Four foods that aren’t as healthy as you think

When people meet me, they are surprised to learn that I eat things like meat and chocolate, and indulge in fried food from time to time. What they are even more surprised to learn are the number of supposedly healthy foods that I don’t eat. Very often, we switch to foods because we’re told they’re good for us – but what if they’re not?

Here are four foods that I don’t eat, with the reasoning behind my choices.

SOYA

Soya is increasingly hailed as a wonderfood . But it also contains a bunch of anti-nutrients, and that’s why hundreds of studies link soya to malnutrition, digestive problems, thyroid issues, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility, birth defects, heart disease and cancer. Yes, really.

Some of the antinutrients are deactivated when soya is fermented (such as in miso, soy sauce, tamari and tempeh) and when it is ‘precipitated’ as with tofu.

FRESHLY-SQUEEZED JUICE

Sugar, sugar and more sugar – that’s all that fruit juice is to your body and it sends your blood sugar levels sky-rocketing. Many people know that the juice they buy in packets is no good, but the stuff you juice yourself isn’t actually much better at all. Eat a piece of fruit instead.

COOKING WITH OLIVE OIL

Olive oil is healthy, but when it is introduced to high heat, it becomes rancid and turns into a carcinogen.

Instead of olive oil, choose oil with a high smoke point such as sunflower oil or coconut oil. However, the best option is ghee as it actually has a higher smoke point than both the oils mentioned.

MILK

According to the blurb, we wouldn’t get enough calcium if we didn’t drink milk. But what if I told you that because it’s an animal protein, milk has an acidic affect on the body, and therefore causes your bones to leech out its own alkaline mineral reserves, specifically calcium?

In fact, milk takes calcium from your body rather than introducing it. On the contrary, the calcium found in fruit, vegetables nuts and pulses has no such issues. Also, turnips contain more calcium than milk, so eat this instead.

And next time you read about the benefits of a particular food, make sure you do your research before switching.

www.nutritionbysona.com