Chewing Tobacco is Injurious to Health

All around the world, if there has been one habit that is common it has been chewing tobacco. Irrespective of cultures and countries, backgrounds and ethnicities, tobacco is chewed in different forms and ways. It has been coming down through generations and ages.

Typically tobacco is chewed and the juice that is extracted from that causes the addiction. It releases nicotine which is absorbed into the system. Tobacco is used in various forms. Some just make a bundle out if it and keep it in the corner of the mouth, while chewing at it over a period of time. Most commonly it is used and smoked as cigarettes or other chewable items. In some countries they are used alongside some leaves and with betel nuts.

Why Chewing Tobacco is Bad For Your Health

While there is constant warning about tobacco inhalation or chewing it, it is and has been considered to be hazardous to one’s health. Chewing tobacco reduces the lunges to a sponge that soaks in at least 30 known carcinogens, or cancer causing chemicals. The tar like substances discolors the lungs and eventually is the cause for high risk cancers, tuberculosis and other oral diseases. Continuous consumption or chewing of tobacco also causes leukoplakia which is cancerous growths in the mouth. Before you know it they are diagnosed as malignant and can be life threatening. Once it takes over you, it is difficult to get over the addition and is the cause for many serious and life threatening diseases.

Either way, smoking or chewing tobacco is not something that is welcome or a safe addiction. It is a serious hazard to good health. Do not ignore the statutory warning that comes along with these products. Get rid of them or they will rid you of a healthy and a happy life.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF NATURE

The idea that spending time in nature can make you feel better is intuitive. We all feel this to be true, and many of us have anecdotes of our own or from friends or family that support that idea. People who have been suffering from stress, sickness, or a trauma can spend quiet contemplative time in gardens or taken to the mountains or woods to heal. But nature is not just wilderness. The benefits of nature can also be found in our communities’ parks and green spaces.  

Researchers are amassing a body of evidence, proving what we all know to be true: nature is good for us and has both long and short term mental and physical health benefits.

Below you’ll find hundreds of free research studies, news articles, and case studies, organized by adult and children health topics:

According to the National Academy of Sciences, “nature-based recreation” has decreased 25 percent in the last 40 years. The truth -- one we all know without researchers and pundits telling us -- is that we spend more time inside and are increasingly more sedentary. Getting outside and active provides us with general health benefits.

How Nature Helps
Dr. Richard J. Jackson is integral in the push to design healthy communities. Dr. Jackson was director of the National Center for Environmental Health and star of the PBS series Designing Healthy Communities, as well as author of the series’ companion book. He believes that health issues begin not when a patient is unwell, but well before.

Dr. Jackson argues that people who live in communities that are walkable, have access to bike trails, and are near parks and green space have higher levels of health than those in communities lacking those amenities.

Recognizing that health benefits come from increased access to green space in cities, health insurance companies in Portland, Oregon were recently major supporters of a $227 million bond issue, which was dedicated to the acquisition of additional green space in that city.   

Brooklyn Bridge Park / Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.

Research

Parks and Other Green Environments: Essential Components of a Healthy Human Habitat, National Recreation and Park Association, 2010

“Effect of Forest Bathing Trips on Human Immune Function,”Environmental Health and Preventative Medicine, 2010 

“Morbidity is Related to Green Living Environment,”
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2009

“Vitamin G: Green Environments, Healthy Environments,” Utrecht University, 2008

"Contributions of Public Parks to Physical Health," 
American Journal of Public Health, 2007 

“Healthy Nature Healthy People: ‘Contact with Nature’ as an Upstream Health Promotion Intervention for Populations,”
Health Promotion International, 2005

"Urban Residential Environments and Senior Citizens’ Longevity in Megacity Areas: The Importance of Walkable Green Spaces," Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2002 

“Beyond Toxicity: Human Health and the Natural Environment,” American Journal of Preventative Medicin

45 Tips To Live a Healthier Life

Our body is our temple, and we need to take care of it to have a healthy life. Do you know that a shocking over 65% of Americans are either obese or overweight? That’s insane! Think of your body as your physical shell to take you through life. If you repeatedly abuse it with unhealthy food, your shell will wear out quickly. While you may look okay on the outside, on the inside, your arteries are getting clogged up with cholesterol and arterial plaque. That’s not a pretty sight!

