21 February, 2014
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13 February, 2014
33 Most Unhealthy Foods You Should Avoid\Health
33 Most Unhealthy Foods You Should Avoid\Health
With so much talk of healthy foods and what you should be eating, the foods that are the worst for us can get overlooked. The reason it’s so hard to avoid these kinds of food is because the things that make them bad also make them taste good. Fatty foods typically taste good, so do sweet and salty ones, which means a lot of the foods you love are likely not the best things you can have.
But you don’t have to resort to living like Tom Hanks in Castaway, there are plenty of foods that you can turn to that taste amazing and won’t jeopardize your well-being. It’s about learning why certain foods are bad, so you can make better choices on a day-to-day basis. That being said, here are some dietary landmines to watch out for, and step around.
Trans Fat
This is the most notorious of the unhealthy ingredients they put in foods, and has even led for a ban on them in New York City. Avoiding it is tricky, no thanks in part to the FDA that allows food manufacturers to say there’s no trans fat in foods, even when there is. Since 2 grams is the most you should have in a day, allowing foods with 0.5 gram or less to call themselves trans fat free is a real problem. You’re best off avoiding trans fat-containing foods completely.
Fast Food
We all know we shouldn’t eat fast food because it’s bad for us, but part of the reason is because of all the trans fats and other additives they use to make the food taste good. The problem is not just that there is trans fat in the foods, but that the portion sizes quickly multiply those contents and before long you have a week’s worth of trans fat in one meal. A large french fry from McDonald’s supplies 4 day’s worth of trans fat by itself.
Packaged Cookies
Even the beloved Girl Scout Cookies still sneak some trans fat in, despite a label that says “trans fat free”. You may be able to justify those because they only happen a few times per year, but check to see if your favorite store bought cookies are made with partially hydrogenated cooking oils, chances are they are including Chips Ahoy and Keebler, although some brands like Oreos now use “high oleic” oils instead so they can provide shelf-stable cookies at a reasonable cost.
Cake Frosting
The cake itself might not have trans fat, but chances are if the frosting isn’t made from scratch it will likely have trans fat in it. Duncan Hines Creamy Homestyle Chocolate frosting doesn’t have much “homestyle” about it. Chances are you wouldn’t be using partially hydrogenated oils in your homemade frosting. One serving provides nearly a full day’s worth of trans fat, so you’d better be extra careful about all of the other food you eat that day.
Pancakes
If you get your pancakes out of a box, you might not even suspect they might contain trans fat because it starts off in powder form. Bisquick for example has nearly 5g of trans fat in each cup. Makes you think twice about using pre-made mixes and just take the extra minute or so to come up with your own batch so you know everything that’s in it.
Microwave Popcorn
Most of the popular brands of microwave popcorn have trans fat of some sort in them. One of the biggest offenders is Pop Secret, which supplies 5 grams of trans fat per serving. Sounds like a lot since it more than doubles your daily allowance. The big thing to remember is that few of us stop at one serving of popcorn as we snuggle up to watch a movie at home.
Frozen Meals
Most people buy frozen dinners for a quick and easy meal, or to help lose weight. But many of them are laden with hydrogenated oils which in turn means they contain trans fat in some amount. In order to avoid these types of meals simply check the label for both hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. Since you’ll most likely be microwaving these meals, you’re also adding to their unhealthiness, further destroying any nutrients they might contain, and processing the ingredients even further.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
This is an ingredient that didn’t exist before 1960, but has a strong appeal to food manufacturers because it’s so very sweet, cheap to make, and easy to store. According to David Zinczenko in The Abs Diet, the human body doesn’t have a shut-off switch for HFCS the way it does with real sugar. This leads us to keep drinking a cola or eating sweet treats long after we would have stopped if they were naturally sweetened.
Colas and Sodas
These are the number one offender because they’re so ubiquitous. 7UP once tried to claim that their soda was made with all-natural ingredients, saying that because it comes from corn HFCS is all-natural. They no longer phrase it this way, and other colas blatantly have it listed as the most abundant sweetener. In ordinary Coca-Cola it’s the only sweetener used.
