5 Ingredients to Avoid
All you Oprah fans will recognize the name Dr. Oz. He’s become a regular on Oprah with his integrative medicine approach.
To make your diet more healthy, Dr. Oz says to remember his “rule of fives.” Look at the labels of the foods you eat. If you see one of these five ingredients listed as one of the first five things used to make it, don’t eat it.
High fructose corn syrup
“We most commonly get this in soft drinks,” Dr. Oz says. “It’s an inexpensive sugar, which means we’re getting a lot of it in our diet.”
Sugar
Dr. Oz says when you eat sweets, your brain receives schizophrenic messages. “It says: ‘I got calories, but I didn’t get any nutrients,’” he says. Your body will keep craving food until it gets those nutrients.
“Enriched”
Also watch out for products made with “enriched” flour, like white bread. “Why would they take bread and have to enrich it? Because they take all the important vitamins out of it, and they sprinkle just a little bit back in there,” Dr. Oz says.
Trans fat
Also known as hydrogenated fat, these are fats that were once in liquid form but have hydrogen added to make them solid at room temperature. “It extends the shelf life of the product,” Dr. Oz says. “But it shortens the human life.”
Saturated fats
These fats come from four-legged animals like pigs and cows.
4 Comments
Great article! I try to always avoid those ingredients
Comment by Brenda on January 9, 2009 at 9:44 amand my body likes me much better b/c of it!
LOL Brenda. Unfortunately the list can go on and on. One ingredient that I am particulary vigilant about is MSG. Also a sneaky little ingredient called propylene glycol. It’s nasty what is included in food these days!
Comment by lea on January 9, 2009 at 9:10 pmHmmm.
Okay, as some one new to the world of weight loss, I find this rule enticing, but confusing. First of all, the saturated fat rule might be difficult to decifer. Meaning, I usually see the saturated fat grams and percentages in the label breakdown, but not on the list of ingredients. If they are not on the list of ingredients, how do I kow if they are within the first FIVE ingredients? Does the rule imply that if there are significant enough saturated fats that they will ALSO be included in the list of ingredients? If so, will they be listed as SATURATED FATS or by other names that I’ll need to learn to recognize?
Secondly, the rule about sugars seems straight forward. But, am I looking again for the word “sugar” on the ingredient list, or am I counting FRUCTOSE and others in with that rule?
Comment by wolvensense on February 17, 2009 at 5:51 amSaturated Fats have become buzz words the last few years. To even speak the words evokes fear in most. I am certainly no doctor but my understanding of saturated fats is as follows…
The body needs a certain amount of fat in the diet. Saturated fat mainly comes from animal sources like meat and dairy products, but it can also be found in coconut and palm oils. Trans fat comes from hydrogenated vegetable oils, like margarine and vegetable shortening. Both saturated fats and trans fats stay solid at room temperature.
The following foods are likely sources of damaged fats and/or damaged cholesterol:
1. Pasteurized dairy products – this includes cheese and ice cream that have been made from pasteurized milk
2. Powdered milk
3. Powdered eggs
4. Meats that have been cooked at high temperatures, especially those that have been fried or deep-fried
5. Most vegetable oils
6. All hydrogenated oils
The following foods are concentrated sources of healthy fats and/or healthy cholesterol:
1. Avocado
2. Nuts and seeds
3. Cold-water fish
4. Organic eggs
5. Organic chicken
6. Grass-fed beef
7. Virgin Coconut Oil
8. Red Palm Oil – used throughout Africa
9. Cold Pressed Olive Oil
(http://drbenkim.com/articles-fat.html)
As far as sugars they can be sneaky. I will only consume something with organic evaporated cane juice, and only if it’s towards the bottom of the ingredient list. Alternative, natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup are also ok with me. Dr. Mercola has a great article entitles
Comment by lea on February 17, 2009 at 6:49 pm76 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health. http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/dangers_of_sugar.htm
Hope I have been of some help. All the best. There is just so much to learn with regards to our diet and health.