Top 11 'Health Foods' That Aren't Really Healthy

Nutrition is full of nonsense. You will find bold health claims for all kinds of foods, most often based on zero evidence. 

Here are the top 11 “health foods” that are actually very harmful.

1. Fruit Juices

The fruit juices you find at the supermarket aren’t always what they seem.

They may have small amounts of real fruit in them, but often they are little more than water, artificial flavor and sugar.

But even if you’re drinking real fruit juice, it is still a bad idea.

Fruit juice is like fruit with most of the good stuff removed.

All that is left is the sugar and a few vitamins. Orange juice, for example, contains the same amount of sugar as Coca Cola.

There’s no fiber in it, no chewing resistance and nothing to stop you from downing massive amounts of sugar in a short amount of time.

Eating too much sugar is associated with all sorts of diseases. These include obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and many others (1, 2, 3).

It is much better to avoid fruit juices and eat real fruits instead.

Bottom Line: Most fruit juices contain the same amount of easily digestible sugar as sugar-sweetened soft drinks. It is best to eat whole fruits instead.

2. Whole Wheat

It is true that whole wheat is healthier than refined wheat.

But this does NOT mean that whole wheat is healthy.

It’s kind of like saying that because filtered cigarettes are healthier than unfiltered cigarettes, everyone should be smoking filtered cigarettes. It’s flawed logic.

There are plenty of good reasons to avoid wheat… both the refined and the whole variety.

For example, wheat is the main source of gluten in the diet and a large part of the population may be gluten sensitive (4, 5, 6).

The immune system of susceptible individuals attacks the gluten proteins in the digestive tract. This can cause damage to the lining of the digestive tract, pain, bloating, tiredness, stool inconsistency and other nasty symptoms (7, 8, 9).

One study shows that wheat fiber can make you Vitamin D deficient, making you burn through your stores of this important vitamin much faster (10).

Another study shows that whole wheat raises small, dense LDL (the truly “bad” cholesterol) by a whopping 60% (11).

Bottom Line: Whole wheat is rich in gluten and can cause digestive problems and various symptoms. It may also cause Vitamin D deficiency and elevated small, dense LDL cholesterol.

3. Agave Nectar

In the health food isle at the supermarket, you will definitely find some “sugar-free” products that are sweetened with Agave.

This sweetener is touted as a healthy alternative to sugar because it is natural has a low glycemic index.

But the harmful effects of sugar have little to do with its glycemic index, it is harmful primarily because it is loaded with unnatural amounts of fructose.

Too much fructose in the diet can cause all sorts of problems, especially inpeople who don’t exercise much.

All fructose is metabolized by the liver. If the liver is full of glycogen the fructose will be turned into fat (11, 12).

This can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and all kinds of metabolic problems like resistance to the hormones insulin and leptin, which will ultimately lead to obesity and diabetes (13, 14, 15, 16).

While regular sugar is 50% fructose, the fructose content of Agave is as high as 90%. If anything, agave is even worse than sugar!

Bottom Line: Agave nectar is loaded with fructose and therefore causes all the same problems as regular sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup.

4. Sports Drinks

Sports drinks were designed for athletes who have just finished an intense training session with massive sweating and glycogen depletion.

For this reason, sports drinks contain:

• Water – to replenish lost fluid.
• Electrolytes – to replenish electrolytes like sodium that were lost via sweat.
• Sugar – because athletes need energy after an intense workout.

You don’t need any additional electrolytes unless you’ve been doing a very intense workout and most people are already eating too much sugar.

One bottle of Gatorade contains over 30 grams of sugar.

You’re better off sticking to plain water, which you should certainly drink plenty of, especially around workouts.

Bottom Line: If you’re not doing super intense workouts, then you should avoid sports drinks. They are not needed and contain sugar.

5. “Heart-Healthy” Vegetable Oils

As the fear of saturated fat took hold of the world, consumption of all kinds of nasty ingredients increased.

Prime examples are industrial seed- and vegetable oils like soybean, corn and cottonseed oil.

These oils are extracted from seeds using very harsh processing methods and include high heat, bleaching and the toxic solvent hexane.

These oils contain very large amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids, way more than humans ever consumed throughout evolution.

We need small amounts of these fatty acids in the diet, such as the amounts found in meat and nuts. However, if we eat way too much like is the case with Western populations, this causes problems (17).

Eating too much of these fats can lead to inflammation, which is a leading cause of many chronic diseases (18).

These oils get incorporated into our body fat stores and cellular membranes, where they are highly sensitive to oxidation and damage.

