3 Foods You Should Never Eat
11 If you have any health-junkie/total-foodie type friends, you have probably heard the term “clean eating” being bounced around. If you aren’t familiar with the formal definition, the jist is this: clean eating means choosing fruits, vegetables, and meats that are raised, grown, and sold with minimal (if any) processing (Underwood). Most often, this means purchasing organic foods.
Today, many methods used (and accepted) by food producers are neither clean nor sustainable- in fact, they are just the opposite! Did you know that experts have linked certain preservatives and pesticides to cancers including testicular and pancreatic, as well as infertility in humans? This result is far too catastrophic to continue eating “per usual” if you constantly find yourself purchasing highly processed foods. Not only is YOUR health at risk, but also the health of your future (or current) offspring. I beg of you, please do not purchase these foods ever again.
Canned Tomatoes
The problem: The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity (fitsugar.com). The natural acid from tomatoes causes BPA to absorb into your canned food. Studies have shown that the BPA level in most people’s bodies is so excessive it can lead to chromosomal damage to reproductive organs and eggs. Dr. Fredrick Vom Saal, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies BPA says, “You can get 50 mcg of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young… I won’t go near canned tomatoes.”
The solution: Choose fresh tomatoes or those in glass bottles (no resin lining).
Microwave Popcorn
The problem: The chemical perflurooctanoic acid (POFA) that can be found in the lining of microwavable popcorn bags has been linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA (fitsugar.com). Additionally, when POFA was tested on animals, the chemicals led to liver, testicular and pancreatic cancer. Since microwaving causes chemicals to vaporize, POFA can be found not only in the lining of the popcorn bag, but in the popcorn itself.
The solution: Try popping the kernels on a skillet! For flavor, you can add real butter and dried seasonings.
Conventional Apples
The problem: If fall fruits held a “most saturated in pesticides contest,” apples would take the crown with a landslide. Here’s why: apples are individually grown so that each variety (gala, granny smith, golden delicious, etc) maintains its unique flavor. With that being said, apples don’t develop the same resistance to pests, so they are sprayed frequently with pesticides. Mark Kastel, former executive for agribusiness and co-director of the Cornucopia Institute says that it is just common sense to minimize chemical exposure by avoiding these pesticide doused fruits. “Farm workers have higher rates of many cancers,” he says. Also, increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides (from all sources) with Parkinson’s disease (fitsugar.com).
The solution: Buy organic apples.
