Unhealthy Ingredients to Avoid

This post was originally published as Unhealthy Ingredients to Avoid byLaurel on Health Food blog.
 
Laurel on Health Food  is a blog about nutrition, healthy eating, and health food. It summarizes articles in the news, lists healthy recipes, offers tips and personal feedback on healthy eating, and reports on nutritional research.

Unhealthy Ingredients to Avoid

• Artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame, saccharin, sucralose) – These can trick your body into craving more calories than you would if you eat real sugar. Many have side effects such as headaches, dizziness, and weight gain, and they may contribute to nerve damage and cancer cell formation.
• Excess sugars/refined sugars (such as dextrose, glucose, fructose, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup) – Refined sugars are the hidden sugars in processed foods. Consuming lots of refined sugar leads to a ton of inflammatory health problems including diabetes, obesity, and a weakened immune system. They can also disrupt your body’s absorption of other important nutrients.
• Hydrogenated oils - Partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oils are trans fats. They can clog your arteries and increase your risk of heart disease, cancer, and atherosclerosis (inflamed arteries).
• Refined oils (such as corn, canola, cottonseed, soybean oil) - Most of the U.S. grown corn, soybean, canola, and cottonseed crops are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and are sold without being tested for safety. GMO foods may cause allergies, harm your immune system, and increase your risk of cancer. When you use oils in your food, opt for high quality, unrefined oils such as organic extra virgin olive oil and organic coconut oil/butter.
• Sodium nitrate/nitrite - These preservatives are added to foods such as processed meats to give them a pink color. When they reach your stomach they are converted into nitrosamines which are highly carcinogenic, increasing your cancer risk. Try to limit your intake of processed meats as much as possible (for ex., hot dogs, ham, bologna, sausage, and packaged lunch meats).
• MSG – Monosodium Glutamate (including monosodium glutamate, free glutamate, caseinate, natural flavors, artificial flavors, hydrolyzed proteins, yeast extract, and autolyzed yeast) - These harmful additives and flavor enhancers can stunt growth and cause obesity and nerve damage. Look for labels that say “No MSG” and avoid the ingredients listed above.
  For more information about MSG, read “The Dangers of MSG“.
• Artificial colors and dyes (such as red #40, blue #2, etc.) - These synthetic chemicals are often added to foods marketed towards children. They’ve been found to cause many health problems including hyperactivity, ADD, allergic reactions, and nerve damage.

This list is just a few of the top ingredients I avoid. Please leave me a comment with other unhealthy ingredients that you try to stay away from.