Brett's Blog: 5 Ingredients to Avoid
April 18, 2008 | by Brett Blumenthal | 55 Comments
Reading ingredient labels doesn’t have to be difficult. It is pretty simple in fact. Basically, if you don’t know what the ingredient is, or if you have never heard of it, there is a good chance that it is a chemical or processed ingredient that you don’t want to ingest. In general, each ingredient should be a whole food that isn’t processed. That said it can still be a bit daunting.
Below, I’ve listed five typical ingredients that you should avoid at all costs. And if they are listed first, second or third on the ingredient list of a packaged product, you definitely want to take a pass and opt for something else.
- Sugar: Refined sugars should be avoided for several reasons:
- They raise your insulin levels and as a result, can depress the immune system, weakening your ability to fight disease.
- Further, they cause weight gain and promote storage of fat.
- Lastly, refined sugars provide you with no vitamins or minerals, so in order for them to be metabolized, they draw on the body’s reserves of vitamins and minerals, depleting your body’s nutrients.
- Bleached White Flour: Unbleached flour is a perfectly fine ingredient. However, if the product has bleached flour, stay away. The bleaching process takes a lot of the nutrients and fiber out of the flour. As a result, the product ends up having mostly empty calories, providing little to no nutritional value to your diet.
- Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil / Hydrogenated Soybean Oil: Hydrogenated soybean oils are created because they have a higher melting point, which makes them attractive for baking and extends their shelf-life. Unfortunately, they aren’t attractive to you or your waistline. These fats can cause coronary disease and may be linked to cancer.
- High Fructose Corn Syrup: In short, high-fructose corn syrup is an unnatural product that is a very, very sweet, highly processed and refined cornstarch. This manufactured substance is sweeter than and digested differently than sugar.
- The body processes it directly through the liver and is then stored as fat.
- Further, there is once again, no nutritional value, giving you only empty calories to digest.
- Lastly, this sweetener may be linked to several diseases including type 2 Diabetes.
- Aspartame/Saccharin/Sucralose/Phenylalkaline: Any artificial sweetener is bad for you. They are unnatural and are processed derivatives of food and/or chemicals that aren’t natural for us to digest. They can cause havoc on your metabolism and your energy levels. Further, there is strong evidence that these are toxic and may cause cancer, as well as other diseases.
Solution: Look for foods that are naturally sweetened (fruit or honey). If you must have sugar, opt for pure cane sugar that has not been refined.
Solution: If choosing a wheat or grain based product, consume those that have whole grains or unbleached flour.
Solution: Don’t consume products with these ingredients. Opt for those that have monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats instead.
Solution: Opt for only natural sweeteners, foods that are naturally sweet (fruit or honey) or natural herbs, such as stevia.
Solution: Opt for only natural sweeteners or stevia, a natural sweet herb.
Notice, these five ingredients are all either fat or sugar related. In general, the more you can avoid bad fats and refines sugars, the better off you are. When possible, always look for natural and whole foods. If a food is packaged, there is a good chance that there might be unwanted added preservatives or ingredients that you want to avoid.
Relevant Topics:
- Nutrition
- Fat: A Closer Look
- Carbohydrates: A Closer Look
- Easy Nutrition Guidelines
- Stevia: How Sweet it Is
- Reading Nutrition Labels
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Brett, Thanks for this informative article. NO – you are NOT an idiot, as one idiot claims. For decades I have used only store brand packets of sweetener which ARE NOT excitotoxins. When one of my faves recently intro Splenda into their mix, they lost me as a buyer of their product. There is abundant evidence that sweeteners made from coal tar extracts are non-injurious to the human body. I have intro Stevia into my kitchen, tho’ it is kinda pricey where I live in the hinterlands of VT. Keep up the good fight for our nation’s health. God bless you! Rev. Rick. 11.2.09
My husband and his sister both get terrible headaches from any artificial sweetners. Just try to find a toothpaste or mouthwash without them!
Don’t eat very MUCH of those products, and get
some exercise, people. If you want SOME snack, or
other treat containing one of those products, don’t
let the food police stop you. Just don’t think you’re
getting any nutrition.
(I’m not a doctor or nutrition expert)
If i cut out these 5 items i will starve to death.
Miami-
Once again, here is the proof. Why not read them yourself?
http://www.janethull.com/askdrhull/article.php?id=046
And if you don’t believe that Dr. Hull is onto something. Maybe you’d like to find out that Duke University has also conducted a study, exposed here:
http://www.celebritydietdoctor.com/splenda-harmful/
And if you are really interested, here is the study:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a902553409~db=all~order=page
Further, if you really BELIEVE all government agencies, you can read this: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners
Same old garbage about artificial sweetners being dangerous to your health. No proof, but that doesn’t stop people of a certain persuasion from spouting the party line.