Yogurt
Although many dieters add yogurt to their daily menu, they’d better watch out at the sweeteners it contains, with many of the brands using High Fructose Corn Syrup to make them taste good. Going with a light version of yogurt no doubt means you’re getting an artificial sweetener, which can be just as bad.
Ketchup
Most ketchup ends up on french fries, and few stop to consider that it’s actually acting to make the fries more unhealthy. That’s because it uses High Fructose Corn Syrup as it’s #3 ingredient – at least a bottle of America’s #1 Bestselling ketchup: Heinz. There’s 4g of sugar total, and the majority of that will come from HFCS.
Cereals
Many people turn to cereals as a healthy start to their day, or as a nutritious breakfast for their children. Kelloggs is a big offender with several popular brands containing HFCS including Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Smorz, Rice Krispies, and Special K. Kelloggs is not the only ones in on the act, with General Mills adding it to Trix, and Post adding it to Oreo O’s.
MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
You’ll have to familiarize yourself with the other names that MSG can hide behind, including glutamic acid, monopotassium glutamate, natrium glutamate, monoammonium glutamate, yeast extract, gelatin, calcium glutamate, magnesium glutamate, soy protein, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, autolyzed yeast, and Textured protein, just to name a few. The most dastardly way to disguise it: “natural flavors”.
Ranch Dressing
Fried Foods
Set aside the high amounts of trans fat, saturated fat, calories, and cholesterol that comes with frying foods, since that’s been covered many times before and most of us already know about those dangers. Another reason to avoid eating fried foods is that most of them will contain MSG. One of the easiest ways to get fried food with MSG in it is to stop into KFC and order anything fried from their menu. They’re not the only culprit, not by a long shot. MSG is prevalent in so many packaged foods that it’s almost a given that if it comes from a major food supplier, is fried and comes in a package, it will contain some amount of MSG.
Packaged Chips
The more flavoring a chip has, the more MSG and other artificial ingredients you can expect it to have. It’s hard to come up with exact numbers of how much MSG they contain, because it’s not required to list it on the Nutrition Facts. You can get an idea of how prevalent it is by how far down the ingredients list it is. The further down, the less it has, but just remember that they’ll sneak it in using different names, so while Monosodium Glutamate might be near the bottom, a different substance may be closer to the top.
Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners have been under the spotlight for decades now as health food advocates point out that they can come with a list of side effects, much like a drug. The side effects that are claimed by those against sweeteners like aspartame include some really severe conditions, such as depression, insomnia, blindness, tinnitus, hives, and a contributing factor to things like Alzheimer’s and MS. Whether they’re wrong or right it seems best to sidestep the problem altogether.
Light Foods and Beverages
If you’re calorie conscious you might be attracted to foods that are advertised as Lite or Light, since they’ll have fewer calories than their regular counterparts. But what you’re trading the calories for is typically artificial sweeteners that might be calorie-free but have their own side effects and health hazards.
Diet Colas and Sodas
Diet sodas don’t contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, but in its place are sweeteners like aspartame. The debate rages on whether aspartame is as bad as the claims being made, but why get involved with it? It’s definitely not good for you, and if you’re drinking diet drinks you’re concerned about your health and well-being. It’s best to replace them with all-natural beverages that are low in calories, but still have some flavor, like green tea.
Packaged Diet Snacks
Many of these snack packs come in 100 calorie sizes, which appeals to many dieters. But in order to get them to taste good and not add too much to the bottom line they include different unnamed artificial sweeteners in them. Whether or not these are bad for you is under question, but they’re certainly not good for you, and it’s a little unnerving when they won’t tell you exactly what’s in the food.
Sodium
High levels of sodium, or salt, can really wreak havoc on your body. Not only does it cause you to retain water, but it also increases blood pressure and can lead to complications with the heart. Almost all heart patients are put on a low-sodium diet, whether they suffered a heart attack, stroke, or are at risk for them. It makes sense to watch your sodium levels long before it reaches the point of a doctor telling you to do so, or forcing you onto a diet to help save your life.
Cheese
Cheese also has copious amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol, which is why you want to go easy on it as far as your daily diet goes. But there is another factor of cheese to consider, and that is the amount of sodium it contains. Be sure to stay away from Cheez Whiz, as that has almost a quarter of the RDA of sodium in one serving. And even cheeses that are often considered healthy pack a sodium punch. For example feta cheese has about half the daily limit of sodium in a 100 gram serving.
