Even if you think your diet is healthy, you might be surprised to find that many of the foods you’re consuming can actually be toxic to the body, harming your physical and mental health.
Sugar
Sugar exists in many different forms – not just the white powdered kind sitting on the grocery store shelf. Sugar, including corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, brown rice syrup, and a long list of other types, can significantly and negatively affect our health – and most of us are consuming more of it now than ever. The average American takes in nearly 152 pounds every year, compared to just two pounds two centuries ago.
Sugar is a leading contributor to obesity and has a multitude of harmful effects including: stressing the liver; increasing triglycerides and bad cholesterol; damaging your teeth; causing insulin resistance which may lead to diabetes; contributing to leptin resistance which leads to weight gain, cravings and sleep problems. Sugar is known to feed cancer cells and has been connected to the development of numerous types of cancers – and, it’s also highly addictive.
Wheat
Cardiologist Dr. William Davis calls wheat a “modern, chronic poison.” Wheat isn’t anything like those “amber waves of grain” it used to be before modern science decided to ‘improve it’ back in the 60s. Davis believes the consumption of wheat is what’s responsible for an incredible amount of human illness, obesity and suffering.
Wheat is said to produce toxins that damage the lining of the gut as well as those that inhibit digestion and absorption of essential nutrients. It is estimated by some doctors that are experts in this field that gluten intolerance may affect as much as 50% of the population, a number far higher than previously suspected and reported.
Note: wheat is the primary culprit when it comes to gluten (the primary protein in wheat) – barley, rye and spelt also contain gluten.
Preservatives
Preservatives are found in many processed foods today, including compounds like BHT and BHA which are commonly used in America but banned in nearly every other country. They are known to damage genetic material and can rupture and harm red blood cells in addition to stimulating symptoms of chemical sensitivity. Most chemical preservatives have also been linked to numerous types of cancers.
Is your diet toxic?
Your diet is probably toxic if you’ve noticed symptoms like fatigue, depression, acne and weight gain. Your immune system may also be weakened, so you might tend to get sick more often or have some type of chronic condition like arthritis, diabetes, asthma or eczema.
To improve these symptoms and overcome conditions that can severely affect the quality of your life, it’s vital to change your diet by focusing on whole, natural foods and limiting sugar as well as wheat.
Eating real, natural and organic foods like eggs and raw nuts or seeds, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as wild-caught fish, free-range meats, and healthy oils like olive and coconut oils.
While it may sound restrictive, a whole food diet can actually be quite rich and varied in addition to offering a wealth of rewards, including a healthy, vibrant body and mind.
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://wellnessmama.com/15/harmful-effects-of-sugars
http://authoritynutrition.com/10-disturbing-reasons-why-sugar-is-bad
http://chriskresser.com/9-steps-to-perfect-health-1-dont-eat-toxins
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/modern-wheat-a-perfect-chronic-poison-doctor-says
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=107
