In the last few years I have been learning about how my diet affects my overall health. So this week I am featuring a guest post on healthier eating by a fellow blogger: Susan U. Neal RN, MBA, MHS
Guest Post
Do you find it confusing to determine what foods are beneficial versus harmful? Food manufacturers add addictive ingredients like sugar to get us hooked. This article lists unhealthy foods and the reasons why they do not nourish the body. It is far better to eat God’s foods than processed foods.
Processed Foods
Processed foods contained in boxes and bags have had their nutrients removed to extend their shelf life. Unfortunately, they decrease the life of the person who consumes them. Consider them dead foods that do not benefit the body but instead harms it.
Genetically Modified (GMO) Foods
Did you know that wheat was hybridized to the point the body thinks of it as a foreign substance? That is why celiac disease had increased by 400 percent in the past sixty years. A step beyond hybridization is Genetically Modified Foods (GMO). No long-term studies tested the premise that GMO foods are safe. Therefore, humans are the present-day lab rats for this experiment.
If a person’s immune system does not recognize gluten or GMO foods it might attack the foreign substance and its own body at the same time. This attack may cause an autoimmune disease, which is on the rise. You should avoid all GMO foods.
Roundup Ready Crops
One type of GMO food is Roundup Ready crops. These crops are genetically engineered to be resistant to the carcinogen glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. Most of the nation’s corn, wheat, oats, soy, and sugar beets are Roundup Ready crops. Can you imagine what this carcinogen may do to your health? Organic foods are not GMO or Roundup Ready crops.
Foods to Eliminate
Don’t eat processed or GMO foods, but instead eat the ones God gave us. Therefore, consider removing these unhealthy:
- Wheat—anything that contains wheat
- Sugar-sweetened drinks
- Sugar—white sugar, high-fructose corn syrup
- Rice—white rice (brown and wild rice are fine)
- Corn—all non-organic corn products such as tortilla chips and popcorn (Organic corn products are fine.)
- Artificial sweeteners—saccharin, aspartame or Equal/NutraSweet, sucralose or Splenda
- Oils—eliminate all oils except olive and coconut oil
- Foods that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, high-fructose corn syrup, or monosodium glutamate (MSG). Food labels disguise MSG through the following names: flavors; flavoring; enzymes; hydrolyzed, autolyzed yeast; barley malt; hydrolyzed vegetable protein; maltodextrin; natural seasonings; and glutamate.
Healthy Substitutions to Purchase
Healthy alternatives are whole, unprocessed, and natural. They come right out of the garden or off the ranch. Replace unhealthy foods listed above with God’s flavorful foods listed below.
Sugar Substitutes
Substitute sugar with natural sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, agave, stevia, xylitol, coconut sugar, monk fruit sugar.
Dairy Substitutes
Replace your dairy products, such as ice cream, with coconut, almond, or cashew milk items.
Pasta Substitutes
Buy spaghetti squash, use shirataki noodles, or spiralize zucchini.
Produce
God created over one hundred vegetables, and they provide different vitamins and minerals that our body needs. This food group is the largest so a large portion of our diet should come from produce. Different vegetables provide different nutrients. Consuming a colorful assortment of vegetables is best.
The second-largest food group is fruits. Each one contains a different amount of fiber, vitamins, and minerals our bodies need to be healthy. Fruits could be considered God’s candy. Unfortunately, refined sugar tainted our pallet so we desire high-sugar foods instead.
We cannot eat perfectly all the time. Therefore, try to eat healthy foods 80 percent of the time. Eat to live a healthy, bountiful life. Evaluate every single thing you eat. Did God create the food or the food manufacturer? Remember, shelf life means no life.
To find out more information about beneficial versus harmful foods, get the #1 Amazon best seller 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates so you can start your journey to optimal health. Feel free to join the Facebook group, 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar, Carbs, and Gluten, where we are doing a Lose Your Pandemic Pounds Campaign.
Susan Neal Bio
Susan Neal RN, MBA, MHS, lives her life with a passion to help others improve their health. She is an author, speaker, and Certified Health and Wellness Coach. You can find Susan on SusanUNeal.com.
