible. Stick to poultry and other meats which are naturally low in fat, and eat foods like beef, lamb, and other red meats sparingly to best improve your health.
