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Top 10 Of The Worst Foods To Never Eat Again
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You might read this headline and think, yeah, everything causes cancer, but the truth is that many foods DO cause cancer, as well as other types of disease. Many of the foods that we are accustomed to eating today are completely unnatural — so unnatural that our grandparents would not recognize them. Mother Nature never intended for us to eat some of the following foods, and others are so badly contaminated or foreign that our bodies do not know how to metabolize them or to process them. Thus, they end up doing strange things to our bodies.
Want to know some of the worst, cancer causing foods that you should not only just avoid, but never eat again? Keep reading for the top ten worst offenders.
10. Factory-Farmed Salmon
The Institute for Health and the Environment at the University of Albany states that not only is farmed salmon a poor source of vitamin D, found in wild salmon, but that it is also contaminated by flame retardants, antibiotics, pesticides, PCB’s, and other carcinogenic chemicals. This is mainly due to overcrowded conditions and the extremely poor diet that these fish receive. This causes them to need huge amounts of antibiotics, which get passed on to you via their meat. Although it costs more, the health benefits of wild caught salmon are well worth it.
Wild salmon has healthy amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and other important vitamins and minerals. Although salmon might have some mercury contamination, if it’s eaten in reasonable amounts each week, this risk is minimal compared to the dangers in factory salmon. If you usually order salmon when eating out, ask if it is wild caught Alaskan sockeye salmon. If your waiter doesn’t know, it would be better to order something else to avoid eating contaminated factory-farmed salmon.
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9. Non-Organic Produce
Unfortunately, while many people pile their shopping carts with plenty of fresh produce, the fact is that conventional produce isn’t nearly as healthy as most people think. Sure, you are still getting vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, but along with the good, you are getting plenty of the bad. Conventional fruits contain numerous pesticide residues which cannot be completely removed by washing. More than 98 percent of all conventional produce, especially the “dirty dozen,” is known to be contaminated with cancer-causing pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides, according to The Environmental Working Group.
SEE ALSO: Choosing Between Organic & Conventional Eating Infographic
One of the cheapest and easiest ways to fight cancer, which has been proven over and over, is to simply buy organic, or grow your own organic veggies. Chemicals used on our foods, including those found in the fertilizer conventional farming methods use to replenish the soil, contaminate our food and, therefore, contaminate the body. You can avoid all this by enjoying organic produce. Growing your own, even if all you have is container space, is a great way to drastically cut the cost of organic produce.
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8. Salt
Research has proven that a high intake of salt can cause numerous health problems, including high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and stomach cancer. In countries where salt consumption is high, such as in Japan, the rates of stomach cancer are much higher than in other countries. Salt was a common way to preserve foods before refrigeration became common, and the use of refrigerators did cause stomach cancer rates to drop, but sodium consumption is still quite high in many countries, including America.
Most foods contain enough natural sodium so you almost never need to add table salt. If you feel that some of your cooking dishes lack the zest of salt, try adding other spices that will compliment or add flavor without adding more salt. Keep in mind that there are many hidden sources of salt in most foods and condiments, which add up during a typical day. Read labels, and try to remove the salt shaker from the kitchen table. Sometimes we simply add salt out of habit, not necessarily because the food lacks flavor.
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7. Refined Sugar
By refined sugar, we mean regular white sugar, brown sugar, most agave nectars, and high fructose corn syrup — not the type of sugar that comes in natural foods such as fruit. Refined sugars spike blood sugar levels and cause our cells to become insulin-resistant. Also, cancer cells feed on sugar. It creates an acidic environment, another thing that cancer needs in order to thrive.
High fructose corn syrup is the worst offender, as studies have shown that cancer cells are able to very quickly metabolize this type of sugar. Since most baked goods, such as cookies, cakes, pies, and cereals contain this type of sugar, you would be wise to make most of from scratch. Many processed foods also contain high amounts of refined sugars, including high fructose corn syrup, which would explain why cancer rates continue to increase at a staggering rate. Avoid refined sugars as much as possible if you wish to avoid cancer as much as humanly possible.
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6. Diet Foods And Drinks
This marketing ploy is one of the cleverest, as well as being one of the most dangerous. Even worse than regular sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, diet foods and sodas contain some of the worst ingredients, including trans-fats, high levels of sodium, high amounts of artificial flavors and colors, and aspartame. The European Food Safety Authority did a recent review of more than 20 separate research studies, and they found aspartame causes a wide range of chronic health problems, including birth defects and cancer.
Other types of artificial sweeteners, including sucralose (Splenda) and saccharin, have also been shown in numerous studies to be connected with a higher risk of cancer and reproductive problems in humans and animals. The FDA has received more than 10,000 complaints about aspartame, and there are more than 91 documented body systems that have been directly affected by the consumption of this artificial sweetener.
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5. Refined And White Flour
You will find refined flours in just about all processed foods and baked goods. The main problem with this type of flour is that not only does it contain no nutritional value after it has been processed, but it is also the type of carbohydrate that spikes our blood sugar, feeding cancer cells. In fact, one study, published in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, found that those who consume high levels of refined carbs, such as white flour, had a 220 percent increase in the rate of breast cancer.
