If you don’t put much thought into what you eat…think again. You are what you eat is no lie.
You should know that 80% of your fitness results can be attributed to your eating habits.
We are in such a hurry to eat sometimes that we just don’t pay attention to what we are ingesting. And this is what we can tie to excess body fat and poor nutrition. What is the best for you to eat is confusing. There‘s all sorts of misinformation out there from the media and from food manufacturers. Food companies use lots of unhealthful and dodgy ingredients to extend shelf life, add gaudy colors, and make us crave their products. Avoiding these ingredients helps you to improve the quality of what you put into your body.
Read labels to know what you’re putting in your body.
There are ingredients that you want to avoid. Seeing these listed on a food label or recognizing that it is manufactured into a product should automatically signal to you that you don’t want it. White Flour & White Sugar are part of this group.
White Flour & White Sugar – the main ingredients of most breads and pastries.
Refined flours and sugars are the main ingredients of most breads and pastries. The standard American diet has changed tremendously over the past decades to include more processed foods heavy in refined flours and sugars. Since the 1970s, Americans have been eating fewer fats and more carbohydrates. The Nutrition & Metabolism Society, an independent non-profit health organization, believes carbohydrates from processed foods are responsible for the increased obesity rates. Avoiding processed foods, which often contain white flour, refined sugars or both, will help in achieving healthier weight levels and preventing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Some foods that commonly contain significant amounts of one or both of these ingredients (as well as others on this list):
-Breads
Most breads are made, either entirely or at least partly, with white flour. As listed in the ingredients, white flour, wheat flour and enriched flour all are synonyms for refined flour. Even breads that are labelled as being “whole wheat” or “whole grain” can contain a significant portion of white flour. Read the ingredient list and look for breads containing only “whole wheat” flour to decrease the amount of refined carbohydrates in your diet.
-Breakfast Cereals
Breakfast cereals can be more like breakfast candies than anything else. Loaded with white flour, most often from wheat, corn or rice, and refined sugars, such as high-fructose corn syrup, most breakfast cereals are not a good way to start the day. If you have diabetes or blood sugar issues, your blood sugar levels may rise to dangerously high levels after your meal and then crash within a few hours. Oat-based cereals are generally made from the whole grain, which makes them a better option unless they also contain refined sugars. Read the ingredient list carefully or opt for plain oatmeal or steel-cut oats for a healthier, low-glycemic breakfast option.
-Baked Goods
The main ingredients found in baked goods are white flour and refined sugars. On top of being packed with refined carbohydrates, these processed treats often contain trans fat from shortening or hydrogenated oils, making them a very unhealthy combo that can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Avoid donuts, cakes, commercial muffins, cookies, scones, pies and other pastries. To satisfy your sweet tooth, have a few pieces of dark chocolate or a fruit, or make your own healthier version of your favorite baked goods using less-refined sugars such as maple syrup or honey, and high-fiber, unrefined flours.
-Pasta and Pizza
Whether you usually get Italian food when eating out or prepare it yourself at home, both pasta and pizza contain a significant amount of processed ingredients. The dough of the pizza and the pasta itself are almost always made of white wheat flour. Even if you get a whole grain pizza or pasta, it won’t be made from 100 percent whole grain flour, but rather from a mixture or white flour and whole grain flour. Pizza sauce and tomato-based pasta sauce also contain refined sugars, often in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose or glucose. Try to make your pizza and pasta from scratch to avoid these refined carbohydrates or get Italian antipastos instead.
White flour comes from natural whole wheat that has been stripped of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. This results in a nutritionally void product that is packed with calories that release quickly into your system, creating a spike in blood sugar. As you know, this promotes fat storage and leads to hysterical hunger and cravings. You don’t need that. Use whole wheat products instead.
White sugar comes from the juice of a sugar cane plant that has undergone an intensive refining process. In this process all of the enzymes, fiber, vitamins and minerals are destroyed, rendering it nutritionally void. White sugar is also extremely high in calories, which your body loves to store away in fat cells.
Refined sugar has been linked to a weakened immune system, hyperactivity, ADD, mental and emotional disorders, dental cavities, hypoglycemia, enlargement of the liver and kidneys, and an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. All that and it leads to weight gain.
Once you cut these items such as this out of your diet, you’ll be pleased with the results. You will see excess weight loss, higher energy levels and you will just generally feel better.
Another way to think about purifying your diet is by focusing on eating “real food”. These food items include lean meats, vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds. Interestingly enough, real food items are generally found around the perimeter of your supermarket.
Sources: HealthierTalk.com, GymnasticsStuff.com, HealthyEating.com, MayoClinic.org, FoodandWterWatch.org, LiveScience.com, HealthyChild.org
http://www.healthiertalk.com/10-worst-food-ingredients-you-should-avoid-plague-4066, http://www.gymnasticsstuff.com/nutrition_article_ingredients.htm, http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/foods-contain-white-flour-refined-sugars-1330.html, http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/trans-fat/ART-20046114 , http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/foodsafety/dairy/, http://www.livescience.com/36206-truth-potassium-bromate-food-additive.html, http://healthychild.org/easy-steps/avoid-nitrates-and-nitrites-in-food/
