You see, the title of this post illustrates the problem with journalists writing about health. The job of the journalist is to write articles that get attention, and secondly, inform. The general public is more aware about acai berries than ever before in history, but how much of an impact do these buzzed-about “superfoods” really have on your health? I argue that editors are simply asking writers, “Where’s the hook?” not, “Where’s the legit scientific study to back up these claims?”
Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to sacrifice sound science for shock factor when it comes to your health. Here are eight shocking health facts with scientific studies to back them, starting with the bad news first.
1. Vegetable Oil is wrecking your heart and stiffening your arteries.
Canola oil, soybean oil, flaxseed oil, and other industrial seed oils are raising your omega-6 (linoleic acid) to unsafe levels and raising your bad cholesterol (LDL, low-density lipids). Omega-3 and omega-6, both essential fatty acids, compete for the enzymes that convert polyunsaturated fat into signaling molecules (eicosanoids) that play a major role in almost every function in your body. When too much omega-6 is present, it throws off the beneficial functions of omega-3. You can’t overdo omega-3, but you can overdo omega-6, which raises your cholesterol and increases your risk of coronary artery disease.
Whenever you see a recipe that calls for vegetable oils, use virgin coconut oil, palm oil, butter (never margarine), or even lard instead. Contrary to popular belief, consumption of saturated or animal fats will not increase your chances of heart disease.
2. Wheat is deteriorating your insides.
Gluten is a protein found most highly concentrated in wheat. About 12% of the population is diagnosed with gluten sensitivity, and we can consider these people the lucky ones, because at least their bodies are signaling to them to cut wheat out from their diets. Just because your stomach isn’t hurting after eating wheat (or barley, or rye), doesn’t mean gluten isn’t wreaking havoc on your small intestine. Wheat can be harming you without you feeling a single symptom.
Gluten sensitivity goes hand in hand with celiac disease, a degeneration of the lining of your small intestine, but gluten can also affect your brain, digestive tract, skin, and pancreas.
Gluten hanging around in the small intestine may be inhibiting the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K, vitamins that, when deficient, can lead to serious disease such as cystic fibrosis.
Continuing to eat wheat is probably something you should reconsider, but beware: studies show that wheat releases opiates as it breaks down, so it may feel like getting off an addiction.
There do exist certain hunter/gatherer societies that consume mainly grains, including wheat, but they are careful to soak or ferment the grain before consumption, which releases nutrients and renders the grains more digestible.
http://gut.bmj.com/content/56/6/889.extract
3. Sugar is preventing proper digestion.
What’s shocking is not that sugar is bad for you, but that you’re still eating it. Sugar and things that break down into simple sugar in your body are driving up insulin spikes and storing unused energy as excess belly fat.
But if that isn’t bad enough, sugar intake may also be causing gastrointestinal distress by feeding bacteria (H. pylori) that prevent stomach acid secretion. This is bad because then you have a bunch of undigested food floating around not releasing nutrients and potentially causing infection.
Be weird, rude, and impolite when it comes to sugar. Refuse it, and call it what it is: poison.
4. Eating at restaurants is never a safe idea.
Restaurant kitchens are heavily stocked with industrial seed oils of all kinds, sugar-based marinades and sauces, and deep-fryers. And what’s the first and last thing they bring to your table? Bread and dessert—restaurants are disease sandwiches served with a smile.
Cook at home, for God’s sake! Revolutionary idea, I know. Stockpile your kitchen with coconut oil, palm oil, butter, and ghee. Eat meats, fish, egg yolks, and vegetables. Forget the starch. No need to calculate the tip.
That was the shockingly bad stuff, and now for the shockingly good!
5. Beef liver is the most nutritious food you can possibly eat.
I’ll bet you’re not eating your organ meats. Somewhere along the way, we decided that muscle should be the primary source of meat consumption, but what we don’t realize is that our prehistoric brethren threw away the muscle in times of surplus and only ate the good stuff—liver, kidney, tripe, tongue, eyes, heart, blood—are you getting hungry, yet?
Fact is, beef liver is off the charts when it comes to vitamin A and several vitamin B’s. It’s full of folic acid, iron, copper, and it supplies you with the minerals needed for good cardiovascular function.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beef-products/3470/2
You probably don’t have a good recipe for beef liver lying around, so here’s one for you that you can try tonight. Eat beef liver once every week or two and see what happens.
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/05/real-food-vi-liver.html
6. Sunshine is essential to a healthy diet.
In recent years, people have become sun-phobic due to skin cancer being on the rise. I personally wouldn’t lie out in the sun at noon for a lengthy tanning session, but nevertheless, you need sunshine for vitamin D.
Vitamin D is vital for healthy cell functioning and also preventing vitamin A toxicity. Vitamin D acts in nearly every tissue in your body and is an essential building block of health.
The best way to get quality Vitamin D is by going outside and catching some rays. Sunscreen will block vitamin D, as will glass windows, so you have to get outside and ditch the SPF.
Vitamin D deficiency causes rickets (weakening of bones and teeth), and may be linked to many other diseases including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, autoimmune, osteoporosis—need I continue?
Be a sun worshipper, but be smart about it. Vitamin D can also be found in several whole foods, but the sun is going to be your best source.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/research.shtml
7. The gym is bad for your health.
Cancel that gym membership. Number one, that fluorescent lighting isn’t providing any Vitamin D, and number two, the sight of naked people in the locker room can really ruin your day.
Get outside where the sun is shining and do the one exercise that is going to significantly reduce your body mass: High-Intensity Interval Training. That’s an unnecessarily fancy name for sprinting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training#cite_note-pmid8897392-1
Here’s the drill: 3-4 sets of 8-second sprints with a one-minute rest in between, twice a week. Make sure to get some active stretching beforehand, and static stretching after. That’s it. The end. Try it a few times and see what happens. I predict you’ll find a noticeable decrease in body mass after just a few weeks.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8897392
8. Inactivity does not cause obesity, but obesity does predict inactivity.
We all want to hold on to the myth that exercise is going to trim us down, but the science just doesn’t show any correlation. I believe that exercise is important to health, probably even crucial, but it definitely won’t beat a smart diet.
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v32/n8/abs/ijo200874a.html
At the end of the day…
You can’t make the world stop buying sugar, industrial seed oils, wheat, and other crap that’s destroying overall health, so stop waiting for that to happen.
Find out what traditional hunter/gatherer societies are eating and how they’re eating it. Find out what people ate before agriculture and before grain became our main staple. Think about the millions of years of evolution we went through before we arrived at the industrialized dietary landscape we now live in.
Figure out what real, whole foods are and eat them up. Hint: less than 10% of your average grocery store are real, whole foods.
You don’t need to break the bank on premium organic foods to eat healthy. Mainly just avoid the stuff that’s poisoning you. What’s left is probably the good stuff.
Ask yourself…
What are your beliefs and practices surrounding the food you eat?
What signals and messages do you receive on a regular basis from corporate media and society at large?
What tactics are you going to employ to start eradicating sugar, gluten, and vegetable oils from your diet today?
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