Replace Processed Foods With These Healthy Substitutes

It is hard to know what foods are beneficial versus harmful today. In previous articles, we acquired knowledge about food addiction and Candida. This article lists unhealthy foods and the reasons why we should not eat them. Eat foods soon after they are harvested—the way God made them—rather than processed foods.

Processed Foods

Processed foods contained in boxes and bags are far from their harvested form. When food is processed, the nutrients and fiber are removed to increase the shelf life. Consider them dead foods that do not benefit the body but instead harm it. Therefore, try not to eat processed foods out of a box or bag. This includes cereals, chips, crackers, granola bars, cookies and the list could go on and on.

Genetically Modified (GMO) Foods

As we discussed in the article, “Feeling Sick and Tired All The Time? This Common Allergy Might Be Why,” wheat has been bred to the point the body does not recognize it but thinks of it as a foreign substance. This is from hybridization. A huge step beyond hybridization is Genetically Modified Foods (GMO). No long-term studies have tested the safety of GMO foods? Therefore, humans are the lab specimen.

If a person’s immune system does not recognize gluten or GMO foods, it might attack the foreign substance and its own body at the same time. The immune system’s attack would trigger or cause an autoimmune disease; that is probably why these diseases are on the rise. Consequently, you should avoid GMO foods. So purchase organic foods. The cost of health care is much higher than the cost of organic foods.

Roundup-Ready Crops

One type of GMO food is Roundup-Ready crops. These crops are genetically engineered to be resistant to the carcinogen glyphosate, which is the primary ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. Farmers who produce these types of crops can spray Roundup on their fields throughout the growing season, because the plants are resistant to it. In the United States, most of the nation’s corn, wheat, oats, soy and sugar beets are Roundup-Ready crops. Can you imagine what this carcinogen may do to the beneficial bacteria in your gut or to your overall health?

Foods to Eliminate

The following foods are damaging. Remove the following unhealthy items from your pantry:

• Wheat—items containing wheat.
• Sugar-sweetened drinks—soda, fruit juice, Gatorade.
• Sugar—white sugar, high-fructose corn syrup—remove any item with greater than 10 grams of sugar per serving.
• Rice—white rice (brown and wild rice are beneficial).
• Corn—all non-organic corn products such as tortilla chips and popcorn because most are Roundup Ready crops (Organic corn products are fine to consume.).
• Artificial sweeteners—saccharin, aspartame or Equal/NutraSweet, sucralose or Splenda (Honey, maple syrup, agave, stevia, xylitol, coconut sugar, monk fruit sugar are better.).
• Oils—eliminate all oils except olive oil (use when cooking at low temperatures) and coconut oil (use when cooking at high temperatures).
• Foods that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, high-fructose corn syrup, or monosodium glutamate (MSG). Food labels disguise MSG through the following names: flavors; flavoring; enzymes; hydrolyzed, autolyzed yeast; barley malt; hydrolyzed vegetable protein; maltodextrin; natural seasonings and glutamate.

Remove the following unhealthy items from your refrigerator.

• Wheat products.
• Processed meats such as ham, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and lunch meat. The World Health Organization classified processed meats as a group 1 carcinogen, right up there with tobacco, asbestos, and plutonium!

• Soft drinks and fruit juices—they are loaded with sugar.

• Check the ingredients of condiments. If one contains high-fructose corn syrup, throw it out. Health-food stores carry better condiment substitutes, such as organic mayonnaise.
• Margarine—organic butter is a healthier choice.
• Milk products except plain Greek yogurt, which contains probiotics. Milk, similar to wheat and rice, is denatured of its nutritional value to extend its shelf life. Food industries heat raw milk to high temperatures (pasteurization), which destroys enzymes (that help with digestion) and most nutrients.

Healthy Substitutions to Purchase

Many unprocessed and natural healthy alternatives are available. The following section lists healthy food alternatives.

Sugar Substitutes

Substitute sugar with a natural sweetener such as the herb stevia. Another option is local honey. Another natural sweetener with zero calories that rates zero on the glycemic index is sugar made from monk fruit.

Dairy Substitutes

Replace your dairy products with almond, coconut or cashew milk items.

Pasta Substitutes

Bake spaghetti squash, use shirataki noodles or spiralize zucchini.

It is hard to eat perfectly all the time especially if you are a dinner guest. Therefore, eat nourishing foods 80 percent of the time, but the other 20 percent, eat what you want. Eat to live a healthy, bountiful life. Evaluate every single thing you eat.