The Truth About So-Called “Healthy” Foods
Food is important to keep the body going. Without eating, we would die. But, research has been emerging for decades now that has shown that foods we typically eat can also cause us to die. Not directly, of course, but through causing horrible things like heart attacks and diabetes.
Studies done by the CDC and other reputable medical sources have found that hundreds of thousands of people each year die earlier than they should due to poor diets, not getting enough physical activity, and bad lifestyle habits such as drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking.
In fact, a lot of recent science has come out that has shown that leading healthy lifestyles can help us live longer and avoid nasty diseases like the aforementioned diabetes (obviously) and even cancer!
That is right, a study done back in 2008 showed that men who get enough exercise, are capable of managing their stress, and subscribe to a vegetarian-esque diet can actually decrease their chances of getting prostate cancer.
This is because the healthy lifestyle keeps the cancer causing genes inactive and thus unable to develop the prostate cancer.
One of the central issues I see with healthy eating are the deceptive tricks used by the food manufacturers.
They will label a food as a healthy alternative to a popular product that is known to not be so healthy.
But, when you look under the microscope, the “healthy alternative” is just as unhealthy if not more so.
Let’s take a look at margarine for example. It is touted as a healthy alternative to butter and many people think they are doing a great service to themselves by purchasing it over normal butter.
The reality is that while margarine lacks the saturated fats that makes normal butter bad for you, all of the supposed “natural” ingredients of margarine are in fact, not natural at all.
They are concoctions of various chemicals made in a lab – in other words, they are phony processed ingredients advertised as natural and healthy.
It used to be the smart thing to thoroughly read a nutrition label before buying a product. But nowadays, do you even know what half of the ingredients listed even are? And how do you even know what is printed on the label is the truth? You don’t.
And don’t expect the government to lift a finger about it. Yeah, we have the FDA and all, but these large food companies have lobbyists that keep the government off their trail.
The interesting thing I have noticed is that so many foods that we used to commonly eat now have a reputation for being bad for you.
And food companies have capitalized on this by making healthy alternatives. The cruel irony is that these foods with bad reputations are actually not that bad for you and serve your body many benefits when consumed in moderation, whereas these healthy alternatives serve no benefit at all.
Take peanut butter for instance. It has gotten a bad rep due to it being really fatty, but it also has a lot of healthy nutrients in it such as folate, protein, and B protein. When consumed in moderation, peanut butter is not bad for you at all.
Coffee is another example. Obviously you don’t want to drink too much of it as you will be flying off the wall and gaining a lot of weight.
The key word is moderation and if you limit yourself to two cups of coffee a day, you will see plenty of benefits. Caffeine in that limited amount can actually speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight.
On top of that, coffee has been found to help those suffering from liver cancer and diabetes, as well as decreasing your chances of developing dementia when you get older.
Chocolate is another example and this is one that I find perhaps the most interesting and to many, completely shocking.
Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, actually provides a wide range of health benefits. This is due to a group of antioxidants that are present in cocoa (which dark chocolate has a high concentration of) known as flavonoids.
These flavonoids can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, both of which greatly reduce your risk of developing diabetes and having a heart attack or stroke.
These flavonoids have also been found to reduce your risk of developing cancer, since after all, they are antioxidants and preventing cancer is one of their most important properties. In addition to that, dark chocolate contains other helpful nutrients like iron, which is good for the body.
Consuming cocoa also makes you smarter as it increases your concentration and boosts your brain function.
There are other benefits of consuming chocolate that have been found, but I will only go into detail about one more.
And that benefit is the fact that cocoa even contains caffeine. And as I mentioned earlier, caffeine can be instrumental in helping you lose weight as long as you do not consume too much.
Once again we return to moral of this whole story that moderation is key to a healthy life. I know it may seem too good to be true, but all of these claims I have made about chocolate have solid scientific backing.
Other foods that have gotten a bad rep but are healthy in moderation include beef, potatoes, eggs, and even some fruits.
That is right, some health “experts” have tried claiming some fruits such as bananas should be avoided because of their high sugar content.
And sure that is true, but bananas are also an excellent source of potassium. Just do not go bananas (pun intended) and eat a whole bunch of them. Moderation is key.
“Healthy” Foods Review Summary
As you can see, food companies have been trying to capitalize on the new healthy eating craze by purposely demonizing foods that used to be common in our diets so that they can introduce healthy alternatives that are often times cheaper to produce and provide no benefit to the body. And as long as they make money doing it, they won’t stop. Knowledge is power.
