The old adage "you are what you eat" still holds true – our diets and nutritional intake play a huge role in our overall health and wellbeing. In today‘s modern world of highly processed convenience foods, it can be all too easy to regularly consume unhealthy items that can negatively impact our bodies.
When striving to follow a healthy diet, there are certain foods that should be limited or avoided altogether. In this article, we will overview the top 10 foods to avoid for optimal health, as well as healthier alternatives to incorporate into your diet instead.
1. Processed Foods
Most pre-packaged snack foods, frozen meals, fast foods and bakery items would fall under the category of highly processed foods. The heavy processing strips away most of the vitamins, minerals and fiber, while adding in things like excess sodium, unhealthy fats, and refined sugars or unnatural additives.
Over-consumption of these types of nutrient-poor, calorie-dense foods can lead to weight gain, increased inflammation, higher risk for chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, and other negative health effects.
- Healthier alternatives: Focus your diet around whole, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and healthy fats instead. Limit processed foods to occasional treats.
2. Added Sugars
It‘s important to keep in mind that sugar comes in many forms – table sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, agave nectar, etc. They may sound healthier than just "sugar", but your body processes them all similarly.
Overdoing intake of added sugars can cause blood sugar and insulin spikes, feed bad gut bacteria, increase inflammation, suppress immune system function, and potentially even fuel cancer cell growth when consumed in excess.
- Healthier alternatives: Sweeten foods minimally with small amounts of natural sweeteners like raw honey or maple syrup, but try satisfying sweet cravings with fresh fruit instead which also provides beneficial nutrients and fiber.
3. Vegetable Oils
Vegetable oils like canola, corn, soybean, sunflower and safflower oils are extremely common ingredients used in many processed foods or served in restaurants. But the high heat and unnatural chemical processing techniques used to extract the oils damages the unstable polyunsaturated fats, creating free radicals and trans fats – both of which drive inflammation.
These oils are also very high in inflammatory omega-6 fats, and consuming too much can throw off your balance of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, which can also increase chronic disease risk.
- Healthier alternatives: For cooking or baking, use more natural fats like butter, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil or coconut oil instead. Get plenty of anti-inflammatory omega-3s from oily fish like salmon.
4. Artificial Sweeteners
From aspartame to sucralose to saccharin, artificial sweeteners are added to many products like diet sodas, sugar-free desserts, candies and more to provide sweetness without calories. But research is indicating they have metabolism-disrupting, gut microbiome-altering effects and could potentially lead to negative impacts on blood sugar regulation and appetite hormones.
There are also links between consumption of artificial sweeteners and increased risk for metabolic syndrome, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
- Healthier alternatives: Satisfy sweet cravings by eating fresh fruit or just use modest amounts of lower-calorie sweeteners occasionally like stevia, monk fruit or erythritol. But work on taming "sweet tooth" overall.
5. Alcohol
Especially when over-consumed, alcohol can have many detrimental effects – altering mood, mental function, hormone levels, sleep quality, gut health, immunity, increasing cancer risk and straining liver function. And obviously excessive alcohol intake poses dangers like addiction, accidents or aggression.
But even moderate regular drinking may increase disease risk, including breast cancer. So if avoiding alcohol completely doesn’t suit your lifestyle, be mindful of your intake and aim to balance it out by focusing on healthier choices overall.
- Healthier alternatives: Stay hydrated with filtered water or herbal teas. Enjoy social gatherings with interesting “mocktail” options utilizing fun garnishes and juices. Relax or reduce stress through other means like meditation, massage or enjoying time outdoors.
6. Gluten
For those with diagnosed celiac disease, completely avoiding gluten is medically crucial. But even for people who haven’t been diagnosed with celiac or intolerance, more and more experts argue that modern wheat and therefore gluten can cause issues because grain processing methods have drastically changed.
Much of the gluten found in today’s common wheat-based products has a different structure than the gluten in ancestral wheat, making it more difficult to digest and potentially inflammatory.
Cutting down on intake allows time to evaluate if you feel better reducing or eliminating gluten from your diet.