Life is beautiful and you don’t want to bog yourself down with unnecessary health problems. Today, your vital organs (kidney, heart, lungs, gall bladder, liver, stomach, intestines, etc) may be working well, but they may not be tomorrow. Don’t take your good health today for granted. Take proper care of your body.

Good health isn’t just about healthy eating and exercise – it also includes having a positive mental health, healthy self-image and a healthy lifestyle. In this article, I’ll share with you 45 tips to live a healthier life. Bookmark this article and save the tips, because they are going to be vital in living a healthier life.

1. Drink more water. Most of us actually don’t drink enough water every day. Water is essential for our body to function – Do you know over 60% of our body is made up of water? Water is needed to carry out our body functions, remove waste and carry nutrients and oxygen around our body. Since we lose water every day through urine, bowel movements, perspiration and breathing, we need to replenish our water intake.
   
   Furthermore, drinking more water alone actually aids in losing weight. A Health.com studycarried out among overweight/obese people showed that water drinkers lose 4.5 more pounds than a control group. The researchers believe that it’s because drinking more water helps fill your stomach, making you less hungry and less likely to overeat. I agree with that, and I have an added take that your body tries to retain whatever water you take when you don’t take in enough water, leading to increase in weight. Whereas when you regularly drink water, your body knows that it’s going to get its supply of fluids, so it doesn’t try to retain more water.
   The amount of water we need is dependent on various factors such as the humidity, our physical activity, and your weight, but generally we need 2.7-3.7 litres of water intake! Since food intake contributes about 20% of our fluid intake, that means we need to drink about 2.0-3.0 litres of water, or about 8-10 glasses (now you know how the 8 glasses recommendation came about!). One way to tell if you’re hydrated – your urine should be colorless or slightly yellow. If it’s not, you’re not getting enough water! Other signs include: Dry lips, dry mouth and little urination. Go get some water first before you continue this article!
2. Get enough sleep. When you don’t rest well, you compensate by eating more. Usually it’s junk food. Get enough rest and you don’t need to snack to stay awake. Also, lack of sleep causes premature aging, and you wouldn’t want that.
3. Meditate. Meditation quietens your mind and calms your soul. If you don’t know how to meditate, don’t worry – learn how to meditate in 5 simple steps.
   
4. Exercise. Not just a few times a week, but every day. Movement is life. Research has shown that exercising daily brings tremendous benefits to our health, including increase of life span, lowering of risk of diseases, higher bone density and weight loss. Increase activity in your life. Choose walking over transport for close distances. Climb the stairs instead of taking the lift. Join some aerobics classes. Take up a sport of your liking (see tip #5)
5. Pick exercises you enjoy. When you enjoy the sports, you’ll naturally want to do them. Exercise isn’t about suffering and pushing yourself; it’s about being healthy and having fun at the same time. Adding variation in your exercises will keep them interesting.
6. Work out different parts of your body. Don’t just do cardio exercises (such as jogging). Give your full body a proper work out. The easiest way is to engage in sports, since they work out different muscle groups. Popular sports include basketball, football, swimming, tennis, squash, badminton, frisbee, and more.
7. Eat more fruits. Fruits are a plethora of vitamins and minerals. Do you know that oranges offer more health benefits than Vitamin C pills? Taking in synthetic supplements are not the same as consuming the foods direct from nature. Fill your palate with these nutritious fruits: Watermelon, Apricots, Avocado, Apple, Cantaloupe, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Guava, Papaya, Strawberries.
   