Salty Snacks
The problem with salty snacks is that the salt makes you keep eating them. Once you have the salty flavor on your taste buds you automatically reach for another chip. And the sodium is only one concern, as these snacks are usually cooked in partially hydrogenated oils giving them trans fats, and use artificial seasonings and flavorings.
Lunch Meats
Because of the processing they go through most lunch meats are packed with extra sodium as well as nitrates. There are plenty of reasons to take a pass on lunch meats, or at least to read the labels before you buy in order to make sure that you are getting meat that isn’t loaded with fillers and additives. Some other top concerns are the bacteria listeria which can pose a problem for pregnant women, sodium nitrate which could potentially be cancer-causing, and added oils and sweeteners which add to the fat and carb count.
Pizza
One slice of delivered pizza can contain a full day’s worth of sodium depending on the toppings and type of crust you order. It’s mostly because of the high cheese content, but also because there’s salt and MSG in the dough, and if you’re getting toppings like pepperoni, sausage, ham, and any other cured and processed meats, you’re going to be doubling down on your sodium intake.
Cholesterol
The feds say that 300mg of cholesterol a day should be your limit. The foods below will get you to that limit pretty quickly, especially if you eat more than the recommended serving size, which is pretty easy to do in most cases. Not all cholesterol is bad for you, so be sure that you’re differentiating between the good kinds and the bad kinds, and not cutting out all foods that contain any cholesterol. These foods will increase your levels of LDL cholesterol, aka the bad kind, and are best avoided or consumed in limited quantities.
Ice Cream
Anything that tastes as good as ice cream does can’t be good for you, and as it turns out one of the reasons to avoid it is the high levels of cholesterol it contains. While one serving might not get you there, many of us don’t stop at one serving, and it’s very to overeat when it comes to ice cream, especially if we’re eating it due to emotional reasons.
Eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Dublin Mudslide because you’re feeling blue, and you’ll stack up 240mg of cholesterol, nearly a full day’s worth. If Haagen Daaz is your choice you and you decide to go healthy with their “5” line-up that uses just five ingredients, you’re still looking at nearly 235mg if the taste moves you to finish the pint.
Pork Products
If you’re like Homer Simpson and have a close relationship with bacon and pork chops, you might want to think about breaking things off. The amount of cholesterol in many pork items makes them something to avoid, although each cut is not created equally. Ribs have a higher cholesterol count than a pork chop, and one good sized strip of bacon can have 13mg of cholesterol, not to mention plenty of saturated fat and calories. If you’re truly in love with the stuff, consider cutting back or sticking with leaner varieties.
Doughnuts
OK, so we all know that donuts won’t show up on any lists of the healthiest foods, but what ends them up on this list is a combination of fat, sugar, and cholesterol, as well as MSG and trans fat in some cases. The cholesterol levels are also pretty high, and are concern enough to avoid eating doughnuts as a regular breakfast item, reserving them to perhaps a monthly treat.
Saturated Fat
Saturated fat is the type of fat that you want to watch out for, as it’s the kind that clogs your arteries and can lead to heart disease, the number one killer of both men and women in America. The recommended daily allowance for saturated fat is 20g, so you don’t have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to the biggest offenders on this list. And this 20g is a cap, it is not something you need to strive to reach each day, but a way to make sure that you keep things under control and don’t overdo it.
Whipped Cream
Many times they’ll ask if you want whipped cream on your hot chocolate or coffee drink. Other instances where whipped cream pops up is on top of pies, or on an ice cream sundae. You might think you’re doing better by opting for Cool Whip at 1.5g of saturated fat per serving, but the trans fat and High Fructose Corn Syrup make it a worse choice. Reddi Wip makes the case that it’s a good choice because it’s made with cream and not oil, and comes in at 1g of saturated fat per dollop.
Fatty Meats
If you don’t opt for a lean cut of meat you’re likely to end up with plenty of saturated fat. When it comes to saturated fat, it doesn’t matter if it comes from natural sources, like a well-marbled piece of beef, or if it’s the kind you get from pre-packaged desserts or snacks. Meats like sausage are big culprits when it comes to saturated fat, with a serving of bratwurst at the big game putting you at over half the daily allowance, over 12 grams of saturated fat.
