Ben Squires
Body

5 foods a dietitian would never eat

Dieting is difficult enough at the best of times, and sometimes when we think we're making healthy choices we're actually being our own worst enemies. 

In an interview with the Australian Women's Weekly Ashleigh Keep, an accredited practising dietitian, has shared the foods she would never touch.

However, as Ms Keep notes, "It’s important to remember that no food should be labelled as ‘bad’, rather there are certain foods which should be eaten sparingly. This is due to their adverse effects on our health and wellbeing."

So here are the five foods a dietitian would never touch! 

  1. Refined breakfast cereals – Ms Keep says, “Breakfast cereal, especially the refined kind, can often be high in GI due to their hidden sugars. Plus, they're high in sodium and preservatives. Due to their low protein and fibre content, consumption of refined cereals do not lead to satiety meaning we are likely to excessively snack later on.”
  2. Juice cleanse products  Ms Keep says, “Whilst some people claim that juice cleanses detox the body, this is not the case. It doesn’t help that these juices are often full of sugar and missing the filling fibre you get from eating whole fruits.”
  3. Products that use vegetable shortening – Ms Keep says, “Used in many pre-packaged products such as cakes and biscuits, vegetable shortening is sky-high in trans fatty acids. Trans fats increase our LDL ('bad') cholesterol and reduce our HDL ('good') cholesterol which may increase our risk of heart disease or stroke.”
  4. Frozen sugar drinks – Ms Keep says, “Drinks such as Frozen Cokes and Slurpees can often contain in excess of 21 teaspoons of sugar, which is equivalent to 3 cans of coke. We now know there is a clear link between drinking soft drinks regularly and weight gain and obesity, and of course, being overweight or obese can lead to a myriad of chronic health problems. This includes type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, some cancers and poor dental health.”
  5. Processed canned meats – Ms Keep says, “Yes Spam, I’m talking about you. Processed meat with minimal protein, excess sodium, saturated fat and preservatives? No thanks!”

Source: Australian Women's Weekly

Related links: 

5 herbal teas to relax aches and pains

Is coconut water really good for you?

Easy symptoms of arthritis with these 3 nutrients

Tags:
diet, health, food, healthy, body