I also have more confidence in eating non- prosessed foods. I do read labels and avoid those products listing ingredients I don’t know. Sometimes I find those scarry words are good things. You might try not drinking caffiene drinks; like coffee. Then you wouldn’t need the sweetners. I chose to skip ever starting drinking coffee when I saw my mother needing to have it in the morning to wake up. I find I have eanergy without it. Since then I’ve read that a glass of water in the morning can help stimulate your body. I believe like a previous commentor; that sugar creates a craving for more sugar. A person can weene themselves off sweets. The “Sweet toothe” craving will reduce after a few weeks of changing your diet. For die hards; try really small treats after eating a balanced meal or healthy snack. Same goes for the coffee drinkers. Eat something with your coffee. Don’t have a secound cup. Good Luck to All
I use stevia.. one can get it in the powder bag.. very sweet, a little does a lot and I feel better using it. just my 2 cents.
I don’t know why everyone is touting that Stevia is so wonderful – YUCK!!! It may be a more “healthy” sweetener – but just using that would make anyone want to give up “sweets”! ahhhhh – That stuff is definitely an acquired taste – and I’ve tried every “sweetener” out there – many more than once as I do have quite a sweet-tooth but am not to have processed sugar. I have Celiac disease and was told that sugar cane (even cane syrup) is a form of wheat – therefore contains gluten. So – my new found friend is above-mentioned (only briefly – and oddly I might add) Agave Nectar – now that’s the best! It’s lighter than honey and sweeter – but doesn’t have the honey flavor – more like sugar than anything and quite frankly it has replaced anything I ever put sugar in before, baking, cooking, warm drinks, etc…..STEVIA is extremely expensive – and Agave Nectar has gained popularity therefore it’s cheaper now – some stores now sell it in bulk! I say – THAT’S our ticket to a GREAT SWEETENER – AGAVE NECTAR!
To stevia’s boosters, there’s no debate. The herb has been consumed without apparent harm in different parts of the world for many years, they argue. No reports of any adverse reactions have surfaced after 30 years of use in Japan, for instance.
“But the Japanese don’t consume large amounts of stevia,” notes Douglas Kinghorn, professor of pharmacognosy (the study of drugs from plants) at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“In the U.S., we like to go to extremes,” adds toxicologist Ryan Huxtable of the University of Arizona in Tucson. “So a significant number of people here might consume much greater amounts.”
Here’s what troubles toxicologists:
Reproductive problems. Stevioside “seems to affect the male reproductive organ system,” European scientists concluded last year. When male rats were fed high doses of stevioside for 22 months, sperm production was reduced, the weight of seminal vesicles (which produce seminal fluid) declined, and there was an increase in cell proliferation in their testicles, which could cause infertility or other problems.1 And when female hamsters were fed large amounts of a derivative of stevioside called steviol, they had fewer and smaller offspring.2 Would small amounts of stevia also cause reproductive problems? No one knows.
Cancer. In the laboratory, steviol can be converted into a mutagenic compound, which may promote cancer by causing mutations in the cells’ genetic material (DNA). “We don’t know if the conversion of stevioside to steviol to a mutagen happens in humans,” says Huxtable. “It’s probably a minor issue, but it clearly needs to be resolved.”
Energy metabolism. Very large amounts of stevioside can interfere with the absorption of carbohydrates in animals and disrupt the conversion of food into energy within cells. “This may be of particular concern for children,” says Huxtable.
The bottom line: If you use stevia sparingly (once or twice a day in a cup of tea, for example), it isn’t a great threat to you. But if stevia were marketed widely and used in diet sodas, it would be consumed by millions of people. And that might pose a public health threat.
“The take-home message is simply that we don’t know enough,” says Huxtable.
That’s why the government needs to require companies to do more—and better—testing.
Aspartame is a neuroexcitotoxin and causes brain damage. Dr. Russell Blaylock, Neurologist, author of “Excitotoxins:The Taste That Kills”, Dr. Janet Hull, MD survivor of Aspartame poisoning has her website that gives monumental amounts of evidence how deadly this substance can be. The Better Brain Book by Dr. David Pearlmutter talks about how to heal the brain. Aspartame is a brain damaging substance. So is MSG! HFCS is a processed corn product. All corn that is not in it’s raw natural state has the neuroexcitotoxin MSG in it. http://www.msgmyth.com is just one place to learn about this. I have been paralyzed twice by accidents. 1993 car accident and 2001 airline incident. Both times I was unable to work for three years and was told I would never return to work. I learned what most doctors don’t know about healing! The Mayo Clinic did an MRI on my brain. One of their staff told me the makers of aspartame at the time provided a great deal of money to their organization. This person said it would never go on record I had brain poisoning but told me to start doing my home work and gave me the names of many researchers and doctors, along with an international gathering of neurologists in the Netherlands that given endless testimony to the damaging affects on the brain that result from taking in aspartmane at any level.
