Most Unhealthy Foods to Avoid

As a Certified Wellness Coach, I often get the question, what can I eat? The very next question is, what are the most unhealthy foods I should be avoiding. I like the 2nd question more, because believe it or not, it’s much easier to answer. 

According to Dr. Peter Glidden, ND, there are 12 unhealthy foods that you should avoid. Not eat in moderation, but completely avoid. Below are the unhealthiest foods and why you should avoid them.

12 Most Unhealthy Foods

Why Avoid?

1.       Wheat

Contains gluten. Side effects from gluten include, fatigue, bloating, alternating constipation, and diarrhea) to severe (unintentional weight loss, malnutrition, intestinal damage)

2.       Barely

Same as wheat

3.       Rye

Same as wheat

4.       Oats

Same as wheat. Don’t be fooled, Gluten free- oats, still contain gluten

5.       Fried Foods

Once cooking oils are heated, they turn carcinogenic. Eating fried foods, means you are eating carcinogenic/poisonous foods.

6.       Oil in a bottle

Depending on how oil is stored and manufactured, it can turn rancid. The challenge is that you can’t tell once the oil has turned rancid. As a result, if it’s not fresh, don’t consume.

7.       Well-done meat

The char marks on well-done meat, are carcinogenic and may cause cancer

8.       Crispy Potato Skins

Crispy potato skins, whether fried of baked, turn carcinogenic upon direct, high eat.

9.       Meat w/ Nitrates

High levels of nitrates can lead to weakness, excess heart rate, fatigue, and dizziness.

10.   Carbonated Beverage w/ a Meal

Carbonated beverages when combined with a meal lower your stomach acid, causing indigestion.

11.   Soy

Practically all soy produced in the US is GMO.

12.   Genetically Modified Foods (GMO)

GMO foods have the potential to lead to allergens and toxicity from the crops

After reviewing this list, I can definitely see why less than 3% of Americans live a “healthy lifestyle”. The list above is the American Diet. It’s the definition of the American diet.

Ways to avoid consuming unhealthy foods

So, I know what you are thinking, “ How do you avoid these all to common foods?”. Well, I’ve come up with a list of ways to avoid consuming unhealthy foods. Here are my top 7 ways to avoid unhealthy foods:

  1. Have a plan. You may have heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.” Before doing anything, be sure to create a plan that will keep you from failing and grabbing some In & Out on your way home. Part of having a plan is knowing what you will cook and making sure you have the ingredients. Which is why I recommend step #2 purchase a healthy cookbook. Why? Because a healthy cookbook will have everything laid out for you, shopping list, ingredients, and fun creative ideas
  2. Get creative. Being creative is important as you make some changes to your diet. The last thing you want to do, is meal plan the same meal 5 days in a row. BORING! You can get creative by purchasing a healthy cookbook. I’m currently working on my own gut-friendly cookbook. The dishes will be easy and inspired by comfort food favorites, which will be released late summer 2022.
  3. Knowledge is power. The more you know of why foods are unhealthy, the less likely you are to indulge
  4. Be prepared. Go online and review the menu before you leave the house and call ahead if you have questions.
  5. Healthy fast food options. Find fast food restaurants where you can get delicious foods, that don’t include any of the foods on the 12 bad foods list.
  6. Don’t starve yourself. Eating 2-3 meals a day is healthy. We don’t recommend eating lots of small meals because you need to give you liver time to flush out toxins from the previous meal, which typically takes about 3-4 hours after eating. 
  7. Don’t be too restrictive. It’s ok to have some fun here and there, just not every day. Try to limit your junk food intake to 1 meal a week. 

What is the unhealthiest food to eat?

Potatoe Wedges- What is the most unhealthy food

After debating on this for some time, I believe that the unhealthiest food to eat is potato wedges. Why? Let’s refer to the 12 unhealthiest foods and why. If you look at potato wedges, they are typically fried or baked at a very high heat, making the crispy skins carcinogenic. 

Next, if the potato wedges are fried, then the oil makes the entire wedge carcinogenic. Potato wedges, if eaten almost daily, can lead to  diabetes, heart disease or stroke.  I’m sure now, you can see why I picked potato wedges as my #1 unhealthiest food to eat.

 

It’s sad that these types of foods are typically cheaper and more readily available than healthier food options such as organic produce. Why? Check out my other blog post, “Why are the less healthy food choices typically cheaper”, to find out why. There is a ton of research and statistics to share on this topic.

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