8. Eat more vegetables. Like fruits, vegetables are important for the well being of our health. Experts suggest that we should have 5-9 servings of fruits/vegetables, and unfortunately most people don’t even have at least 5 servings! Some of my favorite vegetables include: Kidney beans, black beans, asparagus, long beans, french beans, sprouts, button mushrooms and carrots. What are your favorite vegetables and how can you include more of them in your diet today?
9. Pick bright colored foods. Fruits and vegetables with bright colors are usually high in anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are good for health because they remove free radicals in our body that damage our cells. So get your fill of fruits/vegetables of different colors: White (Bananas, Mushroom), Yellow (Pineapples, Mango), Orange (Orange, Papaya), Red (Apple, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Watermelon), Green (Guava, Avocados,  Cucumber, Lettuce, Celery), Purple/Blue (Blackberries, Eggplant, Prunes). Here’s a full list under the color wheel.
10. Cut down on processed food. Processed foods are not good because (1) most nutritional value is lost (2) the preservatives added are bad for our health.  Many processed foods contain a high amount of salt content, which leads to higher blood pressure and heart disease. Processed foods are anything that are not in their raw form. In general, most of the food in supermarket are processed – the more the ingredients on the label (especially the ones ending with ‘ite’ or ‘ate’), the more processed they are. Watch out for those with salt/sugar as the first 5 ingredients and go for natural foods as much as possible.
11. Love yourself. How much do you love yourself on a scale of 1-10? Why? How can you love yourself more starting today? In Day 20 of 30DLBL, we explore the notion of self-love and get you started on loving yourself more.
    
12. Barefoot walking/running. There have been many proven positive benefits of barefoot walking/running, from better posture, less stress for your feet, less stress for your joints, etc . I’ve been running barefoot since May ’10, and loving it. Read more: 10 Reasons To Run Barefoot
13. Purge negative people from your life. Positive mental healthy is an important part of a healthy life. You don’t need toxic people in your life. If you feel that a friend is overly critical or negative, then let him/her go.
14. Purge negativity from yourself. You don’t need negativity from yourself either. Listen in on the thoughts that come up in your mind and get rid of the negative thoughts you hear. A lot of eating happens because one feels unhappy, so by staying in a positive, up state by yourself, you cut out that unhealthy dependence on food to be happy.
15. Journal out unhappy thoughts. One great way to purge negativity from within is to do brain dumping exercises whenever you feel frustrated. This is something I do with my 1-1 clients as well, where I ask them to journal out their deepest thoughts so we can address them. Don’t keep these thoughts pent up inside of you – it’s not healthy.
16. Avoid trigger foods. Trigger foods are the foods that make you go berserk and binge like crazy after you eat them. Everyone’s trigger foods are different (mine are donuts, pastries, pasta and chips), but generally trigger foods are candy bars, chocolate, confectionery, chips, cookies, or anything with high level of refined sugar, salt, fat or flour. These foods cause a blood sugar imbalance, hence triggering one to eat more. What are your trigger foods? Identify them and remove them from your diet.
17. Breathe. Deeply. Oxygen is a vital source of life. You may know how to breathe, but are you breathing properly? Most of us don’t breathe properly – we take only shallow breathes and breathe to 1/3 of our lung capacity. Athletes are coached proper breathing techniques to get their best performance. A full breathis one where your lungs are completely filled, your abdomen expands and there’s minimum movement in your shoulders.
    
18. Address emotional eating issues. Emotional eating is eating to fill an emotion, rather than real hunger. Do you eat when you feel stressed out, down or frustrated? Do you reach out for food when you hit a block at work? Chances are, you’re emotional eating. However, emotional eating will never make you feel happy, because you’re trying to fill a void that has nothing to do with food. Food doesn’t give you love or happiness; it’s just food. Why do you reach out for food when you’re down? How can you address it? Get to the root of the issue and address it. Read: How To Stop Emotional Eating (6-part series)
19. Eat small meals. Choose several small meals over a few big meals a day. This balances out your energy distribution throughout the day. In general, eat when you feel hungry, and stop when you’re full (see tip #20). You don’t need to wait until official meal times before you start eating. Listen to your body and what it tells you.
20. Stop eating when you feel full. Many of us rely on external cues to tell when we’re full, such as whether everyone has finished eating, whether your plate was empty or not. These are irrelevant – you should look at internal cues, such as whether your stomach feels full or not. Don’t feel obligated to eat just because there’s still food at the plate. Personally I like to stop when I feel about 3/4 full – if I eat till I’m totally full, I feel uncomfortable as my digestive system goes into overdrive. Use your gut as your indicator (literally).
21. Go for brown carbs vs. white carbs. White carbs are refined grains like white rice, pasta, white bread, crackers, noodles, tortillas, wraps, anything with white flour and breading. The nutrients have been removed in the production process, leaving them rich in calories but low in nutrients. They also cause unhealthy spikes in our sugar levels. Go for brown carbs (unrefined complex carbs) instead, like brown rice, whole grain, oats, oatmeal, legumes, nuts. These come with nutrients and vitamins intact.
    