Milkshakes
Milkshakes are harder to control because they’re in liquid form so you don’t even have to chew. In a few minutes you can suck down half a day’s worth of saturated fat and not even realize it since it tastes so yummy. McDonald’s strawberry milkshake has 8g of saturated fat in a large sized serving, a whopping 40% chunk of the 20g you’re allotted per day.
Specialty Burgers, Whoppers & Big Macs
Unfortunately getting a fancy burger at a restaurant is just as bad for you as the fast food baddies. For example, the Jalapeno Smokehouse Burger w/ Ranch, a Chili’s Big Mouth Burger contains 34g of saturated fat. The Big Mac from McDonald’s clocks in at 10g, and you can nearly double that with their Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese at 19g. Burger King’s Whopper by comparison has the same 10g.
Calories
Foods high in calories can really add to your waistline in a hurry if you’re not careful. The reason they’re so sneaky is because you can consume hundreds of calories quickly and not even be aware of it. A popular dieting theory is that the fewer calories taken in the more weight you’ll lose, all else being equal. That’s why you see people going on low-calorie diets and trying to burn calories in the gym. You don’t have to go to extremes, but minding the calories you consume will lead to a healthier you.
Pasta Dishes
A plain bowl of pasta won’t ruin your day, calorically speaking, but pasta often serves as the foundation for more calorie-laden dishes. A nice slab of Lasagna Classico from Olive Garden for example can tip the charts at 850 calories, more than half of the calories allotted to some dieters. That doesn’t leave much for the rest of the day. Also consider a small serving of Spaghetti with Meatballs from Buca di Beppo that tips the tables at 916 calories.
Dressings
Dressings have claimed their fair share of salads to the dark side. After creating the perfect salad at a salad bar, one that’s low in calories and contains many healthy foods, you can ruin all your hard work by drizzling it with salad dressing. This amps up the calorie count, as well as the fat count, carb count, and cholesterol numbers. French dressing smashes things up with 88 calories in each tablespoon, and Ranch crashes the party with 140, and if you go with the Blue Cheese dressing from Carl’s Jr. you should just stay home because it’s 320 calories per serving with almost all of them coming from fat.
Chocolate
Dark chocolate is making a surge as a health food, but milk chocolate still rules the market and is the most easy to come by. The only problem is that it’s not as healthy for you as dark, and it’s easy to ramp up the calories if you have a chocolate binging episode. There are 3.4 calories in each M&M, 73 in each piece of Godiva chocolate, and 23 in each Hug version of Hershey’s Kisses.
Carbohydrates
It’s not as if you have to go low-carb or no-carb but you should still keep an eye on your carbohydrate intake. In fact there’s even a recommended daily allowance set at 130g. Why are too many carbs unhealthy? Foods high in carbohydrates will be digested quickly and tend to increase your blood sugar levels. This causes a release of insulin, which produces glycogen which gets stored in the body as fat. They’re also responsible for making you feel hungry again quickly, and can lead to more eating and overeating than would otherwise happen.
Bagels
For a long time bagels were thought of as a healthy way to start the day, until the no-carb fad came along. Now they are gaining popularity again, but is it justified? A plain bagel from Einstein Bros. Bagels contains 59g of carbohydrates, and uses up 45% of your daily allowance. Chances are when you’re having a bagel, you’re not leaving it plain and are topping it off with cream cheese, butter, jelly, or making a breakfast sandwich with it, which only makes it less healthy for you.
Coffee Drinks
A cup of regular Joe won’t damage your carb levels for the day, but when you get all fancy you’re ultimately created a carb-infused cocktail. A medium cappuccino from McCafe at McDonald’s will cost you 12g of carbs, and a medium sized latte, even with sugar-free syrup, still puts you at 44g of carbohydrates, almost insuring you’re going to go over your daily budget.
Movie Popcorn
No list of unhealthy foods would be complete without movie popcorn on it. This can fit under many categories, including too many calories, too much saturated fat, too much MSG, trans fat from hydrogenated oil, and that doesn’t even count the “butter” topping. But aside from all of that it has plenty of carbs. A large sized bucket has about 90g of carbs in it, with that number varying by location.
