By Kreg Weiss, B HKin • January 10th, 2009

Food companies go out of their way to repackage and market their processed food items as nutritious and 'healthy'. These marketing strategies are rarely followed by improvements in the actual food quality. Therefore, we need to be diligent in knowing exactly what we are buying and putting into our bodies. Just by carefully reading and understanding food labels, you can empower your nutritional decisions. Here is simple list of food items we should avoid and replace as these common ingredients offer little to no health benefits and, in fact, may produce chronic health problems with regular consumption.

*Unhealthy Saturated Fats
Unsaturated fats come in many forms with some being more unhealthy than others. Unsaturated fats are any fats that are solid at room temperature. These fats typically have a negative effect on the body including the development of cardiovascular and circulatory conditions. The primary unsaturated fats to avoid/reduce are animal-based fats (meat and dairy) and 'trans fats' or hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated vegetable oils have been processed so they have a solid consistency at room temperature and are a cheap substitute for more naturally occurring saturated fats like butter. Be mindful in reading foods labels as manufacturers are aware that people are now avoiding 'trans fats' and now reword these hydrogenated fat ingredients to hide them in the food labels.

*Simple Sugars
Simple sugars have a strong negative effect on blood sugar and hormone levels. These sugars quickly pass through the digestive system and create a roller coaster effect on the body's metabolic pathways. Simple sugars come a variety forms/names that should be avoided including: sugar, glucose, corn syrup, malt syrup, glucose-fructose, cane sugar. Just because it may say 'organic' doesn't mean it is good for you. Simple sugar is simple sugar! Great alternatives to simple sugars that offer a better way of satisfying sweet toothes are honey, agave (syrup), stevia, maple syrup, rice syrup and date sugar.

*High Sodium Intake
The high consumption of sodium has shown to increase blood pressure which can place the cardiovascular system at risk. Almost all premade/processed foods contain unnecessarily high levels of sodium to improve the taste quality. ...

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Location:  Montreal, CA

Kreg is a co-founder of My Yoga Online and certified Hatha Yoga Teacher. Several years ago, Kreg discovered yoga while teaching health and fitness. Yoga dramatically transformed Kreg's approach to teaching health and...