Even if you’re eating a well-balanced diet, you’re likely consuming some packaged foods…and some of those food ingredients are bad for you. This actually can include healthier options, such as cereal, yogurt, and frozen vegetables. What’s the potential damage? Eating them can make you deficient in key micronutrients. Luckily, it’s not hard to rebalance your body’s nutrients. Just read the ingredient lists of any foods before you buy them and watch out for the following seven deal-breaker items:
AKA: Agave nectar, brown sugar, cane crystals, cane sugar, caramel, crystalline fructose, dextrose, evaporated cane juice, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, malt syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose, syrup Found in: Sodas, dessert items, candies, frozen fruits and vegetables with sauces or marinades, sauces, soups Robs Your Body of: Vitamin C, calcium, magnesium Vitamin C and glucose use the same transporters to get into cells, so they compete with one another. Our body wants to absorb a limited amount of fructose, and when we consume more than that, the intestine rejects it and feeds gut bacteria, leading to bacterial overgrowth. These extra bacteria tend to steal nutrients and damage intestinal cells, inhibiting absorption of calcium and magnesium. Increased Health Risks Due to Nutrient Depletion: Weaker immune system and bones, poorer night’s sleep, compromised cellular and nerve function, chronic inflammation
AKA: Corn sweetener, corn syrup, corn sugar Found in: Packaged foods, cookies, cakes, breakfast cereals, soda, frozen veggies, yogurt, juices, condiments Robs Your Body of: Chromium, magnesium, zinc The average American consumed 131 calories of high-fructose corn syrup daily in 2011, the most recent year that the USDA has data for. Biologically, this sweetener has the same effects on your health as sugar, including the formation of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). This is a common condition found in most people suffering from IBS, according to a 2010 report published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology. Unlike sugar, however, HFCS doesn’t trigger the “I’m full” hormone leptin in the brain, making it easier to overeat, which may lead to obesity. Increased Health Risks Due to Nutrient Depletion: Impaired immune function, hair loss, lowered blood sugar regulation, elevated triglycerides, discomfort, bloating, diarrhea, obesity RELATED: 7 Nutrients Black Women Are Most Likely Missing
Found in: Jams, jellies, fruit juices, milk drinks, canned frosting, yogurt Robs Your Body of: Beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein Pectin may look and behave like good-for-you fiber, but it’s not always working in your favor. While this glue-like food moves through you, things get stuck to it, including essential nutrients, which inevitably leave the body with it. You’re simply not going to reap the full benefits of lycopene―or any of these antioxidants―if you’re also consuming foods that contain added pectin. So keep eating your apples and other foods that contain natural pectin, but skip it when it shows up on the label. Increased Health Risks Due to Nutrient Depletion: Eyesight conditions, decreased immune response, frequent viral infections
AKA: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid Found in: Processed foods Robs Your Body of: Vitamin C, magnesium, iron, calcium, zinc, potassium Disodium EDTA excels at preserving the color and flavor of foods. It grabs any free metals that would normally promote oxidation, therefore increasing shelf life. That’s also why it is prescribed for people suffering from heavy metal poisoning. It binds to minerals in the digestive tract and helps remove them, allowing them to be eliminated through feces. However, just as in relationships, clinginess is a bad thing for healthy people because when you eat foods with the preservative, it pulls out both bad and crucial minerals and disturbs gut bacteria. Increased Health Risks Due to Nutrient Depletion: Digestive issues, weaker immune system, compromised cellular and nerve function, anemia, cramps, and kidney damage
Found in: Sodas, some flavored waters Robs Your Body of: Calcium, magnesium This chemical additive that’s used to keep carbonated drinks from going flat packs a one-two punch for your bones. In addition to blocking the absorption of calcium and magnesium, it may also be dipping into your personal calcium supply in your bones. Calcium and phosphorus like to be bonded, so when you take in phosphorus without calcium, it’ll take whatever calcium is currently in your body. Because calcium comes hand-in-hand with magnesium, when you lose one, you lose the other. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women who drank an average of five colas a week had lower bone mass density than non-cola drinkers, possibly due to lower phosphorus-to-calcium ratios. Increased Health Risks Due to Nutrient Depletion: Poorer bone and teeth health, osteoporosis, cramping and spasms, increased food cravings RELATED: 11 Nutrients You’re Probably Not Getting Enough Of
Found in: Beverages, soups, cottage cheese, and some frozen desserts Robs Your Body of: Beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein This fiber from guar beans, which functions as a thickener, feeds gut bacteria. And, just as with sugar, this causes an overproduction of bacteria, which compete for key nutrients. In fact, eating guar gum may reduce the absorption of carotenoids by 22 percent, according to research out of the Technical University of Munich. Increased Health Risks Due to Nutrient Depletion: Eye diseases, such as macular degeneration
By subscribing, you consent to receive emails from BlackDoctor.com. You may unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy & Terms of Service.