22. Live a life with purpose. Positive health starts from within! Are you living a life of meaning? Are you living in line with your purpose? After I started living in line with my purpose 2 years ago, I’ve never ever been happier. And you can experience that too. Read: Discover Your Purpose in Life (series)
23. Say no to oily food. Reduce your intake of fast food, fries, doughnuts, chips, wedges, and foods that have been deep fried. Not only are they very fattening (1 tablespoon of oil is 120 calories), deep fried food contains acrylamide, a potential cancer-causing chemical. According to a BBC report, an ordinary bag of crisps may contain up to 500 times more of the substance than the top level allowed in drinking water by the World Health Organisation (WHO). I personally find that when I consume oily foods, I feel sluggish. There are better alternatives, such as grilled, steamed, stir-fried or even raw food (see tip #41).
24. Cut out sugary foods. These are your candy bars, your pastries, chocolate, cookies, cakes and jelly donuts. Not only do they not fill you, they trigger you to eat more due to the sugar rush they cause (see tip #16). Go for healthy snacks instead (see tip #36) – you’ll be more satisfied and happy.
25. Go organic. Organic foods are foods produced without “synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives”. (Wiki) The organic movement is slowly catching on, with more supermarkets, especially in US, offering organic options. Organic food tends to cost more, but hey – would you rather save some money and feed your body with pesticides or pay a few extra dollars for a cleaner, healthier body?
26. Improve your posture. Good posture improves your breathing (see tip #18) and makes you look more smarter and more attractive. Read more: Benefits Of Having A Good Posture (And 13 Tips To Get One)
27. Cut out soda and caffeine. Drinks with caffeine are diuretics – meaning they speed up the rate of urine production. Hence, these drinks do not contribute to your 8 glasses of water/day requirement – they actually take away from it! Furthermore, soda is unhealthy, causes weight gain, is an artificial stimulant, among other reasons. Ditch your soda and go for plain water or fresh fruit juices instead! Read more: 5 Reasons To Quit Soda (And How To Do It)
    
28. Don’t drink alcohol. Like caffeine, alcohol is a diuretic. Not only that, alcohol is repeatedly proven to have negative effects on our body and health – impacting the proper functioning of our brain, liver, lungs, and other major organs. If you drink alcohol regularly, it’s time to cut it out.
29. Prepare your meals. Lately I’m beginning to appreciate the value of preparing my own meals. When you prepare your meals, you control what goes into them. No more being in a dilemma between eating healthy  and choosing between the sub-optimal food choices. Get some quality kitchen equipment – these will be your best investments ever. I bought my blender 3 years ago and it’s been such a breeze making my own fruit juices!
    
30. Learn to say no. Don’t feel like you’ve to eat just because you’re out with your friends, or because other people offer you food. Simply say no and say you’re not hungry if you don’t feel like eating. Read: How To Say No To Others
31. Bring a water bottle when you go out. That way, you can replenish your fluids whenever you want to. It saves you money as well and you don’t need to subject yourself to poor alternatives like soda, which increases your fluid outtake instead (see tip #27).
32. Dine at salad bars more often. Lately I’m falling in love with salad bars. Salad bars work like this: You pick your greens, you select X number of toppings (usually 6 or limited, depending on the outlet) and you finish off with a dressing. The variety is huge, it’s filling and it’s extremely healthy.
    
