diet | David M Masters

Let’s take a look at the top commercial foods that should be avoided to support a healthy lifestyle. From sugary snacks to highly processed meals, we’ll shed light on the hidden dangers lurking in everyday supermarket foods that could hinder your health goals.

Your first clue is to avoid brightly colored packaged and processed foods.

Foods to Avoid

Numerous commercial foods are detrimental to health and should be avoided. Here are some of the worst offenders:

1. Processed Meats – Loaded with sodium, fat, and preservatives, processed meats can also contain carcinogens.
2. Refined Grains – These grains have been stripped of their nutrients and fiber, causing blood sugar spikes and contributing to weight gain.
3. Artificial Sweeteners – These sweeteners can disrupt your metabolism and trigger cravings for sweets.
4. Vegetable Oils – Including Canola oil, these oils are high in unhealthy omega-6 fatty acids, promoting inflammation and heart problems.
5. TransFats – Commonly used in processed foods, trans fats raise LDL cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease.

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet traditionally followed in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and now popular worldwide, emphasizes the following principles:

- Eating mostly plants, such as organic vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts, with small amounts of grass-fed meat and wild-caught fish.
- Replacing butter with healthy fats like organic olive oil and/or organic cold-pressed coconut oil.
- Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor food.
- Limiting grass-fed red meat to a few times a month.
- Drinking mostly spring water, distilled water, or unsweetened natural fruit beverages.
- Having moderate amounts of red wine with meals.
- Fasting one day a week with celery juice.

Healthy Alternatives to Commercial Foods

Despite numerous commercial foods claiming to be healthy, many of them are far from it. It’s essential to be aware of the unhealthy ingredients commonly found in such products. If you aim to overcome a serious disease, consider consuming only fresh organic fruit, nuts, and seeds for a year!

Here are some healthy alternatives to common commercial foods:

- Swap regular pasta for organic whole wheat sprouted or quinoa pasta.
- Replace white GMO, Round-Up bread with 100% sprouted whole wheat bread.
- Opt for organic oatmeal or high-fiber cereal instead of sugary cereal full of additives.
- Choose pasture-raised natural turkey or chicken breast over processed lunch meats.
- Substitute mayonnaise with avocado or Greek yogurt.
- Instead of cookies or cake, try natural fruit, nut bars, or dark chocolate.

In conclusion, it’s crucial to remember that commercial food products can be high in unhealthy additives and low in essential nutrients. We have outlined some of the most common types of commercially produced foods to avoid, allowing you to maintain a healthy lifestyle. By steering clear of these products, you can reduce the risk of developing chronic illnesses while providing your body with all the necessary vitamins and minerals it needs to thrive. With a little effort and knowledge, you can ensure that your diet remains nutritious and beneficial for years to come.

You’ve come to that point in your life where you know things have got to change for you to start living the life you want to live. You’re starting to change your thought processes, you’re getting more in tune with your heart and life’s purpose. This new sense of meaning creates an empowered perspective as you continue to find ways to optimize your human experience while you are here in the third dimension on planet earth.

As you make the necessary adjustments in your life, you’re living a better life and every change you make lights the way for new changes to allow as you evolve into the new, more advanced and enlightened version of yourself. Your attention is drawn to your reflection in the mirror.

While you’re feeling better than ever and your countenance has a certain glow about it, you’re thinking you’ve been given charge of your body, this earthly vessel referred to as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) and you begin to think, “I could do better,” as you contemplate a healthier approach to honoring your earth suit.

If you’re like me (the author of Don’t Diet or Exercise) you may be somewhat resistant to the idea of exercising and eating right. While the New Year looms only days away, you consider looking for ways to enhance your fitness as your challenge of the year.

Looking over the vast array of a hugely monetary-infused industry, everyone has a different spin on what it takes to live healthy.

As my gift to you, I will demystify the healthy living challenge by reducing it to its simplest and most brief process, as follows:

Exercise

Unfortunately, this is where you have to start, but it doesn’t have to be as brutal as it might sound if you’re contemplating exercise for the first time.

Question: What can you expect from adding a little exercise to your weekly regimen? Answer: Increased energy, cognitive abilities, fat-burning weight loss and longevity, just to name a few.

In an effort to get right down to it, all you really have to do to optimize your health is to exercise and eat right. In term of exercise all you need is 20 to 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise and 20 to 25 minutes of resistance training four times per week.

Eat

As far as the diet portion of your optimal health program for the next year, all you need to remember is this:

Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water during the day
Eat numerous tiny meals (optimally four) and a couple of small snacks during the day
Limit your fat ingestion to no more than what’s essential for sufficient flavor

Balance your meals by including

palm-sized portions of proteins
fist-sized portions of complex carbohydrates
fist-sized portions of vegetables and fruits

Don’t Overdo It

No need to jump in over your head, just start with baby steps at the shallow end and work your way more and more into achieving your exercise and eating goals. Just start small and increase a little each week, or month, instead of overwhelming yourself all at once.