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Ingredients You Should Know and Avoid Due To Potential Health Risks

In an effort to spread awareness this June as men’s health month, we shall take a look at some of the ingredients that have potential health risks.

In fact, nutritionists are not eating foods that have these ingredients. Sure, they add good taste to it, but they can be harmful in the long run.

But, while they can make the food taste and look good, there are certainly other ways to do it and avoid using the following ingredients.

Potentially Unhealthy Food Ingredients

If you aim to have a good nutrition, think again and check these ingredients commonly found in majority pre-packaged and highly processed foods available today.

It’s not just about portion size, but the quality of the ingredients within the meal should be taken into consideration, as well.

SUGAR

The silent cause of obesity epidemic these days is sugar. Ingesting more than 25 grams, which is equivalent to 6 teaspoons has been linked not only to obesity, but health conditions including non-alcoholic fatty liver, cardiovascular disease, tooth decay(common in children eating candies), type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.

In the U.K., there was a proposed additional tax for sugar consumption in an effort to cut back obesity crisis.

There’s a good reason to cut back on processed sugar consumption. You can’t totally eliminate sugar, but you can eliminate processed sugar such as refined white sugar.

You won’t be out of sugar as eating fruits will still supply you with enough sugar plus other numerous nutrients from it. No Sugar

You might say it’s difficult to totally eliminate sugar specially people are using it on their tea, coffee, and pastries. Well, when it comes to tea and coffee, it’s totally delicious to drink both sugar-free.

It requires a bit of patience at first, but when you get use to drinking both without sugar, it’s a lot better. When I shifted to sugar-free coffee and tea, I have never put any processed sugar or sweeteners on them since.

Pastries may not be totally unavoidable, but limiting your consumption can hugely cut back your sugar consumption. It’s just a matter of putting your willpower to work in cutting back on sugar because it’s so addictive.

Think of the health benefits you will get when you cutback sugar from your daily eating lifestyle. In fact, if you’re trying to lose weight and hardly achieve any results, check your diet and how much sugar you are consuming.

Consider the sodas, bottled juices, candies, and among other highly processed products that contain sugar. This is the food industry’s bait to consumers, it’s sweets! So, be aware of that if you care about your health.

MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE(MSG)

This is very common in Chinese dishes and among many other Asian dishes. Moreover, MSG also an ingredient in many canned vegetables, certain meats, and packaged soups.

While I don’t have an immediate reaction when using MSG on foods, I always avoid them and instead use natural spices to make the dish tastes good. Some people have immediate adverse reactions after eating foods that contain MSG including headaches and vomiting. Some call it a poison.

Long term effects include migraines and appetite increase that can result to overeating eventually resulting to obesity. MSG is listed by the FDA as GRAS(Generally Recognized As Safe).

It may not be bad for everyone, but I would still avoid it specially if I did not know the exact amount contain in the food.

POTASSIUM BENZOATE

In diet sodas or soft drinks, potassium benzoate along with sodium are added as ingredients. These ingredients can from benzene, a colorless chemical with a sweet odor, but carcinogenic when combined with vitamin C, which is also found in soda and bottled juices as ascorbic acid.

In fact, research found a link between obesity and soft drinks consumption.

However, while this ingredient is very common on soft drinks specially on diet sodas, this can also be found on jams you use on your toast, olives, and pickles, low-fat dressing for salads, apple cider, and many others.

If you’re not sure, always read the label. If you’re looking to avoid trans-fats or hydrogenated fats in the label, it’s time to include potassium benzoate in your list of NO-NO ingredients on the food label.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup

HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP(HFCS)

Add this the list of ingredient to avoid when checking the food labels because when this is present in a certain product, it’s a clear indication that food product is highly processed and contain a high amount of processed sugar.

Again, this is used in sugary soft drinks, salad dressings, ketchup, multigrain bread, and among numerous others.

CARAMEL COLOR

Caramel coloring is widely used today, and although a seemingly harmful, it is one of the most controversial as some studies found it carcinogenic causing leukemia and lung cancer.

The research findings on caramel were conducted on rats. However, I think it’s better to avoid it because there are many studies done on animals had similar effects on human. So, why risks your health if you can avoid it.

After all, it’s a highly processed food component. Caramel is made inside the laboratory and is not naturally occurring.

Caramel Food Coloring

However, know that caramel is widely used in soft drinks, or sodas, ice cream, preserved fruits, salad dressings, beer, breads, and if you drink a latte at Starbucks, chances it contains caramel as food coloring.

It’s everywhere folks, but it’s a matter of being aware what you put in your mouth because when you know there is something bad can happen in the long run if you continue consuming and ingesting it, you have now a choice and decide whether you want unwanted health consequences, or otherwise stay healthy for life.

FRACTIONATED PALM KERNEL OIL

According to experts, palm oil contains about 80% saturated fat that can raised bad cholesterol known as LDL.

On the other hand, palm fruit oil is considered healthy as it contains less saturated fat and good level of Vitamin E helpful for maintaining proper metabolism and boosting the immune system.

If you have to choose between palm fruit oil and extra virgin olive oil, choose the latter along with other healthy oils including coconut and almond oils.

CARRAGEENAN

This particular ingredient has not been proven to be carcinogenic. It is found on some healthy foods available in the supermarket as an ingredient.

Carrageenan is a thickener mostly found milk and dairy products. What make carrageenan a concern is a study back in 2001 with alarming results.

However, some experts did not conform to the study, and due to that, carrageenan is not classified as a carcinogenic.

Food Additives Dictionary

Sugar is at the top of the list because it has been associated with numerous health risks through numerous research, and based on personal experience.

If there is one ingredient listed in this article that you don’t want to have second thought of avoiding, it’s sugar.

It’s been all over, and I mean processed sugar particularly refined white sugar, and among others like fructose corn syrup.

If you want to know more in-depth about these food ingredients and additives, do a little research online, or you can check and search Amazon that has many books on food additives and ingredients along with their descriptions whether it is safe to consume them, or otherwise.

It’s a bad idea to ignore unhealthy ingredients as it can take a toll in the long run towards our health.

This is one advantage of preparing your own meals at home as you know exactly what ingredients you put there and make sure they’re safe for consumption for the entire family.

Home cooking is also helpful for those who are trying to lose weight specially those with health conditions like diabetes, which has many known prohibited foods. However, looking at a different perspective, these prohibited foods are mostly unhealthy.

One way of saying it better when it comes to avoiding prohibited foods is shift towards health and clean eating lifestyle.


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