33. Go for low calorie, low fat alternatives. There are many low-fat / non-fat alternatives today – from yogurts, to salad dressing, soy milk, spreads, ice cream, etc. Check out this comprehensive list: Lower Calorie, Lower Fat Alternatives.
34. Stop smoking. It has been extensively proven that smoking is detrimental to health,  severely increasing the risk of lung cancer, kidney cancer, esophageal cancer (of our gullet), heart attack, and more. Smoking “light” cigarettes does not decrease health risks. Bottom line – if you’re a smoker, quit for better health of not just yourself, but also your family and friends. If you don’t smoke, stay that way and don’t start.
35. Avoid passive smoking. Second hand smoking (breathing in air from smokers) causes many of the same long-term diseases as direct smoking (Wiki). Get away from smokers and avoid cigarette smoke where you can.
36. Have healthy snacks. If you’re hungry during work, eat healthy snacks, like fruits, salads, and fruit juices. These are nutritional and don’t give you that sugar rush. Have them readily available so you can dive in for a munch and stop when you’d had your fill. Get away from cookies and candy bars.
    
37. Drink fruit/veg smoothies. I love smoothies because it’s a quick way to get vitamins and nutrients. Simply throw my favorite fruits into the blender, wait for 30 seconds, and it’s done! And it tastes great. I’m drinking an orange and banana smoothie write now as I’m writing this article and it’s delicious!
38. Juicing. Juicing is where you extract the juice from vegetables / fruits (via a juicer machine). Since the fibre is stripped away, you are literally drinking the nutrients and minerals directly from the juice! Juices and smoothies complement each other – the former gives our digestive system a break while the latter gives us the fibre which aids our digestion. Check out an introduction to juicing video below. If you’re new to juicing, learn more about it here and check out these sample juicing recipes.
39. Go on a vegetarian diet. First off, going vegetarian doesn’t necessarily lead to better health, because there are many unhealthy vegetarian food out there (fried food, white carb laden diets, etc). On that note, there are many proven health benefits of a vegetarian diet. I became a vegetarian because I tried it for 30 days and saw the positive effects for my mental and physical health. Try it out for 21 days and see how it works out for you. Get started here.
40. Go on a vegan diet. A vegetarian is someone who does not consume animal products. A vegan is someone who doesn’t consume animal or animal-derived products. This means no dairy, honey, cheese, milk, etc. So in that sense, it’s seemingly stricter, but it brings about even more positive benefits on top of a vegetarian diet. Learn more about veganismhere and here.
    
41. Become a raw vegan. A raw vegan consumes only non-processed, raw vegan food, mainly fruits, vegetables and nuts. Notice that the progression from vegetarian -> vegan -> raw vegan diet is toward foods that are naturally occurring. There are many reported benefits in switching from veganism to raw veganism, including increased youth, weight loss, increased energy, increased health benefits and more. It’s an area that I’m exploring at the moment and learning more of. Learn more about raw veganism: Here, here, here and here.
42. Get out more often. If you have a regular 9-5 job, chances are you spend most of your times holed up in the office and not a lot of time going out and having fun. During weekends, you’re probably busy with work or running errands. Make it a point to go out with friends at least once a week. Get some sunlight. Go out and have a change in environment. It’ll be great for your body and your soul.
43. Exercise good dental hygiene. Not only does good hygiene make you a lot more desirable,it is linked with better health. Brush your teeth twice a day, rinse your mouth after each meal and floss your teeth at night. Read: How To Attain Healthier Gums and Teeth: Path To Better Oral Hygiene
    
44. Join classes. Dance classes, aerobics classes, tennis classes, ballroom dancing, scuba diving, wake boarding courses, are all places to start off with. Going there also lets you socialize with a whole new group of people.
45. Hang out with healthy people. You’re the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, so the more time you spend around healthy people, the better it is. Eat with people who are health conscious and get workout buddies. It makes healthy living even more fun.

Health is Wealth

Health is wealth. There is nothing in our life that is more valuable than good health. Without health there is no happiness, no peace and no success. A person with bad health cannot enjoy the pleasure of being wealthy.

Health is more valuable than money. Money cannot buy health and happiness. But a healthy person remains in a state of bliss and happiness.

