Foods I Avoid for Health

[ConsciousCuisine]

I got to thinking about foods I might actually enjoy the taste of but are not things I eat for health reasons...any one else have anything they avoid?

Peanut Butter and peanuts (Peanuts are hard to digest, cause gassyness and contain "aflatoxins" and fungus which have been shown to cause cancer, especially RAW peanuts)

Cooked oils and fried foods (They are not healthy, are difficult to digest and irritate the gallbladder, giving me a headache without fail!)

Table Salt (Do I really need to explain this one? )

White flour, bread, pasta etc. (These all are basically "glue" to the intestines and serve no nutritional function, causing bloating and discomfort)

[Artichoke47]

I don't avoid altogether, but I do eat limited quantities of high-fat foods, such as avocado, coconut, nuts, and seeds.

And I don't eat many sweets, like cake, cookies, pudding, ice cream, et cetera, because the nutritional value is minimal and the calorie level is high!

[Mystic]

Anything with refined sugar, hydrigonated fats and "white" grains I limit, but don't avoid altogether.

[PinkFluffyCloud]

Mmmm, Crusty White Bread, lovely but lethal!!!

[bananaHammock]

I got to thinking about foods I might actually enjoy the taste of but are not things I eat for health reasons...any one else have anything they avoid?

Peanut Butter and peanuts (Peanuts are hard to digest, cause gassyness and contain "aflatoxins" and fungus which have been shown to cause cancer, especially RAW peanuts)

Cooked oils and fried foods (They are not healthy, are difficult to digest and irritate the gallbladder, giving me a headache without fail!)

Table Salt (Do I really need to explain this one? )

White flour, bread, pasta etc. (These all are basically "glue" to the intestines and serve no nutritional function, causing bloating and discomfort)

Hi, could you please explain the deal with raw peanuts? I eat them all the time, that's how I get most of my protein..

And what about bread? what's wrong with whole grain bread and whole wheat pasta?

Table salt? that's how I enhance my food....

Arghhhh that's i feel bloated all the time...i'm not eating right

[snivelingchild]

I avoid the same as CC, and also mushrooms as I've read they cause an unwanted level of fungus in the body which can cause disease/immune disfunctions.

[ConsciousCuisine]

I also *never* eat hydrogentated oils (they fall under the category of cooked oils as well) or Mushrooms...I used to LOVE Mushrooms!

[ConsciousCuisine]

Hi, could you please explain the deal with raw peanuts? I eat them all the time, that's how I get most of my protein..

And what about bread? what's wrong with whole grain bread and whole wheat pasta?

Table salt? that's how I enhance my food....

Arghhhh that's i feel bloated all the time...i'm not eating right

Are you sure the peanuts are raw and not cooked/roasted? At any rate, they are still not the best choice...Look up "aflatoxin" and "molds" in relation to peanuts and see what you come up with...

There is nothing really "wrong" with bread or any of the foods you have listed if it serves you to eat them...It doesn't serve me for the reasons I listed and so I avoid them...they are not health-building foods for me...

Table salt? You'd be better off with Umeboshi, Miso, Bragg's or Shoyu if you *must* have salt. Celtic Sea Salt is a better choice. Better still, herbs, spices and such to enhance foods

[blue]

Wow, you guys are killing me! I love mushrooms,this is a source of comfort for me!

I avoid food with wheat, gives me headaches! Killer, killer migrains, knock down, fall down, can't get up, take shots, throw up, can't eat, can't drink, migrains!!!!!!!!

[foxytina_69]

mmm me too. i love onions and mushrooms fried in olive oil. or stuffed mushroom caps :|

[ConsciousCuisine]

I avoid food with wheat, gives me headaches! Killer, killer migrains, knock down, fall down, can't get up, take shots, throw up, can't eat, can't drink, migrains!!!!!!!!

Mushrooms do the same to me! I was able to source a migraine to the mushrooms I ate and a few other foods...

[MzNatural]

I dislike processed foods. Eating them makes me feel ‘weighted down’. I avoid refined sugars, (I occasionally use turbinado sugar) flour products. I occasionally eat sprouted breads. I have eaten tofu a few times at restaurants. I still have packages sitting in the freezer. Perhaps I will use it in a dessert
I occasionally use nut milks. I started making them myself.