To top it all off, the industrial vegetable oils that you find in the supermarket contain 0.56-4.2% of their fatty acid as trans fats, which are highly toxic (19).

(This does not apply to olive oil, which is good for you!)

Bottom Line: Vegetable oils are unhealthy and lead to inflammation. They are potential key players in the epidemic of Western diseases.

6. Low-Fat or Fat-Free Foods

It ain’t the fat, people!

Despite the last decades of propaganda against saturated fats, they have now been proven to be harmless (20, 21).

When the anti-fat message first came out, food manufacturers started producing “healthy” products that were low-fat or fat-free.

The only problem is that foods that have had the fat removed taste like crap.

The food manufacturers then loaded their products with chemicals, artificial sweeteners and massive amounts of sugar.

What they basically did was remove the good stuff (fat) and replace it with bad stuff (sugar).

This is how they managed to turn perfectly healthy foods like yogurt into very harmful products filled with unhealthy ingredients.

Bottom Line: Avoid everything labelled “low-fat” or “fat-free.” These are highly processed products loaded with sugar and other harmful substances.

7. Gluten-Free Junk Foods

Many people have started to avoid gluten… a protein found in wheat, spelt, rye and barley (and a few other grains).

Almost a third of the U.S. population currently wants to cut back on glutenor go gluten-free.

Food manufacturers have caught up on the trend and have started offering all sorts of gluten-free “health foods.”

The problem with these foods is that they’re usually not healthy at all.

Instead of a gluten grain, they’re made with other starches like potato starch, tapioca starch or some others. These starches are usually highly refined, void of nutrients and spike blood sugar fast, just like wheat.

But these products are often also loaded with sugar and other harmful or artificial chemicals.

This does NOT apply to foods that are naturally gluten free, like meats or vegetables. If a product says “gluten-free” on the package, then it’s probably bad for you.

Bottom Line: Gluten-free foods are highly processed foods that are not much healthier than their gluten-containing counterparts. It’s best to avoid them.

8. Margarine And Fake Butters

“I wish butter tasted more like margarine, said nobody ever.” – Danny J. Albers

Another side effect of the anti-fat histeria is a plethora of so-called “healthy” butter alternatives.

The most notable example of these is margarine. It used to be loaded with trans fats, now it tends to contain processed vegetable oils instead.

Butter consumption went down, margarine consumption went up.

The problem with this is that butter is healthy. Margarine is NOT.

Grass-fed butter, in particular, is an excellent source of the fatty acid butyrate and Vitamin K2, both of which can have powerful positive effects on health (22, 23).

Margarine is a processed food with harmful ingredients that can make you sick.

In one large study, replacing butter with margarine lead to a drastically increasedrisk of death from heart attacks (24).

This is one great example of where blindly following the mainstream advice can put you in an early grave.

Bottom Line: Margarine is a processed food that contains unhealthy, artificial ingredients. Avoid it, use real grass-fed butter instead.

9. Energy Bars

Energy bars are in the same boat as sports drinks – most people don’t need them.

If you’re an elite athlete who desperately needs to keep protein intake high and eat every 2-3 hours, then these bars can definitely be convenient.

However, most people don’t need to eat that often and these bars don’t contain anything that you can’t get from real foods.

Energy bars and protein bars are often highly processed products. Even though they may be higher in protein than chocolate bars, they often still contain the same unhealthy ingredients.

Sugar, white flour, artificial flavor… you name it, they’ve got it.

Of course, there are some healthier brands available, but if you want to avoid the crap then you must read labels!

If you’re starving and far away from home, then healthier types of energy bars can certainly be better than a burger and a coke, but your money is still better spent on real foods.

Bottom Line: Energy and protein bars are often highly processed products. Most people don’t need them and they tend to contain sugar and other nasty ingredients.

10. Low Carb Junk Foods

As people have changed their mind on fat being the root of all evil, some people have started cutting back on carbs instead.

Again, food manufacturers have caught notice and brought all sorts of low-carb junk foods to the market.

Even though something is low in carbs and can help youl ose weight, it may still be very unhealthy.

Great examples are the low-carb Atkins bars. These are nasty, highly processed products that nobody should be eating.

Just check out the ingredients list for this Atkins Advantage bar. This isn’t food.

If you’re going to do a low-carb diet, stick to real, unprocessed foods.

Bottom Line: There are some low-carb processed foods on the market that are extremely unhealthy and loaded with artificial ingredients.

11. “Healthy” Breakfast Cereals

Most highly processed breakfast cereals are not healthy.

In fact, they are among the worst foods you can eat.

