The Top Fourteen Foods to Avoid

Copyright 2006 Monique Hawkins

Obtaining optimal health is a goal for many people. No one wants to develop disease and sickness. The good news is, one of the ways to develop optimal health is by avoiding purchasing food that is loaded with chemical, has no nutritional value, or is energetically altered. Let's discover the top fourteen foods to avoid.

1. Avoid purchasing anything with words you can't pronounce. This is very easy. If you have difficulty figuring out what a word is and have a hard time pronouncing it, don't buy it. Most likely it is a harmful chemical.

2. Monosodium Glutamate. Never buy anything with this chemical in it. MSG is a toxin that is dangerous, causes weight gain, increases appetite, and causes all kinds of health problems.

3. Stay Away from Aspartame. This is a toxin that makes people gain weight, causes hunger, and leads to medical problems such as PMS and migraines.

4. Avoid High Fructose Cory Syrup. This is a chemical that causes people to become addicted and makes them fat.

5. No Hydrogenated Oil or Partially Hydrogenated Oil. Never buy foods with these ingredients since they are trans fats. Trans fats are deadly, causes heart disease, cause weight gain, and once more, other medical problems.

6. Avoid Sugar. Sugar that is processed turns out as refined white powder. All the natural sugarcane is taken out. Sugar has lots of chemicals that are used in the growing of sugarcane. It should be avoided at all costs.

7. Don't Be Fooled By "Natural" and "Artificial Flavor". These words, most of the time, mean that the food is loaded with chemicals and grown with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides. The bottom line-eating organic food is best.

8. Be Wary of Spices. Spices do sound very healthy, but many of them really are not. Companies use hundreds of chemicals, put it in food products, but only label the product as a spice. In reality, people are getting more that salt, pepper, oregano, and the like in their foods. Most of the time, lots of man-made chemicals are made as well.

9. Avoid Artificial Color. If anything has dye in it, stay away. A dye is really a chemical poison.

10. Avoid Palm Oil: This is a very unhealthy oil that is cheap to manufacture, but causes physical problems. So, stay away from it.

11. Dextrose, Sucrose, and Fructose. There are chemically made sweeteners. There are not good for the body at all. So, it's best to avoid them.

12. Avoid Sucrulose and Splenda. This is a man-made sweetener that most people have heard of. In spite of the hype, it is unnatural, artificial, and man-made. The problems it can cause are increases in appetite, depression, allergies, etc., all depending on the person's genetic makeup. It is best to avoid these products.

13. No Enriched Bleached White Flour. This flour has no fiber. It has no nutritional value, and is highly refined. Eat organic wheat flour or other organic flours such as rye, millet, etc.

14. Avoid Soy Protein Isolate. This is usually found in protein shakes and in protein or food bars. Soy protein isolate's refining process often includes hexane, which a petroleum solvent like gasoline. The best thing to do is to avoid at all costs.

So, there you have it. The top 14 foods to avoid in order to be in the best health as possible. Pay attention to those labels and be on your way to outstanding health.

The New #1 Superfood: The Most Powerful Antioxidant Known In The World

There has been a groundbreaking discovery in the field of health and nutrition.  Though it has been featured in the media and become an underground buzz, it is still generally unknown.  It is the anti-aging and health re-vitalizing power of a little Brazilian fruit, now declared the new #1 superfood: the acai berry.

Before this recent finding the blueberry was acclaimed as the most nutrient rich food.  It had been recognized for its extremely powerful antioxidant properties. 

Antioxidants are essential for full body health.  In the natural process of the body’s workings, cells are constantly metabolizing.  This creates byproducts called free radicals.  Free radicals are molecules missing an electron.  A free radical will seek to stabilize itself and by stealing an electron from a healthy cell.  This creates yet another free radical, causing more cell damage.  The process snowballs as we age and eventually we begin to feel its effects at around age 35 or 40 - the domino effect of untreated massive cell damage.  Things begin to go wrong.

As the unchecked flow of free radicals damages cells we begin to see degeneration, aging and disease.  Free radicals can invade a cell wall, damage the DNA, and begin the process that can start cancer.  They can invade the cell and cause the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, to slow down or stop working altogether.  Depending on where this happens, it can disrupt many of the body’s natural systems - from neuronal firing to hormonal balance. 

Antioxidants are molecules loaded with extra free electrons.  By providing the body with a powerful source of external antioxidants, the free radicals are now able to stabilize themselves by getting their electron from the antioxidants instead of from your cells.  This prevents further cell damage.

The blueberry is packed with anthocyanins, an antioxidant phytonutrient which is a far more powerful source of antioxidants than Vitamins A and E.  Anthocyanins have been shown to neutralize free radical damage which can result in so many health conditions, such as cataracts, varicose veins, peptic ulcers, heart disease, cancer - the list goes on and on.

Blueberries have been recognized as being far more powerful in supplying antioxidants than wine.  Now they have been replaced as the #1 nutrient rich, antioxidant packed anti-aging superfood by the acai berry (pronounced ah-sigh-ee).

The acai berry contains the same antioxidant phytonutrients as blueberries, anthocyanins, except in FAR greater amounts.  Blueberries have been shown to deliver 38% more anthocyanins than red wine.  The acai berry has been shown to be an antioxidant 33 times more powerful than red wine and 5 times more powerful than ginko biloba. 

Dr. Nicholas Perricone in his new book the Perricone Promise calls the acai berry the most perfect food on the planet.  It rates #1 on his list of recommendations of the top ten ingredients to look and feel younger, enjoy revitalized health and decelerate the aging process.

The acai berry is also very unique, being packed with so many nutrients.  It has amino acids, which is unheard of in fruits and vegetables in North America.  It has the protein content of an egg, the essential fatty acids of olive oil and is rich in the A and B vitamins. It is a ‘multivitamin’ food!

Ingesting it has incredible health benefits.  Even if you are healthy you will probably notice positive effects as you introduce a more balanced nutrition to your body, including increased energy and mental clarity.

Antioxidants have been recognized as an essential part of our diet in order to restore our health and prevent future disease.  Now we have access to the most powerful antioxidant ever discovered.  This can take our health to whole new levels.

What is the best way of adding the exotic acai berry to your diet?  The best delivery of an antioxidant is ideally in liquid form, so look for a juice product.  Look for a company that responsibly helps to conserve the Brazilian rainforest.  Ideally the company is one that is closest to the source, harvesting and processing in Brazil.  Make sure the company has the highest quality pharmacological processing in order to ensure that you are getting the best product, and the best results.