The Top 10 Unhealthy Foods that Might Make You Sick

A list of top ten unhealthy foods should always offer healthy alternatives. Learn what they are as you learn about foods of which you might not have ever heard. Remember also that avoiding these top ten unhealthy foods requires taking the time to read labels.

1. Whole wheat

It's unfortunate that whole wheat flour is promoted and sold as a health food. The truth is that it's a hybridized grain that has caused and continues to cause a multitude of health problems including celiac disease which was not heard of during the days when people ate real (heirloom) wheat such as spelt grain. Unlike modern "wheat," spelt grain, a wholesome food from antiquity, dates back to the ancient land of Mesopotamia. It's one of the real wheat grains that is mentioned in the Bible. "Take thou also unto thee wheat and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them into one vessel, and make thee bread thereof..." (KJV Ezekiel 4:9). Modern wheat is not the grain that God made; it's hybridized, and has a gluten that's unnatural that makes people sick in a variety of ways. Even many people diagnosed with celiac disease can tolerate the truly natural gluten of spelt grain. Had they never been damaged by wheat, would they have ever developed such a disease as celiac in the first place? Spelt grain is significantly higher in nutrients and can be used exactly as modern whole "wheat" with the exception that a little more liquid is needed when cooking with it because it is more water soluble. Sadly, breads, pasta, pastries, cake mix, pancake mix, and many other foods are made with health-destroying modern wheat instead of wholesome spelt grain. However, each consumer voice that demands the return to heirloom grains is a powerful influence for change.

2. Refined flour

The refining process of any grain, including spelt grain, removes most of the nutrients making what was meant to be a wholesome food, one of the many unhealthy foods consumed in modern times. Refining flour renders white flour, which, unless artificially enriched, is practically void of valuable iron, calcium, zinc, the B vitamins, fiber, and other nutrients. Whole heirloom (real) grains such as spelt grain should be used in place of refined flour.

3. White Sugar

White sugar makes the top ten unhealthy foods list because it is another refined product that is void of nutrition and has been linked to the development of diabetes and heart disease. Are hereditary diseases truly hereditary or are they the consequences of years of eating unhealthy foods? Not only should white sugar as a table sugar be avoided, but also foods containing it and other forms of denatured sugar such as corn syrup. A truly all natural sugar should be used instead. Honey, preferable raw, dark brown sugar (dark because the more molasses retained, the higher amounts of naturally occurring vitamins and nutrients will be present), pure maple syrup, and stevia are good substitutes. Remember also that fruit pies and cobblers don't need any sugar at all; fruit is already sweet and the pie or cobbler can be made considerably sweeter by adding chopped dates throughout the filling.

4. Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated Fats and Oils

Cooking oils and processed fats that contain, or are hydrogenated fats are laboratory-made "foods." Needless to say that they appear on this list of top ten unhealthy foods. Hydrogenated oils and fats, including margarine, have a non-biological structure. Simply put, the body can't safely handle what it wasn't made to process. To make matters worse, many hydrogenated fats are literally saturated with the carcinogen nickel. Only pure virgin olive oil and butter (pure sweet cream) should be used. Cooking with high heat is best done with butter, while low heat or no heat at all cooking can be done with olive oil.

5. Uncooked Oysters

Like any raw animal product, eating raw oysters presents the risk of ingesting bacteria which can not only make you very sick, it can be lethal. If you're just going to eat them, play it safe and cook them. Cooking doesn't destroy the nutritional value of this food that is on the list of top ten unhealthy foods--when consumed raw.

6. Olestra

Olestra is an artificial fat and you might ingest it if you buy products such as non-fat potato chips or other snacks. Olestra is another man-made "food" that has the destructive ability to deplete the body's supply of vitamins A, E, D, and K. These vitamins play a vital role in your defense against cancer. Fortification with these vitamins doesn't solve the problem of eating a "food" that was made by man. It doesn't make sense to deplete natural nutrients only to attempt to restore them by unnatural means. Real fat is better than fake fat any day.

7. Meats processed with deadly nitrates

Nitrates can be converted to nitrites in the body which can then lead to the formation of toxic substances called notrosamines. The ingestion of foods containing nitrates have been linked to the formation of various types of cancer. Such foods hot dogs and meats such as beef jerkey. Quite a few companies now sell meats that are free of dangerous nitrates. Simply take the time to read labels.

8. Artificial Sweeteners

Among the many unhealthy foods consumed, particularly in the United States, are artificial sweeteners; they've been around now for more than 100 years. The name itself reveals the danger of these "foods;" they're artificial. What other clues are needed to know that man wasn't made to consume things he made himself in a laboratory? Numerous studies conducted in the 1960s and 1970s revealed increased development of bladder cancer in laboratory rats to which saccharin was fed. Other artificial sweeteners are just as dangerous. They should all simply be completely avoided in favor of the various forms of real sugar: honey, pure maple syrup, dark brown sugar, and evaporated cane juice.

9. Canned Foods Low in Acid

Yes, home canning can actually produce unhealthy foods when preserving low-acid vegetables such as carrots. Home canning rarely achieves the pressure or reaches the high temperatures required to destroy the bacteria responsible for botulism, a serious illness which can cause paralysis. Avoiding this problem is also simple; ensure that you reach the necessary temperatures and pressures or preserve low-acid garden vegetables by freezing instead of canning.

10. Salt

It can't be over stressed that foods made in laboratories have never been safe and never will be. Regular table salt is inorganic and does not really compare to all natural salt. It is on this list of top ten unhealthy foods because it has been known to cause the arteries to stiffen, increase the risk of having a stroke and the risk of heart failure. Simply use an all natural salt such as sea salt or Celtic salt which is available in almost every well stocked health foods store or health foods section of major grocery stores in the United States and Canada.
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Sources:

Books:

Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss
Herbally Yours by Penny C. Royal
The Cure for All Diseases by Hulda Regehr Clark, Ph.D.,N.D.

Websites:

J.T. Hoagland
Spelt Makes a Comeback, The Best New Grain Has a Long History
Spelt - What Is It?

Health Assist
Eleven Worst Foods Americans Eat Daily
HealthAssist.com

Based on an article by Sue Gilbert, M.S.
The 10 Worst Foods You Can Eat
Time-To-Run.com