They’re often loaded with sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Then the manufacturers fortify them with some synthetic vitamins and put tiny amounts of whole grains in the mix, then market their products as healthy.

Don’t be fooled by the labels… low-fat, fat-free, whole grain, etc. Just check the ingredients list on these products, they’re usually loaded with sugar.

Starting the day with a high-sugar cereal will set you up for a blood sugar crash later in the day, followed by hunger, cravings and another high-carb meal.

12. Anything Else?

If the packaging of a food tells you that it is healthy, then it probably isn’t.

Article Source : Eat Local Grown

There is a 75-year “CON” known as Western Medicine

Raw Organic Fruits and Vegetables Can Cure Cancer, So Why Don’t Oncologists Tell Their Patients?

There is a 75-year “CON” known as Western Medicine, but it’s a hush-hush topic in the news and in newspapers and magazines. Although medical doctors and surgeons are experts at fixing broken bones or removing animal fat from clogged arteries, the “pharmaceutical nation” known as the USA is caving in on itself, but nobody is allowed to talk about it on TV, or they lose all their sponsors. There is also a world of medicine known as organic food, but some people want to cook it, fry it, boil it or broil it, or even worse, grill it out, and that LIVE food becomes DEAD food, useless to the body, which needs nutrients for immunity, cellular health, vitality and sustainability.

Is there a “CANCER INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX” in the USA?

So why don’t oncologists talk about RAW foods, which are full of nutrients, oxygen for the cells (the cure for cancer) and the RAW REGIMEN when people are on their “death beds” or “sent home to die” with pancreatic cancer, liver cancer or cancer of some other organ that you have to have to survive? When cancer spreads to the lymph nodes or the spinal column, why don’t doctors, surgeons and oncologists tell their patients about these RAW foods that give them the best chance at recovery? And I mean permanent remission and recovery. Are these “Western Medicine” practitioners evil, money-grabbing cons or are they just ignorant, miseducated and unknowing? How could that be? How could you be trained to do surgery or read lab results and not know ONE THING about nutrition? Do some of them know but are not saying because their income would drop to about 25% of what they make now, using dangerous chemicals to treat a chemical-driven disease? No oncologist in the world suggests medicinal mushrooms, and take a big guess why! (SOURCE)

Top 10 Ways To Cook Kale

Author: Mary Crimmins

Source: Eat Local Grown

My body has been deprived of leafy greens this summer. It has been so hot here in Nashville, that no greens stood a chance to grow in the blazing heat. Last week, I saw a familiar friend at the Market – KALE! I couldn’t believe it. For me this marked the end of the summer, and the promise of cooler temperatures to come.

So I over zealously bought 5 bunches, which set me back about $15. I didn’t care, I had kale.

Once I got home I realized that I couldn’t really fit all 5 bunches in my refrigerator, so I needed to deal with it in the next day or so. So I decided to make up a big batch of kale pesto that I could freeze. (Recipe)

After receiving lots of messages via twitter about what else people could do with kale, I figured I’d better help ya’ll out and offer a few ways to prepare it. It’s no secret that kale is one of nature’s super foods, and getting it into your diet is worth the effort.

 10 Ways to Prepare Kale

1. Kale Chips – This simple preparation of kale will have you begging for more. A crispy salty treat that is better than popcorn or potato chips.
2. Kale Pesto – More flavorful than basil pesto, this is a great addition to pizza, pasta, or in an omelet.
3. Sauteed Kale – For a hearty side dish, this is a classic preparation. I saute onions and garlic before I add the kale, and add a couple dashes of hot sauce for an added kick.
4. Kale Quiche – You can substitute any spinach quiche with kale and it offers the same great taste with the added health benefits.
5. Kale Soup – A classic kale soup is made with white beans and ham or sausage, however I like this recipe of using acorn squash and kale to create a sweet and savory winter favorite.
6. Kale Lasagna – The perfect “make ahead” recipe for a hearty dinner is a dish the whole family can enjoy.
    
7. Kale Juice – If you own a juicer, kale is quite possibly the healthiest thing to juice. Mix it with apples, carrot and a little lemon for a drink that is better for you than liquid gold.
8. Kale Slaw – You can substitute raw kale for raw cabbage in this recipe.
9. Kale Pasta – One of my favorite ingredients to add to pasta. Goes with just about anything from spaghetti to sausage pasta to baked macaroni and cheese.
10. Kale Pizza – One of the joys I’ve found with eating seasonally is changing up my grilled pizza toppings. One of my favorite combinations is sauteed kale, caramelized onions, strong white cheeses, and some crispy bacon.