36 Super Foods That Burn Fat & Help You Lose Weight\Health
36 Super Foods That Burn Fat & Help You Lose Weight\Health
If you view food as the enemy, here are 36 items that might make you change your mind and have them work for you instead of against you. While they may be pretty super, you shouldn’t put all of your attention on any one of them. Start by introducing a few more foods that burn fat into your diet each week until you find that you’re eating much more of them than you used to.
Tomatoes
Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? Who cares? All you need to know is that it’s got a ton of good things for your body for the long term, and in the short term it works to help you lose weight and help keep it off. They’re low on the calorie meter, but they help to give you that full feeling, and contain fiber that keeps things moving.
Like any bona fide superfood tomatoes bring more to the table than just weight loss. The lycopene brings antioxidants that studies are showing to be potentially helpful with a myriad of diseases and conditions. Be sure to add tomatoes to your cart next time.
Oranges
Healthy Vitamin C levels will help to keep you functioning at optimal levels, but if you’re looking to burn fat you might be concerned about the sugar in oranges. There’s no getting around it, oranges do contain sugar, which has the potential to turn to fat if it’s not burned up. But the calorie count is low, and the fiber actually helps to regulate your blood glucose levels.
In order for this to work out for you as a weight loss aid, eat it in moderation and to curb your sweet tooth when you’d otherwise be reaching for a candy bar or other sweet treat.
Oats
Although Paleo Diet followers would disagree, many others state that oats work as part of a weight loss strategy because the amount of fiber boosts your metabolism and helps you feel fuller longer. Everyone from The Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper to the American Heart Association says to make a bowl of oatmeal for the best start to your day.
The antioxidants and other minerals oats contain make it a solid choice and not just a source of fiber. Cutting your cholesterol might also be on your list and this is a great way to get those levels down.
Spices
There’s no need to eat bland and boring food when you’re trying to lose weight. This is a great time to experiment with seasonings from different cultures. Many of them have thermogenic properties that boost your metabolism, while making some so-so dishes taste like they’re from a restaurant.
Some examples: Mustard seed will spice up your entree and get your metabolism going, and ginger can help with your digestion. Ginseng can boost up your energy, and black pepper can help burn calories. Like Indian food? Turmeric can help break up fat.
Sweet Potatoes
Oprah likes sweet potatoes, and credits them as part of the reason she lost weight one time. But can you really slim down by swapping a baked potato with its sweet cousin? Turns out sweet potatoes are great for dieting because they have fewer calories and also help you stay satisfied between meals.
If you’re addicted to spuds this can be one way to take out a food that usually gets the no-no when dieting and replace it with a superfoods such as this that has good things for you like fiber, Vitamin C, potassium, and Vitamin B6.
Apples
It’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that you are helping yourself to lose weight when you eat an apple. They are so sweet that they can help conquer sweet cravings, and it’s easy to see why they end up in a lot of desserts. But they are low in all of the things that you want them to be like calories, fat, and sodium. They have a good amount of fiber.
The fiber helps you feel full, and keeps you from going mad in between meals. It also helps keep things moving along digestively. Just be sure to chew your apple up real well before swallowing, and buy organic so you can leave the peel on.
Nuts
This is one food that almost every single diet plan in existence suggests you eat. Nuts are one food that unites the vegetarians and the Paleo followers, and we have yet to find a diet program that says not to eat them. They’re straight from the Earth and a small handful of raw organic almonds, walnuts or pecans can be a crunchy snack that leaves you feeling good for a few hours or more.
If you don’t like eating nuts for a snack, try chopping them up and sprinkling them on main dishes or side items. You’ll still get the good fats they bring and they help flavor up the meal.
Quinoa
This is been known for some time in the vegetarian realm but is now making the rounds to the mainstream. The weight loss benefits usually come in the form of switching out sides with quinoa instead of more calorie-dense foods like rice or potatoes. You’ll still get the benefit of rounding out the meal, with the added bonus of the vitamins that quinoa has.