[cowpie]

Mushrooms? I've always heard they were good for you. They're not? Hmmmm....It's just as well.....I don't like mushrooms, anyway....but peanut butter? I've heard about the antifloxins, but I though the natural organic peanut butter was all right....

[John]

I eat all those things and I am as healthy as a horse. *knocking on wood*

[indianvegan]

Three white poisons ---

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil ( White gee).

White Flour.

White processed sugar.


Manish

[blue]

CC - That's interesting about the mushrooms and the migrains. I wonder if they could be a source of mine.

I'm having uncontrollable migrains right now. I haven't been able to explain it, because I haven't been eating the wheat. It could be the mushrooms. I eat them a source of comfort food. They fill me up, make me feel good. They were kind of a meat replacement for me. I loved them!

I'm at work with a migrain that has me so sick I can't stand it. I just had a 911 call and I can hardly function. I took my medication, I guess I'll take a shot, if I don't get some relief, but an officer is going to have to sit in here for about 15 min while I deal with the affects of the shot.

Lord, help me!

[John]

Three white poisons ---

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil ( White gee).

White Flour.

White processed sugar.


Manish

Actually, I very rarely eat those things.

[gertvegan]

Caffeine. Even the smell of it gives me a headache.

[ConsciousCuisine]

OH! Okay...I forget about things that I don't eat, since they are in my "closed case" files...Let me update my list: I also avoid Coffee, Soda and Alcohol (except a bit of Organic Red Wine a few times a year)

[Northern Lights]

I avoid the 'whites' as well like Manish listed. No coffee or pop, but I LOVE Caf-lib, a roasted grain coffee alternative. It's my nice warm winter wake up.

I am trying to avoid eating to much soya products and also processed foods. The soya I'm avoiding because I find the natural phytoestrogens play havoc with my hormonal balances. Someday I might increase my soya consumption (premenopausal time) to use the natural chemicals. But I'm a long way off from that point!
The processed foods... too processed! If I can't pronounce all the ingredients I don't eat it. If it's not a naturally occuring ingredient, I try not to eat it.

There's too much out there that is good and good for you...I try to keep it simple!

[Fruitbat]

Fats: esp deep-fat fried foods but generalyl cooking with any kind of fat is unhealthy and therefore not done in my cooking - I LOVE healthy fats though so eat LOADS of avocadoes, Udo oil supplement, nuts, and seeds

Refined foods

Processed foods (I occasinally have sausage, melted cheese or fish substitutes once a week)

Wheat, rye and oats cos they make me acid and bloated - may have a slight allergy????

Bread - I prefer to get my carbs from whole foods such as pulses and nuts - also I love bread too much so if I start eating it I never stop

I noticed my soy consumption was getting ridiculous so I now try to limit tofu to max of 3 times a week, 1L soy milk and the occasional soy yoghurt or ice cream

Dried fruit in limitation - fresh is best

[basteq]

my basic criteria :

AS NATURAL AS POSSIBLE.

So mostly I avoid things that are processed. Vegan or not I don't like them.

SO AS FRESH AS POSSIBLE.

[Kiva Dancer]

If I can't pronounce all the ingredients I don't eat it. If it's not a naturally occuring ingredient, I try not to eat it.

That's my philosophy, completely. It really cuts out a lot of stuff that's not good in the first place. I have few exceptions to that rule, but I limit them. Everything else is out.

[Tigerlily]

I really try to avoid sweets and fried foods. I've been on Weight Watchers since June, so I've been trying my best to avoid them since then. I think I'd get sick if I had some now, especially the fried stuff.

And for the hydrogenated oils, good thing I don't like margarine and good thing foods with hydrogenated oils in them are fatty or sweet, so I avoid those.

As for anything else....stuff with really long, ridiculous ingredient lists.

[superfly]

of late, i've been eating as close to a raw diet as possible.
i avoid like the plague:
anything with partially-hydroginated veggie oil
anything with high fructose corn syrup
canola oil http://www.karinya.com/canola.htm
white bread
white sugar
highly processed food (if it has alot of carb grams and little fiber, i'm not eating it)

[Aurora]

Wow thanks for that link.......interesting stuff

Aurora

[Wanda]

I don't use anything with caffeine. No alcohol.
I never add salt to food and we don't buy stuff that has too much salt (but I have to admit that this is more for taste then health reasons). I hate the taste of salt. That is also why we basically can't buy anything ready-made in stores. All the burgers, packages, meals are way too salty for me.
I try to avoid TVP.
I never use hydroginated fat.
I rarely use sugar, usually I use the substitutes.

