text: Making healthy food choices is often difficult and confusing,but there are a number of specific foods to avoid in almost every circumstance because they provide virtually no health benefits while posing plenty of health risks. Here are nine foods you should never eat again if you care about preserving your long-term health…
  White bread, refined flour
  These are generally toxic for the body because they have been stripped of virtually all vitamins, minerals, fibre, and other important nutrients. They are not properly digestable and assimilated. Refined white flour has also been bleached with chlorine and brominated with bromide, two poisonous chemicals that have been linked to causing thyroid and organ damage.
  Tip: Choose brown bread or whole wheat bread over white bread. Reduce consumption of patries made from white flour.
  Conventional frozen meals
  With the exception of a few truly healthy frozen meal brands, most conventionally-prepared frozen meals are loaded with preservatives, processed salt, hydrogenated oils and other artificial ingredients, not to mention the fact that most frozen meals have been heavily pre-cooked, rendering their nutrient content minimal.
  Tip: As much as possible, eat meals in their fresh, unpreserved state.
  Like white bread, white rice has been stripped of most of its nutrients, and separated from the bran and germ, two natural components that make up rice in its brown form. Even so-called “fortified” white rice is nutritionally deficient, as the body still processes this refined food much differently than brown rice, which is absorbed more slowly, and does not cause the same spike in blood sugar that white rice does.
  Tip: Eat “unpolished” rice as much as possible in place of the “parboiled” or “polished” variety.
  This processed food which is a favourite among moviegoers and regular snackers is one of the unhealthiest foods you can eat. Practically, every component of microwaveable popcorn is unhealthy and disease-promoting. It contains a chemical known as diacetyl that can actually destroy the lungs.
  Cured meat products
  Deli meats, sausage, hot dogs, bacon, and many other meats are often loaded with sodium nitrite and other chemical preservatives linked to causing heart disease and cancer.
  Tip: Have preference only for fresh, uncured meats.
  Conventional protein, energy bars.
  These are meal replacements containing processed soy protein, refined sugar, hydrogenated fat, and other harmful additives that contribute to chronic illness.
  Hidden in all sorts of processed foods, margarine, a hydrogenated trans-fat oil, is something you will want to avoid at all costs for your health. Contrary to popular belief, butter and saturated fats in general are not unhealthy, especially when they are derived from pastured animals that feed on grass rather than corn and soy.
  Tip: Extra-virgin coconut oil or olive oil are much better than margarine.
  Soy milk and soy-based meat substitutes
  Nearly all non-organic soy ingredients are of genetically modified origin, most soy additives are processed using a toxic chemical known as hexane, which is linked to causing birth defects, reproductive problems, and cancer. Unfermented soy is also highly estrogenic, which can distort hormone balance.
  Many so-called “diet” products on the market today contains artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, both of which are linked to causing neurological damage, gastrointestinal problems, and endocrine disruption. Many diet products also contain added chemical flavoring agents to take the place of fat and other natural components that have been removed to artificially reduce calorie content.
  Tip: Stick with whole foods that are as close to nature as possible, including high-fat foods grown the way nature intended, and your body will respond surprisingly well.
  Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.