If you haven’t tried it yet, what are you waiting for? It helps you feel full, doesn’t have a lot of calories, and ranks low on the Glycemic Index. Score!
Beans
Beans are a staple item in The Four Hour Body’s Slow Carb Diet. They are lauded for their ability to help regulate blood sugar levels and help with digestion due to their fiber content. Try adding a can of organic black beans as a side to your next meal, especially if it can replace a more carb-laden item like bread or rice.
Many restaurants keep black beans on hand as a substitute for a side, so they’re a great go-to item when you’re out with friends and want to eat well without looking like you’re on a diet.
Egg Whites
The egg debate rages on with so many gurus saying the yolks are OK, and so many others saying for weight loss you should stick to egg whites. Why all the fuss? Eggs are a good source of protein, and the main argument is on whether the fat and cholesterol in the yolks is worth eating.
Play it safe and get the benefit of the protein without worrying about the yolks. When your weight is where you want it you can start adding them back into the equation.
Grapefruit
No need to go on some whacky grapefruit diet to get the benefits of it, but for most people this is going to require a new purchase at the store. Grapefruit doesn’t tend to make it onto most people’s shopping lists, but it should. In regards to weight loss the long standing myth that they help you lose weight is being proven left and right by clinical studies.
And you don’t have to buy the fruit, you can also simply buy grapefruit juice and start drinking that instead. Tim Ferriss of The Four Hour Body says he uses grapefruit juice on his “free days” in an effort to avoid the food he’s eating from causing weight gain.
Chicken Breast
While not an option if you’re going vegetarian or vegan, this is often used by dieters and bodybuilders alike because of its high protein value and low amount of fat. Dark pieces of chicken just don’t measure up when it comes to quality protein. Most Americans have no trouble adding chicken to the diet, since it’s one of the most popular meats in the country.
Just remember that it should be skinless. Try using different spices like the ones mentioned above to make it more interesting. Combined with strength training this can help tone your muscles leading to a higher metabolism
Bananas
Perhaps it’s because it takes us back to our simian ancestry that makes eating a banana seem natural. The more studies they do on the effects of bananas in humans, the more attention they get as a definite way to help keep us at our ideal weights. They’re super easy to incorporate into the day, since they’re so versatile.
Cut some up and add it to oatmeal, keep a bunch around as a quick grab when you need something sweet or on-the-go. Just stick to one a day since they are a source of sugar as well.
Pears
Pears often get overlooked as the long lost cousin to apples, but they bring their own unique flavor and host of benefits, including weight loss properties. They help you feel full when you eat them, and they’ve got a different consistency to apples and other fruits, making their fiber even more effective.
They’re also used in plenty of recipes that yield delicious results. If you didn’t use pears in your cooking before, or as a fruit to just have around, now’s the time to start.
Pine Nuts
These contain a phytonutrient that actually helps suppress your appetite. This means you don’t have to resort to expensive diet pills with nasty chemicals that are meant to do the same thing. All you have to do is keep a supply of pine nuts available.
Since they’re tiny and crunchy you get to eat a lot of them without having to worry about ruining your efforts. It let’s the body have it binge time while still helping you lose weight by keeping you away from more offensive foods.
Mushrooms
Opting for mushrooms instead of pepperoni or sausage on your next pizza may do little to help drop the pounds, but increasing your intake of mushrooms along with other healthy foods should yield better results due to their low calories and high vitamin content.
Be sure to branch out when it comes to mushrooms, trying the ones that may look a little strange instead of always opting for the button mushroom used everywhere. They all have their own unique characteristics, but all share the common bond of helping you to lose weight
Lentils
Lentils are gaining more popularity has a healthy food, and one that can help you lose the weight. The fiber they contain will help keep you feeling good between meals, and will help your blood sugar levels from spiking.
If you’re going vegetarian you can use lentil as a good protein source, or you can use them to compliment a protein and act as a side dish. It helps keep your cholesterol in check and help you process carbs more effectively.
Hot Peppers
If you like your food hot, there may be some good news for you. Hot peppers like habaneros, jalapenos, and chipotles can actually help you to lose weight, while also adding a kick to most any dish. They contain capsaicin which provides several benefits that relate to losing weight.
