You don’t have to be a Nutritionist to know that an apple will better for your body than a cupcake but what about the latest ‘high protein’ bars, ‘low carb’ bread and ‘zero sugar’ beverages?
I can tell you something for free. Whenever a food company brands a food product as ‘healthy’ by calling it one of those things, it is more often than not actually full of rubbish.
Take the time to read the ingredients listed on the foods that you buy and if they contain more than 5 ingredients, or you are unable to pronounce some of the ingredients.. it’s probably not ‘real’ food.
Here is a list of a few specific foods to avoid, based on what we Brits like to eat.
- Ham
- Bacon
- Gammon
- Pâté
- Frankfurters
- Sausages (you can find ‘clean’ sausages)
- Pastry – Pies, Pasties, Sausage Rolls etc
- Ketchup
- BBQ sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Salad Cream
- Chutney
- Jam (containing sugar)
- Peanut Butter (containing sugar)
- Cakes
- Biscuits
- Cookies
- Crisps
- Ready Meals
- Sweets
- White Bread
- White Rice
- White Pasta
- White Flour
- White Sugar
- Alcohol
- Tea (If do not wish to cut this out completely, try to cut down to 1-2 cups a day)
- Coffee (If you do not wish to cut this out completely, try to cut down and aim for 1-2 cups a day)
- Ice Cream
- Jelly
- Custard
- Yoghurts (containing sugar)
- Cereals (containing sugar)
- Chocolate bars
- Cereal bars
- Squash Drinks
- Energy Drinks
- Fizzy drinks
- Take Aways/Fast Food
- Tinned convenience foods like; Baked Beans, Tinned Spaghetti, Ravioli, Tinned Soup, Mushy Peas, Corned Beef, Rice Pudding, Tinned Fruit in Syrup etc.
- Frozen convenience food like: Chips, Waffles, Wedges, Breaded Meat and Fish, Battered Meat and Fish, Pizzas, Sausage Rolls etc.
When reading labels on food, you will know to avoid it if it contains:
- Additives and Preservatives (E numbers)
- Artificial sweetners (aspartame, acesulfame K, sucralose)
- Artificial flavours and colours
- Sugar (a few of its hidden forms; glucose, sucrose, maltose, hydrolysed starch, invert sugar, fructose)
- White Flour (unless it states ‘whole wheat’ will be white)
- Trans Fats / Hydrogenated Fat
- Anything you cannot pronounce!
© Charlie Mace
