11. Alcohol
We’re sorry to break this to you, and again, many will disagree, but alcohol has no health benefits. It’s extremely high in calories, can cause dehydration, liver damage, weight gain, depression, and skin problems. Not to mention the bad decisions you make when under the influence. So, if you want to damage all your systems, from the brain to liver to skin, believe the marketing and drink alcohol daily. Otherwise, avoid it.
12. White Bread, Refined Flours
Grains are good, right? So bread must be good too? Well, not if it’s white bread made from refined flours. White flour is stripped of all the nutritional fiber, minerals, and vitamins, and all you get is grain waste mixed with chemicals to achieve the nice white color. But behind it lies the risk of weight gain, thyroid damage, and organ damage. Go whole grain instead!
13. Dairy
Yes, milk is the first food we eat when we’re brought into this world. But a mother’s milk is much different than a cow’s mother’s milk. In addition, as we age, we develop lactose intolerance. Dairy products are linked with low nutrient absorption, migraines, arthritis, cancer, allergies, and asthma. So again, forget about those clever marketing tricks. Switch to coconut milk or almond milk, it tastes great and it won’t slowly kill you like cow milk.
14. Barbecued Meats
The smell of barbecue might be hard to resist, but please try. The chemicals that enter the meat during the process are associated with risk of pancreatic cancer and breast cancer. If you can’t resist, try to limit the intake of barbecued meat and consider adding some rosemary to your hamburger to reduce the amount and number of carcinogens.
15. Energy Bars
Energy bars might be necessary for athletes who need a quick burst of energy, but if that’s not you, try to resist these tasty calorie bombs. Energy bars contain a lot of sugar (we talked about sugar before), high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and can contain trans-fats. So this is basically candy that’s full of calories, sugar, and artificial ingredients. In other words, it’s a ticking time bomb.
16. Fast Food
Sure, fast food tastes good, it’s fairly inexpensive, and it’s everywhere. But what makes it taste so good? It’s the same things that are slowly killing you: trans-fats, sugar, salt, preservatives, additives, dyes, and other chemicals that enhance the looks and the taste of this food. Fast food can affect your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, mood disorders, weight gain, metabolic disorders, etc. So at least try to cut down on fast food.