Overall, kale is a delicious and hearty green. Treat it like spinach and you can substitute it in just about any recipe. Experiment and enjoy!

How to make Kale Chips

Vitamin D More Effective Than Vaccines At Preventing The Flu

The risk of children suffering from flu can be reduced by 50% if they take vitamin D, doctors in Japan have found. The finding has implications for flu epidemics since vitamin D, which is naturally produced by the human body when exposed to direct sunlight, has no significant side effects, costs little and can be several times more effective than anti-viral drugs or vaccines according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.


Only one in ten children, aged six to 15 years, taking the sunshine vitamin in a clinical trial came down with flu compared with one in five given a dummy tablet. Mitsuyoshi Urashima, the Japanese doctor who led the trial, told The Times that vitamin D was more effective than vaccines in preventing flu.
Vitamin D was found to be even more effective when the comparison left out children who were already given extra vitamin D by their parents, outside the trial. Taking the sunshine vitamin was then shown to reduce the risk of flu to a third of what it would otherwise be.

Dr. Damien Downing, a doctor and medical consultant has publicly stated that governments "do like" epidemics as a chance to impose their will. The London based doctor has been advising patients to increase their vitamin D intake rather than get the vaccine.

You might be shocked to know that there are many physicians in both Canada and the United States who prescribe as much as 50,000 IU of vitamin D daily as a treatment for a long list of chronic diseases.

Dr. John Cannell, MD, suggests high-dose vitamin D (50,000 IU) be consumed for three days at the first sign of a cold or the flu. If you have an infection, the truth is you need more vitamin D. That’s a given. In other words, vitamin D acts as a natural antibiotic. It works against every type of microbe (viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites).

Vitamin D deficiency is common during the winter months, especially in countries far north of the equator. Vitamin D acts as an immune system modulator, preventing excessive production of inflammatory cytokines and increasing macrophage (a type of white cell) activity. Vitamin D also stimulates the production of potent anti-microbial peptides in other white blood cells and in epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract, protecting the lungs from infection.

50 Percent Reduction In Flu Infections Using Vitamin D

Altogether 354 children took part in the trial. Vitamin D was found to protect against influenza A but not against the less common influenza B.

The trial, which was double blind, randomised, and fully controlled scientifically, was conducted by doctors and scientists from Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan.

The children were given a daily dose of 1200 IUs (international units) of vitamin D over a period of three months. In the first month children in the group taking the vitamin became ill just as often as those taking the dummy tablet. But by the second month, when the vitamin level in the children’s blood was higher, the advantage of the vitamin was clear.

The Japanese scientists, writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, say that the anti-viral drugs zanamivir and oseltamivir reduce risk of flu infection by 8 percent in children who have been exposed to infection, compared with a 50 percent or greater reduction with vitamin D.

Anti-virals are typically more effective than vaccines for the influenza virus which suggests that both forms of medical intervention would consistently fail in similar studies when pitted against vitamin D.

Anti-virals are also too expensive, and possibly too toxic, to be given to the population as a whole whereas vitamin D has additional benefits. The sunshine vitamin not only prevents bone fractures but is also believed to reduce risks of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other illness, including various bacterial as well as viral infections.

The Japanese finding supports a theory that low blood levels of the sunshine vitamin occurring in winter explain why flu epidemics generally peak between December and March.

Vitamin D activates the innate immune system, enabling the body to produce several proteins such as defensin and cathelicidin which trigger cell activity and disable viruses.

Dr John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary School of Medicine, London, said: “This is a timely study. It will be noticed by scientists. It fits in with the seasonal pattern of flu. There is an increasing background of solid science that makes the vitamin D story credible. ”

Dose and Vitamin D Levels Are Critical

Researchers have recently pinpointed the mechanism behind vitamin D3's ability to enhance the immune system and why it is so critical to our health.

- Vitamin D is not a vitamin, but a steroid hormone precursor, which has profound effects on innate immunity.

- The amount of vitamin D in most food and nearly all multivitamins is literally inconsequential.

- The correct daily dose of vitamin D for adults is approximately 5,000 IU/day, not the 200 to 600 IU recommended by the Institute of Medicine, the National Institutes of Medicine and the FDA.

- The only blood test to determine vitamin D adequacy is a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D, not the 1,25-di-hydroxy-vitamin D test many physicians now order.

- Healthy vitamin D blood levels are between 70 and 90 ng/ml, levels obtained by fewer than 5% of Americans.