[MandaPea]

so if most, if not all of you avoid all those things then are you mainly eating fresh fruits and vegetables?

[Artichoke47]

I can only speak for myself, and I eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.

[PinkFluffyCloud]

When I am being sensible, I eat mostly fruit and veg, when I am being very silly I eat loads of toast, carob bars, Vegan ice-cream, potatoes, and biscuits.
A good Vegan diet is the best you'll find, but it can be full of junk, just like any other, - which is a shame when it should be filled with healthy, nutritious, fresh foods.

[ConsciousCuisine]

so if most, if not all of you avoid all those things then are you mainly eating fresh fruits and vegetables?

Yes, yes and yes

I feel unwell if I deviate from my healthy way of life

[superfly]

so if most, if not all of you avoid all those things then are you mainly eating fresh fruits and vegetables?

yup, i suppose you could say some of us eat as close to a natural diet as possible.
if i could erect a greenhouse, i would.
if i didn't live in the desert, i'd grow an awsome garden.

maybe someday....

[jumpinglegacy]

My friends are always offering me things like chips, saying that I can eat them... which I can. Just because I can eat something though, doesn't mean I should.

I usually stay away from chips in general, tortilla or potato... it's all the same to me. However, there are things I eat that aren't good for me either, like chocolate, which I eat on a semi-regular basis. I guess it's just easier to stay away from salt than from sugar!

[mysonvaughn]

Admittedly I am vegan mostly for ethical reasons, but a vegan diet tends to be low in fat and cholesterol overall, so I really can't see a reason for cutting these foods out completely. I eat peanut butter and roasted peanuts frequently and have never become "moldy". As in any diet I think moderation and variety is key. As to the fat issure, I have a heck of a time keeping weight on as a vegan. I eat lots of good healthy foods, bean soups, veggy and tufu rice noodle dishes, bonito free miso soup, whole grain everything etc, but I am now 5'10" 125lbs. I try to make sure and add a few fatty foods like avacado into my diet. One problem I have is i don't like tempeh, at least I didn't the first time I tried it. it had a sort of sour taste. Is it supposed to? It was also way too chewy. My son wouldn't touch it. I also have tomake sure to get some fat in our diet because he is only two and needs a little more. He is prefectly within his weight range. I try to fry things only in olive oil if I must. BTW my husband is currently very vegan hostile and showed me a study about why boys shouldn't eat soy because of the phytoestrogens. it actually claimed it causes underdeveloped testicles. I realized later on that there are actually cow estrogens in milk which are much more similar to human estrogen so the point was a little moot. My point is, there are a whole lot of people out there who reallt want to make the vegan lifestyle impossible. They cannot stand that we are different. I have seen people actually angry with me for being vegan. So take it all with a grain of sea salt.

[mysonvaughn]

I'd like to add also that all the studies I've seen (there was an article in mother earth news this month) show that those phytoestrogens have little effect on meneopausal women. There will always be a need for more studies simply because they are ALL biased, but I haven't seen anything to lead me to believe they have a huge effect. Oh and isn't high fructose corn syrup the most insidious product ever? Food manufacturers just seem to throw it in everything. It's bizarre.

[superfly]

Oh and isn't high fructose corn syrup the most insidious product ever? Food manufacturers just seem to throw it in everything. It's bizarre.

that, partialy hydroginated(sp) veggie oil, and canola oil.
get rid of them.

[Gorilla]

i used to eat white bread and white pasta. i didn't like the taste of the wholemeal varieties. a while ago though i decided i had to change to wholewheat because it's healthier, and now while i wouldn't say i like the taste i am used to it i don't eat white bread at all now and rarely eat white pasta.

[mysonvaughn]

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash? I prefer it to pasta so I use it about half the time. I don't really like the whole wheat pasta either, but I eat it anyway.

[John]

Spaghetti squash is delicious.

[drummer]

Mysonvaughn, I have found that it is usually not enough protein and carbs that makes people lose weight.
About that phytoestrogen thing, (also called isoflavens) isoflavens are supposed to protect bones against osteoporosis. Isoflavens are not female hormones, they are plant hormones. Cows' milk contains zero isoflavens, 59 bioacitve hormones, including reproductive hormones and bovine growth hormone. Cows' milk does contain oestrogen, the female hormone, because cows are animals, not plants.