- Healthier alternatives: Try using alternate whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat or oats. Explore naturally gluten-free products using almond flour, coconut flour or cassava flour as the base instead. Focus on nutrient-dense vegetables, fruits, beans, lentils, etc.
7. Dairy
Like gluten, dairy is another common food sensitivity or allergen for many people. Even for those who have no diagnosed issues consuming dairy, there is still some controversy over whether humans were really designed to digest milk products from another species efficiently long-term or if issues like hormonal imbalances, acne, respiratory problems or autoimmune disorders could potentially be tied to dairy consumption.
Cutting out or limiting milk products allows time for your body to assess whether removing them long-term leads to feeling healthier overall. Many hidden added sugars often lurk in dairy products too.
- Healthier alternatives: Switch to unsweetened milk alternatives like almond milk, coconut milk or oat milk. Get calcium and Vitamin D from greens like kale, broccoli or collard greens instead or consider a supplement if needed. Continue eating fermented dairy like yogurt or kefir if tolerated.
8. Soy
Soy gets a bit confusing because it does contain beneficial nutrients – but the key is being choosey about your source. Much of the world’s soybean oil used in processed foods or the soy fed en masse to conventionally-raised livestock is GMO – derived from Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybeans engineered to withstand direct spraying with Roundup herbicide.
Potential issues with overconsumption of unfermented GMO soy products range from fertility problems, hormonal disruption, digestive issues, increased cancer risk and harm from glyphosate residues.
But fermented organic soy foods like tempeh, natto, tamari and organic tofu in moderation may not pose the same health risks. However, they are still a common allergen for some.
*Healthier alternatives: For milk alternatives, switch to nut, seed or coconut-based options instead. Get essential fatty acids from wild-caught fish, nuts/seeds, avocado. Choose grass-fed meats, eggs and dairy if including them. Eat beans/legumes like lentils, chickpeas, etc. for plant-based protein.
9. Corn
The vast majority of corn produced in the U.S. is genetically modified to either withstand spraying with glyphosate or to produce its own internal Bt toxin pesticide. So overconsumption of corn products means increased exposure to these components that have questionable long-term safety.
Beyond potential GMO-related effects, corn is also very high in omega-6 fatty acids that can promote inflammation when consumed in excess and imbalance omega-3 to omega-6 ratios. It also often contains mold toxins or mycotoxins that can enter the feed supply.
Lastly, corn is very high glycemic and spikes blood sugar rapidly, which can be problematic for those with metabolic issues.
*Healthier alternatives: Choose organic corn or ancient grains like amaranth, millet, teff or sorghum instead of corn-based products. Favor lower glycemic options like quinoa or steel-cut oats as grain choices.
10. Conventional Meat & Eggs
Industrially farmed meat, dairy and eggs can contain hormones, antibiotics and microbes that can negatively impact human health. Traces of pesticides and herbicides sprayed onto GMO-corn and soy-based animal feeds may also accumulate in the animal fat that humans then consume.
Choosing grass-fed, pasture-raised animal products when possible avoids these risks when including meat, eggs or dairy in your diet. The omega-3 levels are also naturally higher from the green grasses livestock or poultry eat in their more natural habitat.
- Healthier alternatives: Look for Demeter-certified Biodynamic, American Grassfed Association or Animal Welfare Approved labels on ruminant meats like beef and lamb that were more ethically and sustainably grazed. Choose free-range or pasture-raised eggs and chicken. Wild game or fish provide healthy fats too.
What we consume daily serves to either energize our bodies and provide essential nutrition, or degenerate health if we choose too many nutrient-poor processed foods or drinks regularly. Being mindful of ingredients and preparation methods makes a substantial difference.
Work on transitioning to a diet centered on whole foods – bountiful vegetables, fruits, beans/legumes, nuts/seeds, responsibly raised animal proteins if desired, and healthy oils. Limit intake of processed items or known inflammatory triggers like gluten, dairy and refined sugars based on your individual tolerances.
This supports maintaining a healthy weight more easily, increased energy levels, improved immunity, balanced hormones, optimal organ function and reduced risk for chronic disease. Developing healthier eating habits and properly nourishing your body pays dividends.