Let’s discuss “bad” food
I love following fitness professionals and those just passionate about their health! I get a lot of inspiration both in motivation and exercise ideas while giving them props for working so hard on their own journey!
Something I keep noticing on platforms lately is this idea there are no ‘bad’ foods. I’d like to explore this as I immediately react with ‘oh yes there is’.
Now, I am aware this message is in response to supporting a well balanced and sustainable diet and combating the past couple decades our food industry giants have butchered nutrients in response to whatever the current diet fad was. No carbs, no fat, no sugar. All the protein, all the salads. Definitely want to steer clear of these, as they are just WRONG.
That being said - There are bad foods that have absolutely zero nutritional value and should be seen as hinderances to your progress if your goals involve losing weight. If you’re maintaining weight then these foods should be indulged in as little as possible as they present a slippery slope in what moderation looks like. Both psychologically and physically. There is always a healthier alternative to whatever it is your body is craving at any given time. The only time you will hear me speak about ‘restriction’ (because it’s become a taboo word) is in reference to these foods.
These bad foods are specifically engineered (not natural in any sense of the word) for you to consume too much of and become addicted to. Soda, alcohol, pop-tarts to name a couple. Food manufacturers have ZERO regard for YOUR health. What they do care about is profit and will continue to do what they have to in order to keep you buying their product. This includes knowingly misleading, and sometimes outright lying, with their labels and advertisements (check out the links below for the lawsuit filed against Kellogg for masquerading pop-tarts as a health food).
I’ve included a couple documentaries and articles on how some “bad” foods affect your body and why, if you’re really concerned about health and want to maintain a healthy body, they should be restricted.
This is just a small bubble of my thoughts and I am always happy to discuss further as this is a HUGE issue in our country and one of the LEADING FACTORS to the population’s obesity epidemic - which is also directly related to several other health issues like heart disease and diabetes.
With so much information available at our finger tips it can be incredibly frustrating to wade through. Especially when a company’s profit is involved.
So I leave this thought with a tip to gather information from credible sources, do literature reviews on the research, dig a little on the backers of grants for these studies, consider what conflict of interest looks like to you, and just keep searching for more knowledge!
Documentaries
Watch Fed Up | Prime Video (amazon.com)
Watch Food, Inc | Prime Video (amazon.com)
Watch Sugar Coated Online | Vimeo On Demand on Vimeo
Articles
7 Reasons Why Soda Is Bad for You - University Health News
How Soda Affects Your Body | Step One Foods
Why You Should Never Eat Pop-Tarts, Like, Ever - SHEfinds
23 Effects of Alcohol on Your Body (healthline.com)
Kellogg's customer files $5 million lawsuit alleging Pop-Tarts don't have enough strawberries - CNN
Kellogg mislabeled Pop-Tarts lawsuit actually is no joke (fastcompany.com)