[mysonvaughn]

That's what I ended up coming up with after I thought about it. I don't know why it didn't occur to me immediately. I really really need to find a simple vegan cookbook. it seems like all of them try to hard to make the food interesting and I have to go to South America to get the ingredients. I bought some vegan protein powder to sort of boost my intake while I figure out what meals I like best because that is some of my problem. i will make a recipe and then not like it so I end up eating raisin bran all the time. Thanks Meg

[veganblue]

Hi VD! Do you have any referrences for this post? especially with regards to the protective effects of isoflavins against osteoporosis and the hormonal list for cow's milk. I have read this recently;

Phytoestrogens include:

1. isoflavones,(genistein and daidzein - commonly found in soybeans)
2. coumestans,(found in red clover and alfalfa sprouts) and
3. lignans. (found in oil seeds such as flaxseed)

They have both estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects in humans. The plant lignan and isoflavonoid glycosides are converted by intestinal bacteria into hormone-like compounds.

...but don't know much about 'how' they work. It seems that there are a range of hormonally active compounds that can be found in our foods and environments - including man made polymers.

[Wildflower]

I should point out that it is now starting to be considered a falacy that womyn lack estrogen at menopause. It is actually a lack of PROGESTERONE. Estrogen and progesterone need to be in balance to work correctly, so if one drops off, the other doesn't work effectively and in this case can cause harm through estrogen dominance. This Dr has written several books on the subject and is considered the leading authority. http://www.johnleemd.com/

The good news however, is that soy isoflavens seem to work by balancing this out.

SO, foods to avoid...well, I definatly think that trans fat is horrible (partially hydrogenated oils) and avoid it as much as possible.

Also, saturated fats in general. allthough plant sources don't worry me as much as animal sources (which i obviously don't eat)

i don't eat sugar on things. fruit is better tasting and just as sweet. i try to check things like soy yogurt for the least sugar one.

i try not to eat too much sodium, although i don't salt things or cook with salt really, if i eat packaged soups/noodles it will have a lot. i am not too concerned with salt, but i try tro drink extra water to balance it out.

chemicals. food colourings, artificial flavors, preservitives. yuck!

artificial sweetners. these are just bad for you. i would rather eat sugar, at least it isn't made in a lab.

white bread. i was raised on whole wheat and just can't eat white.

caffeine. allthough i do drink tea/coffee, i think caffeine is pretty bad for you.

sodas. i don't drink these. they are useless. a true junk food.

[Cat]

Could someone tell me a bit about hydrogenated oils? Why are they so bad for you?

[Ruby Soho]

Fats come in two types, either liquid at room temperature or solid at room temperature. Fats that are solid have more hydrogen atoms in them than liquid fats, these solid fats are also more likely to be saturated fats. By adding hydrogen (hydrogenating or partially hydrogenating) it turns it from liquid into either semi-solid or solid, in other words semi-saturated or completely saturated - either of which are bad healthwise as these are the fats which clog arteries up.

Sorry if this seems a bit vague, am doing my best to remember the explanation given in 'Food' by Susan Powter - I think I got most of it but I can always go check if you'd like further info

[Mystic]

What is spaghetti squash? I love wholemeal pasta

Oh - now I avoid caffiene coz it makes me have anxiety attacks. I also avoid nuts coz they make me sick. Something else is making me sick at the moment but I cannot pinpoint it yet. I am always fatigued and nauseated, especially after I eat.

[Mystic]

Mysonvaughn, you and your son are beautiful

[Mystic]

I really try to avoid sweets and fried foods. I've been on Weight Watchers since June.

How many points do you get to eat a day? Do you find it annoying to count every morsel of food that passes your lips? I am just interested because people I know who have done WW hated the fact that they were restricted to a certain amount of points and then were confused at maintenence.

[Ruby Soho]

Spaghetti squash - after cooking you 'comb' out the inside with a fork and it will come out in long strands that look like spaghetti!!

I used to do weightwatchers - it annoyed the crap out of me having to look up the points value of every single little thing that I wanted to eat - life is just too short

[feline01]

Yumm, I love spaghetti squash with a little bit of earth balance and some freshly grated nutmeg. Delicous.