A healthy person is completely free from any illness or injury. A person with sound health enjoys a stable health that also includes a healthy mental condition. Our health depends upon several factors, such as food, pollution, sleeping habits, mental condition, air, water and sunlight. Morning walks and Physical exercisesare very helpful for the fitness of our mind and body. We should take proper care of our health so that we can enjoy our life completely.

When we are ill or we do not want to play or work, our bad health robs us of sound sleep and appetite. Life becomes a burden for one, who is constantly ailing. Life has little charm for him. He feels tired of life, always complaining about one thing or the other.

On the other hand, one with good health enjoys his life. When he works or plays he is never tired. A healthy person enjoys good food and sound sleep. For him the world is beautiful and life is all joy.

Also read: Short Essay on Health is Wealth.

A healthy person sings the glory of life and works hard to realize his dreams. He never complains. He is always happy and cheerful. He may be poor, he may have to work very hard to earn his living, but even the richest man would envy him for his good health.

20 Easy Ways To Save The Environment

1. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs:
   It is true that these bulbs are more expensive, but they last much longer and they can save energy and in the long term your electricity bill would be reduced.

2. Choose more local, organic and seasonal food. This will reduce unnecessary transportation ways, keep the environment cleaner and your body healthier.

3. Buy only as much as you will eat. This will help to reduce waste and the over-production of food which will save natural resources and habitats. It will also save you money.

Consuming

4. Reduce unnessasary packaging, bring your own reusable bags. This will reduce the amount of trash that is polluting our environment. Remember, plastic is the enemy of the environment.

5. Replace plastic whenever possible. Start with using glass bottles instead of plastic bottles for example.

6. Choose small businesses over big brands. Small businesses do not put out nearly the toxins and trash as larger corporations.

7. Buy less, “period”. Ask yourself more often if you really need what you are about to buy. This will not only reduce waste and save natural recources but also save you money.

Energy/Electronics

8. Turn of any lights and electronics when they are not being used.

9. Let hair and clothes dry by themselves if possible. This is not only better for the environment but also for your hair and clothes.

10. Set the washing mashine to lower temperatures. Yes, your clothes will still be clean.

Transportation

11. Whenever possible, use more environmentally friendly ways of transportation.

12. Be a smooth driver. The gas consumption of fast acceleration and breaking is especially high. Pretend that you are driving with a full glass of water that you don’t want to spill. This will make you drive more smoothly automatically.

13. Walk, run, jump, swim, climb. Remember that your body is designed to get you from place to place. It will also keep you healthy.

Water

14. Don’t let water run when you don’t use it. For example while brushing your teeth or when you shampoo your hair. It will save a lot of water!

15. Run dishwasher and washing mashine only with full loads.

16. Use environmentaly friendly cleaning/household products. You find them in regular stores and they are not even much more expensive. They won’t pollute the water with toxins.

Others

17. Use real towles and washable fabrics instead of paper towles. Or at least use them sparingly. This will help save the rainforests.

18. Recycle and use recycled products.

19. Use your cellphone less. A new study has directly linked cellphones to the mass exstinction of bees. Bees are critical to our food production since they are responsible for pollinating plants.

20. Plant a tree. Trees clean our air and create oxygen. This is a great way to compansate for the pollution of our environment.

15 “Health Foods” That Are Really Junk Foods in Disguise

1. Processed “Low-Fat” and “Fat-Free” Foods

The “war” on saturated fat is the biggest mistake in the history of nutrition.

It was based on weak evidence, which has now been completely debunked (1).

When this started, processed food manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon and started removing the fat from foods.

But there’s a huge problem… food tastes horrible when the fat has been removed. That’s why they added a whole bunch of sugar to compensate.

Saturated fat is harmless, but added sugar is incredibly harmful when consumed in excess (2, 3).

The words “low-fat” or “fat-free” on a packaging usually mean that it is a highly processed product that is loaded with sugar.

2. Most Commercial Salad Dressings

Vegetables are incredibly healthy.

The problem is that they often don’t taste very good on their own.

That’s why many people use dressings to add flavour to their salads, turning these bland meals into delicious treats.

But many salad dressings are actually loaded with unhealthy ingredients like sugar, vegetable oils and trans fats, along with a bunch of artificial chemicals.