- The mechanism of action of vitamin D in infection, dramatically increasing the body’s production of broad-spectrum natural antibiotics (anti-microbial peptides or AMP), suggests pharmaceutical doses of vitamin D (1,000 IU per pound of body weight per day for several days) will effectively treat not only influenza and the common cold, but help treat a host of other seasonal infections, including meningitis, septicemia, and pneumonia, in both children and adults.

Sources:

preventdisease.com
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
ajcn.nutrition.org


by Marco Torres. Marco is a research specialist, writer and consumer advocate for healthy lifestyles. He holds degrees in Public Health and Environmental Science and is a professional speaker on topics such as disease
prevention, environmental toxins and health policy.

10 Great Benefits of Bee Pollen, The New Superfood!

1. Energy Enhancer - The range of nutrients found within bee pollen makes it a great natural energizer. The carbohydrates, protein and B vitamins can help keep you going all day by enhancing stamina and fighting off fatigue.


2. Skin Soother - Bee pollen is often used in topical products that aim to treat inflammatory conditions and common skin irritations like psoriasis or eczema. The amino acids and vitamins protect the skin and aid the regeneration of cells. 


3. Respiratory System - Bee pollen contains a high quantity of antioxidants that may have an anti-inflammatory effect on the tissues of the lungs, preventing the onset of asthma.

4. Treating Allergies – Pollen reduces the presence of histamine, ameliorating many allergies. Dr. Leo Conway, M.D of Denver Colorado, reported that 94 percent of his patients were completely free from allergy symptoms once treated with oral feeding of pollen. Everything from asthma to allergies to sinus problems were cleared, confirming that bee pollen is wonderfully effective against a wide range of respiratory diseases.

5. Digestive System - In addition to healthful vitamins, minerals and protein, bee pollen contains enzymes that can aid in digestion. Enzymes assist your body in getting all the nutrients you need from the food that you eat.

6. Immune System Booster - Pollen is good for the intestinal flora and thereby supports the immune system. According to holistic health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola, bee pollen has antibiotic-type properties that can help protect the body from contracting viruses. It's also rich in antioxidants that protect the cells from the damaging oxidation of free radicals.


7. Treats Addictions – Used holistically for healing addictions and inhibiting cravings by suppressing impulses. Because bee pollen crashes cravings, it is a very useful research is needed into this benefit, particularly when it comes to weight management.



8. Supports the Cardiovascular System - Bee Pollen contains large amounts of Rutin; an antioxidant bioflavonoid that helps strengthen capillaries, blood vessels, assists with circulatory problems and corrects cholesterol levels. Its potent anti-clotting powers could help prevent heart attack and stroke.

9. Prostate Aid - Men who suffer from benign prostate hyperplasia can find relief by using bee pollen. Bee pollen can help reduce inflammation to stop frequent urges to urinate.



10. Infertility Problems - Bee pollen stimulates and restores ovarian function, therefore may be used to assist in accelerating pregnancy. As well as being a hormonal booster it is also a great aphrodisiac!



How Should Bee Pollen Be Consumed?
Bee pollen is a food and acts faster and more effectively when taken at mealtime and especially with fruit, which lets it gently, perform a little cleansing of the intestinal flora.

A spoonful at breakfast, preferably taken with a piece of fruit: the fruit fibers (raw hemicellulose) reinforce the activity of the fresh pollen.You'll be pleased to know that bee keepers are able to remove pollen from hives without harming the bees or disturbing their routine. 

Source: Food Matters

Bolivia Rejects Fast Food - McDonalds Closes

McDonald’s leaves Bolivia healthier forever!  

After 14 years of presence in the country, and despite all the existing campaigns and having a network, the chain was forced to close the eight restaurants that remained open in the three main cities: La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.  It is a question of the first Latin-American country that will remain without any McDonald’s, and the first country in the world where the company has to close because it persists in having their numbers in the red for over a decade.  

The impact for the creative and marketing managers has been so strong that a documentary was filmed under the title “Why McDonald’s went broke in Bolivia,” where they try to somehow explain the reasons that led Bolivians to still prefer pies to hamburgers.

Cultural rejection

The documentary includes interviews with cooks, sociologists, nutritionists, educators, historians and more, where there is a general agreement: the rejection is neither to the hamburgers nor to their taste. The rejection is in the minds and mentality of Bolivians. Everything indicates that “fast food” is literally the opposite of a Bolivian’s conception of how to prepare a meal.

In Bolivia, the food to be good requires, in addition to taste, care, and hygiene, a lot of preparation time. This is how a consumer values the quality of what goes into the stomach, also by the amount of time it took to make the meal. Fast food is not for these people, the Americans concluded.