I find many doctors know little very little about healing and am sure they would not be able to heal themselves from being paralyzed as I have. They leave to many layers out of the process, rely on chemicals and quick coverings of symptoms and do too little about the cause of hte symptoms. The drugs they issue cause new and more symptoms.
If nature did not make it don’t eat it is my policy!
THATS GREAT, I HAVE BEEN TELLING MY FRIENDS FOR YEARS HOW THE WHITE STUFF IS BAD FOR YOU. I HAVE NOT CONSUMED ANY REFINED SUGARS OR CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE FOR OVER 25YEARS. IT FEELS GREAT
There’s nothing wrong with artificial sweeteners. There has been no scientific evidence of them being toxic. Some sugar companies paid a few scientists to say they’ll make you hungrier but it’s BS. I’ve used them for years. They’ve helped me lose a ton of weight and keep it off. They haven’t made me any hungrier than I was before I started using them. People are always looking for an excuse. If you can’t lose weight it’s not the artificial sweetener’s fault, it’s your fault. Count your calories with other foods and you’ll be fine. You don’t have to count any calories with artificial sweeteners though because they don’t have any. Everything that’s natural isn’t necessarily good for you, just as everything that’s man made isn’t necessarily bad for you.
This list is quite good, including HFCS. Dr. Weil even states that HFCS is today’s poison.
I stopped buying any margerine or shortening. I only use real butter now, and very little of it. The cooking oil I use is sunflower/canola oil. I’ll start reading labels for sweeteners.
Hi Patricia. You are right. The point here is that #1 points out that you should avoid refined sugars. I also state that you should opt for NATURAL Sweeteners…which is exactly the same point in #5. Hope that helps.
In #5, you say that natural sweeteners are preferred over artificial sweetners, yet in #1 you say that sugar should be avoided.
makeitcount. Supposedly, there is still tremendous debate over this ingredient. Some experts claim that they are metabolized differently than other sugars. Regardless, the fact is, that it is a highly processed ingredient, and no matter how it is or isn’t metabolized, I’m not a fan of anything that is highly processed. Good to know, however, that you have a case based study in seeing a difference…we need more of you out there!
Isn’t the biggest issue with the HFC, the fact that it raises the glycemic index? Personally, I have found this to be my problem. Once I discovered it…I eliminated it from my diet and there’s been a noticeable difference in blood sugar tests.
Dr.Bob,
You’re an idiot, and I used such a strong word because it’s cavalier misinformed people like you that make others sick- literally.
I hope you are not a real doctor, because unfortunately most people still look to doctors for the answers for good health- what a joke.
Use a western doctor if you want an early grave.
One does not need ‘complete documentation and scientific study[ies] to know when they are ill. It doesn’t always take a rocket scientist to figure out what is causing the symptoms you feel.
If you are waiting on the FDA to tell you what is good to eat or any other such entity, then you are a bigger fool than I first imagined. When are you going to understand that the FDA is largely controlled by politics? If you think they have your best interest at heart, then please tell me why for so many years aspartame was not approved and then almost magically was; why don’t you do the scientific research on that, and you will see the politics my friend.
I do not totally agree with everything in this article, but there are a few valid points and I personally was happy to see aspartame make the list of no-no’s, as I have gotten sick by that toxin (no scientific research told me that)
HFCS is another one, and for years Trans Fats I knew was bad from my classes in Nutrition, but I do not agree that sugar (though it is not a healthful choice) should be in the same category as aspartame, trans fats and HFCS. It is not a toxin, it is a processed food.
I also do not agree that unbleached flour is a healthful food. All white flour products are bad, but the bleached variety is worse.
…and Doctor Bob, if you think the only reason to avoid artificial sweeteners is that you get fat from then, then you need to go back to school. Fat my dear is the least of our problems, and that bears repeating, fat is the least of our problems. If fat were the only problem here then we could eliminate these evils and get on with our lives; even in the event you were to become diabetic, this too could be rectified by simply controlling our diet, but unfortunately this is just the tip of the iceberg: vision problems, breathing problems, heart problems, to name a mere few are some of the symptoms associated with aspartame poisoning; some of these symptoms mimic other diseases and some people are often misdiagnosed; worse yet are those people that baffle the doctors because they cant see anything wrong based on their textbook education.
I am not even going to address the comment about not eating smelly foods…come on. How simple can you be?
Based on the fact that scientific research relies on testing of animals (mostly rats) which by the way it caused seizures in the rats and one died, that is why it was not approved all those years, anyway, this research is based on humans who are living their lives with the very symptoms I described above. It does not get more scientific than that, but go on and wait for your research genius, you may be one of the ones who just drops dead.
Ps here’s a thought, all the athletes who are dropping dead lately are drinkers of aspartame, check the labels of sports drinks.
Don’t take this lightly people. I didn’t just waste half an hour answering this so called doctor for nothing.
Good health to all