And if you were worried that eating these hot peppers would make you burn a hole in your stomach, recent research is showing that they may actually help to prevent stomach problems like ulcers by killing the bacteria responsible. Fire away!
Broccoli
We’d be remiss if we didn’t include broccoli on this list, even though you’re probably sick of everyone telling you about it. Turns out your mom and your grandma were right, these are really good for you, but aside from that they can also help you shed some fat.
How? Broccoli fills you up, but it’s not just a filler. It has tons of nutrients per pound, and it’s also packed with fiber so it keeps you regular, which keeps you feeling good. Spice it up with spices or peppers, but just skip the broccoli cheese soup, as that doesn’t work for weight loss.
Organic Lean Meats
Lean meats are full of protein without all of the fat, but you want to make sure that you opt for organic if you’re trying to lose weight. With conventional meets they’re pumping the cows, pigs, and other animals full of so many antibiotics and growth hormones which ends up in the meat you’re eating. This can thwart your weight loss efforts.
Organic meats aren’t going to contain more nutrients in them than ordinary meats, but it’s what they don’t have in them that makes the difference. If you can’t find organic, go with grass fed or all-natural.
Cantaloupe
Some say that you burn more calories eating cantaloupe than what it contains. Whether or not that’s the case is up for debate, but this is still a great food to add to your repertoire for weight loss. It’s sweet, but it’s not high in calories the way most sweet things are. It also has fiber in it, even though it doesn’t taste like it does.
It goes great in a fruit salad with other diet-assisting fruits like honeydew, strawberries, or simply by itself as a quick snack or sweet pick-me-up. Added bonus: it helps to make your skin look great.
Spinach
Spinach is often a vegetable left on the plate of children, but adults are coming around to it since it really does contain a lot of good things in it for losing weight and general well-being. You can eat it in several different ways, fresh as a salad, in a can, and it also comes frozen. It works for weight loss by adding bulk to your stomach without tacking on the calories.
This is a good vegetable to buy organic if you can, since conventional spinach picks up a lot of chemicals from the fields.
Green Tea
Perhaps you knew that green tea is packed with antioxidants, but did you also know that it can help you shed the fat? It’s the catechins! These are a part of green tea that get your body to switch over to burning more calories, as well as fat.
Unfortunately for the other teas, green tea comes out the winner on many fronts because it’s not as processed as the others, and therefore retains much of its goodness, like antioxidants and phytonutrients that make it a superstar among superfoods.
Cinnamon
Don’t underestimate the power of cinnamon, it’s not just for baking anymore. You can get weight loss benefits simply by adding more cinnamon to your diet, with teaspoon a day showing positive results. What causes the magic? It’s the way that cinnamon helps to regulate your blood glucose levels. These play a major part in how you feel throughout the day, how energetic you are, or how sluggish you can get.
Maintaining good blood sugar levels also helps you resist cravings. Just make sure that you’re not counting that cinnamon on your cinnamon roll!
Asparagus
Asparagus has plenty of positive effects in the body, and each of them seems to play a particular role in helping you lose weight. The first is that it assists your body in expelling toxins and other wastes. It also helps with digestion and keeps good bacteria in your gut. Not to mention that it’s a superfood, so it has a ton of vitamins and minerals that help you all-around.
A lot of dieters also like the way asparagus tastes, and it’s very easy to prepare, and accepts seasonings and spices very well making it an good addition to your regular menu.
Avocado
Even though the fast food chains have jumped on this trend and are sticking guacamole in everything, eating avocados is a great idea for slimming down. For years they were avoided by dieters because of their fat content, when everything that had fat in it was labeled as evil. Then we got smart and realized that not all fat is created equally and good fats actually help you lose the fat you have.
Try adding avocado slices to sandwiches, or mash them up to make your own guac. Try to avoid the guacamole you see in restaurants because you won’t have quality control over the ingredients.
Peanut Butter
This gets special mention for weight loss because it’s a good fat that can be used to help lose fat. It tastes great and can satisfy cravings and even keep them from coming at all. In The Abs Diet peanut butter is recommended for use in smoothies and is labeled a superfood.
Almond butter is also a good fat to have that can provide a lot of creamy goodness, but it’s generally more expensive than peanut butter. In any instance opt for the organic varieties so you’re only getting peanuts and potentially sea salt.
