Can ‘Foods to Avoid’ Save Your Health?

Appetizing as it may look, yet it seems to lead to lifetime regrets. Many of the things we crave and consume on a daily basis provide us with comfort and satisfaction. While food can sometimes be healing, its benefits are only realized when consumed in the right quantities and at the appropriate times.

In my decades of diet counseling, let me share with you my top five foods to avoid to keep a healthy life:

1. Deep-fat-fried foods.

Submerging food in a large volume of oil is not good for one’s health. It may give you comfort in your mood or satisfy your cravings. But as the food absorbs the oil, it clogs our arteries resulting in hypertension or may lead to other heart-related diseases. You may opt for boiled, steamed, baked, grilled, or roasted methods of cooking.

2. Trans fat.

It’s known to be used for baked products, processed foods, and even pastries. It increases the shelf life of the oil. However, the exact process results in increased saturated fatty acids clinically proven to be associated with cardiovascular diseases. It is known as the top killer disease in the Philippines.

3. Processed foods.

These are foods with additional ingredients to increase shelf life. Preservatives may produce adverse effects on your health especially if you are having a serious medical condition. It can aggravate. Go natural!

4. All about sugar.

All forms of sweets in the market enticingly trigger our appetite. Simple sugars are the main culprit for obesity and other related medical conditions when taken in excess. Sodas and alcohols, whether regular or sugar-free, are not exempt.

5. Unlimited portions or servings.

It is a known trend nowadays in some restaurants and hotels. Habitually, we are happy about getting our money’s worth for all the food expenses, like enjoying your drink-all-you-can iced teas and eat-all-you-can buffets, free refills of coffee, complimentary cakes, and the list goes on.

But at the end of the day, one has to realize the results of unlimited calories, carbs, proteins, and fats in your body. Unconsciously, it also becomes part of your lifestyle. It calls for a week-long or even a month-long set of physical activities just to get rid of it. Remember, unburned calories mean stored fats.  

There are so many foods to avoid if you want to have a healthy life, which may be part of a successful weight management program, or due to a specific medical condition. It means you either may just simply lessen your intake or you have to get rid of it.

Foods to avoid in this matter is not a form of deprivation, but rather a form of goal to have an illness-free life. After all, the key ingredients to having a healthy life are to instill self-discipline and a positive mindset at all times. — Athena Trifonia Rueda-Tiglao, RND, MAEd

Athena Trifonia Rueda-Tiglao is a registered nutritionist-dietitian. She is a culinary nutritionist and associate professor in the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management (SHRIM) of the De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde Manila (DLS-CSB). Specializing in the Weight Management Program in Slimmers’ World International as a Nutrition Consultant, she has worked in Mead Johnson Philippines as a Nutrition Specialist. She likewise served as board member of the Philippine Society of Nutritionists-Dietitians.

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