The truth is that high glycemic foods have been shown to raise blood sugar levels substantially, increasing your risk of developing diabetes and feeding the growth of cancer cells. Again, you can eliminate most refined flours by eating a more natural diet, and avoiding processed foods and baked goods. If you love your dinner rolls, try making your own from scratch with minimally processed flours.
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4. Sodas
Sodas not only cause serious damage to the kidneys, but they also cause cancer. Overflowing with high fructose corn syrup (which was discussed earlier), artificial colors, flavors, and phosphorus, sodas cause an artificially high level of acid in the body, an environment in which cancer cells thrive. Besides high fructose corn syrup, most sodas (even the fruit flavored ones!), use ingredients such as 4-methylimidazole (otherwise known as 4-MI). Chemicals such as synthetic caramel coloring and bright fruit-flavored colors such as Red Dye #2, #40, or Yellow #5, have been linked not only to higher rates of cancer, but also to higher rates of behavioral problems in children. Most studies agree that children should not consume more than 35 mg of artificial colors each day; however, you will find that just one soda can have three times that amount.
Avoid sodas of all kinds, whether colas or fruit-flavored ones, no matter how harmless or natural the label might claim the product is. Even so-called “natural” sodas contain sugar of some kind.
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3. Processed Meats
By processed meats we are referring to foods such as hot dogs, sausage, bacon, hot links, lunch meat, and any other type of processed meat, such as spam or chicken nuggets. These processed foods all contain chemical preservatives which make them appear “fresher” and more appealing, but these chemicals are well-known to cause cancer. Almost all processed meats contain sodium nitrite and/or sodium nitrates, which have been linked to a significant increase in the rates of certain types of cancer, including colon cancer, stomach cancer, and more.
Choose only uncured meats such as pure ham slices or chicken breast, not formed meats that are simply pieces glued together. Meat should preferably from organic, grass-fed, free range animals. Factory-farmed meats also contain cancer-causing substances including ammonia (used to disinfect the meat) and bleach. They also contain growth hormones and antibiotics that may not cause cancer, but will definitely give you health problems you don’t want or need. It’s true that free range meats cost more, but good health truly is priceless.
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2. Hydrogenated Oils
Most of these partially hydrogenated oils are the common vegetable oils that you see in your local supermarket, including corn oil, soybean oil, cotton seed oil, and canola oil. First, all of these oils are GMO products. Second, every single one of these oils contains dangerous trans-fats. You have probably heard about the dangers of trans-fats for your entire life, and you know what? Every single one of those warnings is probably true! Trans-fats lead to just about every disease known to modern man, including high cholesterol, heart disease, obesity, Alzheimer’s, stroke, and, of course, cancer.
This is because when these oils are processed, they create free radicals, which cause damage to our DNA. Our bodies already make free radicals as a natural by-product, so the last thing you want to do is to consume more. Free radicals cause damage to our arteries, and they are the underlying cause behind inflammation, causing arthritis and Alzheimer’s, as well as cutting your life short due to obesity. Use extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil instead of relying on these extremely dangerous oils.
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1. GMOs
GMOs shouldn’t really even be considered foods, so they have no place in anyone’s diet — not even as food for meat animals! GMOs, and the chemicals used to grow these crops, have been shown in numerous studies to cause very rapid tumor growth. Brazil published a study in 2009 showing that female rats fed a GM diet over a 15-month period had drastic changes to their reproductive system. These Frankenfoods are known to stimulate the body to produce higher levels of hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, which are linked to higher rates of cancer. GMOs can cause damage to the gastrointestinal system, increase levels of chronic fatigue, and even cause damage to the pituitary gland.
There must be a good reason why so many parts of the world, including the European Union, Mexico, and Japan do not allow the importation of GM foods. They know that these foods cause serious health problems, as well as cancer. The fact that America not only continues to allow these foods to be developed and sold, but they constantly refuse to label these foods makes you wonder: What is going on? The bottom line is this: Avoid GM Frankenfoods at all costs. If you aren’t sure what you are buying is NOT GMO, don’t buy it!
Diet alone cannot stop cancer, of course. It takes genuine effort to get plenty of quality sleep, regular exercise, positive thinking, sufficient amounts of vitamin D, and reduced stress, along with a healthy diet, to keep your body free from disease, as well as free from the dreaded C word.
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kane
Oct 15, 2015 at 11:07 pm
Until this country starts to seriously ban GMOs and many of the chemicals used to produce our foods unnaturally, the cost of safe and GMO free foods will continue to rise and move further away from what is considered affordable to many of this country’s folks. $1.50 per lemon, $1.75 per avocado? Rediculous
Jayebird58
Nov 11, 2015 at 4:43 am
My lemons are up to $2.00 & avacados $3.00. Anyway, our soil we grow all our food in, is not only contaminated but so nutritionally deficient, those lemons and all our foods, aren’t as healthy as we think. Sad!