Although vegetables are good for you, eating them with a dressing high in harmful ingredients will totally negate any health benefit you get from the salad.

Make sure to check the ingredients list before you use a salad dressing… or make your own using healthy ingredients.

3. Fruit Juices… Which Are Basically Just Liquid Sugar

A lot of people believe fruit juices to be healthy.

They must be… because they come from fruit, right?

But a lot of the fruit juice you find in the supermarket isn’t really fruit juice.

Sometimes there isn’t even any actual fruit in there, just chemicals that taste like fruit. What you’re drinking is basically just fruit-flavored sugar water.

That being said, even if you’re drinking 100% quality fruit juice, it is still a bad idea.

Fruit juice is like fruit, except with all the good stuff (like the fiber) taken out… the main thing left of the actual fruit is the sugar.

If you didn’t know, fruit juice actually contains a similar amount of sugar as a sugar-sweetened beverage (4).

4. “Heart Healthy” Whole Wheat

Most “whole wheat” products aren’t really made from whole wheat.

The grains have been pulverized into very fine flour, making them raise blood sugar just as fast as their refined counterparts.

In fact, whole wheat bread can have a similar glycemic index as white bread (5).

But even true whole wheat may be a bad idea… because modern wheat is unhealthy compared to the wheat our grandparents ate.

Around the year 1960, scientists tampered with the genes in wheat to increase the yield. Modern wheat is less nutritious and has some properties that make it much worse for people who are intolerant to gluten (6, 7, 8).

There are also studies showing that modern wheat may cause inflammation and increased cholesterol levels, at least when compared to the older varieties (9, 10).

Whereas wheat may have been a relatively healthy grain back in the day, the stuff most people are eating today is best avoided.

5. Cholesterol Lowering Phytosterols

There are certain nutrients called phytosterols, which are basically like plant versions of cholesterol.

Some studies have shown that they can lower blood cholesterol in humans (11).

For this reason, they are often added to processed foods that are then marketed as “cholesterol lowering” and claimed to help prevent heart disease.

However, studies have shown that despite lowering cholesterol levels, phytosterols have adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and may even increase the risk of heart disease and death (12, 13, 14).

6. Margarine

Butter was demonized back in the day, due to the high saturated fat content.

Various health experts started promoting margarine instead.

Back in the day, margarine used to be high in trans fats. These days, it has less trans fats than before but is still loaded with refined vegetable oils.

Margarine is not food… it is an assembly of chemicals and refined oils that have been made to look and taste like food.

Not surprisingly, the Framingham Heart Study showed that people who replace butter with margarine are actually more likely to die from heart disease (15).

If you want to improve your health, eat real butter (preferably grass-fed) but avoid processed margarine and other fake foods like the plague.

Recommending trans fat laden margarine instead of natural butter may just be theworst nutrition advice in history.

7. Sports Drinks

Sports drinks were designed with athletes in mind.

These drinks contain electrolytes (salts) and sugar, which can be useful for athletes in many cases.

However… most regular people don’t need any additional salts, and they certainly have no need for liquid sugar.

Although often considered “less bad” than sugary soft drinks, there really is no fundamental difference except that the sugar content is sometimes slightly lower.

It is important to stay hydrated, especially around workouts, but most people will be better off sticking to plain water.

8. Low-Carb Junk Foods

Low carb diets have been incredibly popular for many decades now.

In the past 12 years, study after study has confirmed that these diets are an effective way to lose weight and improve health (16, 17).

However… food manufacturers have caught up on the trend and brought various low-carb “friendly” processed foods to the market.

This includes highly processed junk foods like the Atkins bars. If you take a look at the ingredients list, you see that there is NO real food in there, just chemicals and highly refined ingredients.

These products can be consumed occasionally without compromising the metabolic adaptation that comes with low-carb eating. But they don’t really nourish your body… even though they’re technically low-carb, they’re still unhealthy.

9. Agave Nectar

Given the known harmful effects of sugar, people have been looking for alternatives.

One of the more popular “natural” sweeteners is Agave nectar, also called agave syrup.

You will find this sweetener in all sorts of “health foods,” often with attractive claims on the packaging.

