Foods to Avoid & Limit

       While there are plenty of healthy foods out there, there are also plenty of unhealthy foods, too. Here are just a few out of the many you should avoid and/or limit.

Avoid: Trans Fat & Preservatives
       Certain ingredients in some foods, like trans fat and sodium nitrite preservative, can lead to plaque buildup in the bloodstream, which can eventually lead to illnesses such as heart diseases, increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, and high blood pressure. Some of these ingredients have even been proven to cause cancer later in a person's life. Preservatives and trans fats are not needed in your diet and only do harm to the body. They should be avoided at all costs.

       As you learned, trans fat is an unsaturated fatty acid that is synthetically saturated. The body recognizes trans fat as an unsaturated fat. When it tries to incorporate it in bodily functions, the saturated-like nature of trans fat interferes with the process. This can cause serious health problems, such as liver failure, infertility, and Alzheimer's Disease.
       Trans fat can also raise a persons' LDL cholesterol and lower their HDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is bad because it builds up plaque in the arteries, so high levels of this is bad. HDL cholesterol on the other hand is good because it cleans up plaque from the arteries, so high levels of this is good whereas low levels of this are bad. With a high LDL level and low HDL level the arteries are at a high chance of becoming clogged and causing heart disease. Some foods that contain trans fats are fried foods, pizza dough, pastries, and crackers. Some foods that contain sodium nitrite are bacon, salami, ham, and hot dogs.

Avoid: Carcinogens

       Carcinogens greatly increase the risk of cancer. It doesn't matter if you've only eaten carcinogens as a child — they will definitely come back to get you in your senior years. While eating some carcinogens in your lifetime is unavoidable (even plain sugar is carcinogenic), it is important to limit your carcinogen intake and avoid the highly-carcinogenic foods. Highly-carcinogenic foods include burnt or charred food, trans fat, artificial flavors and additives, and excessive alcohol.

Limit: Omega-3s & Omega-6s

       Okay, omega fatty acids shouldn't necessarily be limited in your diet, but rather balanced. While omega fatty acids are an essential part of a healthy diet, they should be limited — that is, in relation to each other. Balancing your omega-3 and omega-6 intake is important to stay healthy, as these two fatty acids have opposite effects on the body. Omega-6s generally increases inflammation, blod clotting, and cell multiplication processes; omega-3s tend to do the opposite. An imbalance of dietary omega fatty acids can lead to heart disease, asthma, depression, dyslexia, and cancer. You've already learned the sources of omega fatty acids in the Macronutrients section of this blog. Since omega-6s are commonly found in extracted oils, it is important to watch your intake of processed foods to stay in balance.

Sources:

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#letter_S

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/FatsAndOils/Fats101/Trans-Fats_UCM_301120_Article.jsp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat#Health_risks

http://www.health.am/cholesterol/more/what_are_ldl_and_hdl_cholesterol/ 

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=384385&rel_no=1
http://www.quenchvending.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trans-fat.jpg
http://www.suburbanhomesteading.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/sodium-nitrite.jpg