The Doughnut Diet, The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) ; The Franken Foods
The e-mail that accompanied this lesson gave you an overview as regards why The Doughnut Diet (or if you prefer The ‘Donut’ Diet) is not good for you,at least from the aspect of adopting a healthy diet.Now let’s consider what you can learn from this diet.
There are plenty of faddy diets that let you eat rubbish and lose several pounds, drop a dress size or maybe even get a six pack. This is in reality a short term benefit.In effect,in the long run you will end up putting on more weight !
At least if you care about your health you should appreciate the fact that t hese foods have spectacularly low nutrients bearing in mind the calories they contain.
They’re empty calories – there is nothing good in them because :
- They don’t make you feel full
- They don’t nourish your body.
In addition,you neither feel good nor look good.Following this diet signifies saying goodbye to your good health.
All that being said,the main point to note is this :
Food might taste nice but start to think about what it’s doing to your body.
Sure you can have a cheat meal. You can treat yourself and have ice cream now and then.Yes, enjoy your food.
But make sure you’re eating food with nutrients.
In other words,EAT FOOD that fuels your body and provides the building blocks for health.
When you’re eating food — or you are out for a meal— opt for that food which is higher in nutrients.
The best foods are typically high in nutrients and low in calories.Doughnuts are low in nutrients and high in calories.Keep away from the doughnut, Twinkie and lemonade diets.
They are nothing but empty calorie diets that do nothing good for you.
“Look after your body; it’s the only place you can live!”
Jim Rohn
Another diet that was mentioned in the latest e-mail letter was the S.A.D. ie The Standard American Diet. Below is a concise and illustrative summary of our description with respect to this particular diet regime :
In order to further emphasize the the non-healthy aspect of this diet regime,it is widely accepted that 3 out of 4 visits to a restaurant are actually a fast food joint where the food is heavily processed and is NOT designed to make us feel full and satisfied.
The health concerns associated with the S.A.D. are based on epidemiological studies of Westerners (ie inhabitants of North America and the industrialized nations of Western Europe).
There is positive correlation between this SAD / Western diet and
- Elevated incidence of obesity
- Death from heart disease
- Cancer,especially colon cancer
- Breast cancer: epidemiologists have found that women with a more Western diet have a nominally increased risk of breast cancer that is not statistically significant. [ Brennan, S. F.; Cantwell, M. M.; Cardwell, C. R.; Velentzis, L. S.; Woodside, J. V. (10 March 2010). “Dietary patterns and breast cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis”. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ].
If you were to list the factors that increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, intestinal disorders – just about any illness – the Standard American Diet has them all:
- High in animal fats
- High in unhealthy fats: saturated, hydrogenated
- Low in fiber
- High in processed foods
- Low in complex carbohydrates
- Low in plant-based foods
The striking fact is that cultures that eat the reverse of the standard American diet – low fat, high in complex carbohydrates, plant-based, and high in fibre – have a lower incidence of cancer and coronary artery disease (CAD).
What’s even more sad is that countries whose populations can afford to eat the healthiest disease-preventing foods, don’t.
The United States has spent more money on cancer research than any country in the world, yet this diet contributes to the very diseases we are spending money to prevent.
A complete and marvellous description and recommended course of actions and remedies for the evolution of this ‘sad’ state of affairs is illustrated below :
These are just some of the challenges involved when it comes to weight loss tools.
Fortunately, we’ll be look in much more detail at each of them in future e-mails lessons and news letters.
The 3rd ‘ugly sister’ is the Franken Foods and they really are scary ! Click on the Infograph below to Read on.
In a nutshell,this is the world of Franken Foods – From fast-food to microwaveable meals – these processed foods are bad for us and should be avoided.
WHY ???
Well for one they are often manufactured to taste nice ie they are chemically designed to taste nice.
Some are designed to make us eat more.
In addition,no food that can last for months in a warehouse is natural.
Not to mention the fact that the nutrition content of these foods is insignificant unless they’re fortified with vitamins added.
Since they’re not fresh they are often crammed with “something else” that’s just as artificial to make them taste better.
For example, when low-fat foods were being made they tasted so horrible the manufacturers loaded them with sugar to make them palatable.
You just don’t know what is in your food when you buy it pre-prepared and packaged. It could be the worst of the worst ingredients scraped from the factory floor.
On a final matter,because processed foods lack the ability to satisfy your hunger (when compared with real foods) you eat more!
If you don’t believe me then how many people do you know could scoff a pack of cookies? Could that same person eat four or five bananas? I doubt it.
Natural foods make you feel full. You don’t want to overeat them.
Of course it’s actually quite hard to get fat on a diet that consists of nothing but REAL food.
Processed and fast-food (whether by design or because of the junk they put into it) doesn’t fill you up which means you eat more and more which means weight gain.
It is no wonder that our society is getting fatter when the foods we eat and, the foods that are cleverly marketed and sold to us are so detrimental to our health.
This is the harsh but very true reality.
Your diet needs to be built around cooking food from raw materials.
No more packaging. No more hidden ingredients.
This is the food that can be broken down and absorbed and then assimilated by your body.
It is the food that boosts your metabolism and nourishes your body.
Think twice on your next grocery shop and remind yourself of this ….
If it doesn’t rot… OR
If it’s packaged and processed.
Then keep away.
To help you
(i) Choose healthy alternatives to the diet regimes discussed in this lesson AS WELL
Improve your eating habits,watch the following 2 videos below :
(ii) Improve your eating habits:
8 Bad Eating Habits To Eliminate
Well Done,you have just completed another important lesson !
*** Now click HERE to log-in and try this lesson’s quiz. Good Luck !