Food is good for the body, but not all Foods are good to maintain optimum health. Most foods we load our system with are very unhealthy and can cause us more harm to our body. Unhealthy Food habit has become an addiction to so many that it has become so difficult for them to give up this habit. Good value foods like natural foods have been replaced with consumption of fatty foods, addictive to soft drinks, refined and processed foods which are neither healthy nor economical. Our study has led us to identify most of these unhealthy foods which we are going to look at in this article.
Sugar
Sugar is an energy giving food that can easily digest into the system; it also helps to maintain good looks. It has no source of calories only energy and no other nutrients, depending only on sugary foods as a source of energy will live the body malnourished. Much intake of sugar concentrated foods and less of nutritious foods, reduces the number of vitamins, mineral, and protein in the body.
Sugar does not directly cause heart problems or diabetes, but excess consumption leads to fat which could result in diabetes, heart diseases, and cavities which are formed by teeth bacteria that metabolize sugar to acid. Excess consumption of sugar can also lead to overfullness of the stomach.
The most advisable way to eat sugar is through foods like fruits, fruit juice, vegetables, cereals, bread, dry fruits and milk products.
The amount of sugar eaten in a day should be shared among three meals; the amount of sugar added to food prepared at home should be reduced to one-third. Excess sugar intake destabilizes our immune system by bringing out immune system bacteria-eating white blood cells. We have a natural desire for sweetness, but this can be quenched with natural sweetness from raw fruits, not refined sugar.
Caffeine
Caffeine is considered a toxic poison because anything that is not real food is treated as a toxic poison by the body. When caffeine is taken into the body, the body tries to reject it, the blood vessels constrict, making the heart beat faster, it damages the stomach lining, the liver, and kidneys. It can constrict arteries and contribute to heart attack and stroke.
It is an addictive drug, provokes hypertension and nervous symptoms. Foods rich in caffeine such as chocolates, tea, and cola drinks, produce and release stored sugar in the body, increases cholesterol and reduces minerals in the body. Much consumption of caffeine can lead to prostate cancer.
The toxic nature of caffeine comes from coffee beans which are the raw materials for caffeine because they are grown with pesticides and herbicides which are toxic in nature. Consuming coffee or tea in a large quantity will increase blood pressure, breastfeeding and pregnant women are advised not to take coffee because it can affect the fetus or the suckling baby.
Salt
Table salt and any other kind of salt contains sodium chloride, which is needed by the body to maintain fluid balance.
Salt is necessary but excess intake can be very dangerous to the body, besides the table salt we use, we can also get salt in natural form from plant-based foods such as vegetables. The nutritional requirement of FDA on every label is 2400mg; a quarter of table salt is about 500mg. The doctor’s recommendation is about a teaspoon and half, but most people consume more than that.
Salt is toxic to living things; it can easily kill bacteria or any living thing; it is exposed to in high concentration. When we take much salt, we are piling up a toxic substance that can destroy our system. Salt contributes to arterial sclerosis (hardening of arteries) which leads to heart problems and raises blood pleasure.
Low sodium diet will reduce hypertension and other stomach cancer, and liver problem.
Alcohol
Though alcohol gives false stimulation to the body system, it ends in sedation and depression of functions of some parts of the body. Taking alcohol is a fashion, and it is widely spreading among the women folks, alcohol has been identified to have harmful effects on women more than men. It depletes the vitamins level, mostly the B and C groups, minerals such as zinc, magnesium, and potassium.
Alcohol is a major contributor to heart disease, muscle disorder, nervous system problems, and sexual impotence. According to World Health Organization report, worldwide consumption of alcohol in 2010 was equal to 6.2 liters of pure alcohol consumed per person aged 15 years or older, which translates into 13.5 grams of pure alcohol per day.
It also reported in 2012 that about 3.3 million deaths, or 5.9% of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption.
Certain foods can ferment to form alcohol when kept for a few days. If natural fruits juice is kept warm for a few days and exposed to the air, the sugar in them can ferment to form alcohol, starches, grains, and potatoes can also be made to ferment when kept for long.
Most of these foods mentioned are not dangerous on their own, but it is the excessive intake that is harmful, so we are advised to keep a check on what we consume and the way we consume them. Good health is priceless, and I believe everyone has a right to it, but there is a choice to make, and it is to control what you consume.