Salmon
Salmon contains omega-3 and some diets are built around it. At first glance you might think it’s too fatty to be a weight loss super food, but it doesn’t rank high in saturated fat, the kind that you find in a fast food hamburger, and the omega-3 content trumps any other concerns.
This is something that you want to try adding to your diet to see how your body responds to it. If you are getting good results from it you can consider having it more times per week. Luckily there are plenty of good salmon recipes that will keep the fat content low but make it taste great.
Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
The enzymes in apple cider vinegar help the digestive system and have been shown to promote gradual weight loss. The recommended way to take it is adding it to distilled water and drinking it before a meal. It will help your food get digested properly so your body can use the nutrients the food contains.
It also works to suppress your appetite, so if you find that you become ravenous between meals and are looking for a way to calm your urges until the next meal time, this may be a solution for you.
Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt has been getting attention as a healthier form of yogurt. This is because it packs a bigger protein punch, with less sugar than ordinary yogurt. But you don’t have to give up regular yogurt altogether, and there are other foods that Greek yogurt can fill in for.
For example you can use it as a reasonable substitute for sour cream and shave off plenty of calories and fat grams. You can also use it in your baking to replace other fats and oils, but this might take some trial and error.
Olive Oil
The reason olive oil helps you to lose weight is because it can take the place of other things like salad dressing and other oils that are considered bad fats. Even you change nothing else in your diet or lifestyle and just start using olive oil you should still benefit by losing weight. But most people find that if they start to embrace more of a Mediterranean diet the results are accentuated.
Almost any diet that replaced the Standard American Diet is going to be better for you and cause the pounds to drop, and using more olive oil in your life can bring many positive benefits.
Blueberries
The wonderful thing about blueberries and weight loss is that it’s not just general weight that you lose, but specifically the fat. They might be responsible for helping the body break down fats and sugars, plus they taste amazing and can flavor up otherwise tame meals. They also play well with other fruits in a fruit salad. Just be sure to eat them without adding sugar to them.
We singled out blueberries for their fat busting properties, but many other berries can help on your weight loss quest, so broaden your horizons and have a berry nice day.
Turkey Breast
Turkey breast is a great food to keep on hand because it’s so convenient to eat in moments of weakness, and because it provides a lean protein source. Those on a no-carb or low-carb diet will be going through plenty of turkey breast and other meats, and those that are on a diet where you balance carbs with proteins will also find it useful.
The protein it contains can also help if you’re strength training or trying to build muscle in an attempt to rev up your metabolism. This works by increasing the number of calories your body burns 24 hours a day.
Flax Seeds
You can sprinkle flax seeds on most anything, and it would be a better option than many of those sprinkle diet programs that keep popping up. This is because it contains things that help your body, like omega-3s, and it contains fiber, which will help you feel full.
It’s the essential fatty acids that also work to give your metabolism a boost. As a side bonus it also lowers the levels of bad cholesterol in your body, and made it onto our list of superfoods for its many healthy benefits and ease of use.
Keep It Fresh!
It’s best to use fresh ingredients whenever possible, especially with the super foods listed here. They lose a lot of their antioxidant value and weight loss power the more they’re processed. Keep things as close to nature as possible.
In addition to keeping them in their natural state, opt for organic whenever you can. The lack of pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified ingredients will allow their Super nature to shine through and won’t serve as a counterbalance to their inherent goodness.
Soup It Up!
Turning appropriate super foods into a soup is a great way to reap their benefits and make them more edible. Soup is a great weight loss tool, as it helps with digestion, and you can combine many foods together at the same time for some real vitamin-packed weight loss meals.
You can use soup as a starter for a larger meal, or you can make a meal out of it when it’s too late in the day to have a big meal resting on your stomach. It’s easier to digest since most ingredients are bite-sized or smaller and have been cooked until mushy.
It’s no surprise: the foods that you suspected all along are healthy and good for you and make a stark comparison to all of the heavily processed, prepackaged foods that are sold by supermarkets, fast food joints, and restaurant chains across the country. Fill your cart with these the next time you go shopping and start infusing your body with foods that will make it slim and trim!
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