The problem with Agave is that it is no better than sugar. In fact, it is much, much worse…

One of the main problems with sugar is that it has excessive amounts of fructose, which can cause severe metabolic problems when consumed in excess (18).

Whereas sugar is about 50% fructose and High Fructose Corn Syrup about 55%, Agave contains even more… up to 70-90%.

Therefore, gram for gram, Agave is even worse than regular sugar.

See, “natural” doesn’t always equal healthy… and whether Agave should even be considered natural is debatable.

10. Vegan Junk Foods

Vegan diets are very popular these days, often due to ethical and environmental reasons.

However… many people promote vegan diets for the purpose of improving health (which is questionable).

There are many processed vegan foods on the market, often sold as convenient replacements for non-vegan foods.

Vegan bacon is one example.

But it’s important to keep in mind that these are usually highly processed, factory made products that are bad for just about anyone, including vegans.

11. Brown Rice Syrup

Brown rice syrup (also known as rice malt syrup) is a sweetener that is mistakenly assumed to be healthy.

This sweetener is made by exposing cooked rice to enzymes that break down the starch into simple sugars.

Brown rice syrup contains no refined fructose, just glucose.

The absence of refined fructose is good… but rice syrup has a glycemic index of 98, which means that the glucose in it will spike blood sugar extremely fast (19).

Rice syrup is also highly refined and contains almost no essential nutrients. In other words, it is “empty” calories.

Some concerns have been raised about arsenic contamination in this syrup, another reason to be extra careful with this sweetener (20).

There are other better sweeteners out there… including low-calorie sweeteners likestevia, erythritol and xylitol, which actually have some health benefits.

12. Processed Organic Foods

Unfortunately, the word “organic” has become just like any other marketing buzzword.

Food manufacturers have found all sorts of ways to make the same junk, except with ingredients that happen to be organic.

This includes ingredients like organic raw cane sugar, which is basically 100% identical to regular sugar. It’s still just glucose and fructose, with little to no nutrients.

In many cases, the difference between an ingredient and its organic counterpart is next to none.

Processed foods that happen to be labelled organic are not necessarily healthy.Always check the label to see what’s inside.

13. Vegetable Oils

We are often advised to eat seed- and vegetable oils.

This includes soybean oil, canola oil, grapeseed oiland numerous others.

This is based on the fact that these oils have been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels, at least in the short term (21).

However… it’s important to keep in mind that blood cholesterol is a risk factor, NOT a disease in itself.

Even though vegetable oils can improve a risk factor, there is no guarantee that they will help prevent actual hard end points like heart attacks or death, which is what really counts.

In fact, several controlled trials have shown that despite lowering cholesterol, these oils can increase the risk of death… from both heart disease and cancer (22, 23, 24).

So eat healthy, natural fats like butter, coconut oil and olive oil, but avoid processedvegetable oils as if your life depended on it (it does).

14. Gluten-Free Junk Foods

According to a 2013 survey, about a third of people in the U.S. are actively trying to avoid gluten.

A lot of experts think this is unnecessary… but the truth is that gluten, especially from modern wheat, can be problematic for a lot of people (25).

Not surprisingly, the food manufacturers have brought all sorts of gluten-free foods to the market.

The problem with these foods, is that they are usually just as bad as their gluten-containing counterparts, if not worse.

These are highly processed foods that are very low in nutrients and often made with refined starches that lead to very rapid spikes in blood sugar.

So… choose foods that are naturally gluten free, like plants and animals, NOT gluten free processed foods.

Gluten-free junk food is still junk food.

15. Most Processed Breakfast Cereals

The way some breakfast cereals are marketed is a disgrace.

Many of them, including those that are marketed towards children, have all sorts of health claims plastered on the box.

This includes misleading things like “whole grain” or “low fat.”

But… when you actually look at the ingredients list, you see that it’s almost nothing but refined grains, sugar and artificial chemicals.

The truth is, if the packaging of a food says that it is healthy, then it probably isn’t.

The truly healthy foods are those that don’t need any health claims… whole, single ingredient foods.

Real food doesn’t even need an ingredients list, because real food IS the ingredient.