6 popular foods to remove from your diet for a healthy life

Food is life, or so they say. But food can also be the bane of your health. And if the rise in the diagnoses of chronic illnesses are anything to go by, it’s a pointer to the lifestyle and, particularly, dietary influences on human health in modern times.

Some of what you’ll find on this list, don’t be surprised, may be your favourite or go-to for any dish.

It doesn’t change the fact that they may be silently contributing to your health challenges, slowing down your chances of a full recovery and healing.

This list, prepared by Gideon Bassey, Nutrition Consultant, Dietician and Health Advisor, also known as Doctor of the Future, exposes some of the popular foods that are commonly found everywhere today — from malls to restaurants and open markets.

1. Wheat

According to Bassey, modern wheat is not all healthy as presumed.

“Modern wheat is highly processed, high in gluten, and spikes blood sugar,” he wrote. “It’s linked to gut issues, inflammation, and metabolic problems.”

This writer did personal research and found some corroborating material. Author Eli Rogosa in her book, Restoring Heritage Grains, wrote about her experience with modern wheat.

In her words:

Wheat is the most widely grown crop on our planet, yet industrial breeders have transformed this ancient staff of life into a commodity of yield and profit.

She continues:

Witness the increase in gluten intolerance and ‘wheat belly’.

And adds:

Modern wheat depends on synthetic fertiliser and herbicides that damage our health, land, water, and environment. Doug Freyburger also shared his experience with wheat in a community forum, revealing how he noticed his symptoms that seemed ‘normal’ like snoring and coughing regularly reduced drastically on a wheat-free diet.

“Doing an eliminate and challenge system makes it easy to notice feeling worse when adding a food back,” he said. “This is how I learned that wheat was causing me a list of symptoms. Those symptoms were my normal for decades. Then I went wheat free for Atkins to lose weight and people told me I coughed a lot less.”

“My wife reported my snoring went from very loud to not loud,” he added. “Then per the directions I added back wheat and boom, a list of symptoms turned back on. They used to be my normal but that time I noticed.”

2. Soy

That’s because soy contains a rich amount of isoflavones known for their phytoestrogen properties.

They can activate the estrogen receptors in the human body, resulting in increased estrogen for premenopausal women.

Bassey made sure to warn against excessive soy consumption in general. “Most soy today is genetically modified, sprayed with chemicals, and loaded with plant estrogens (phytoestrogens) that can disrupt hormones.”

3. Margarine

According to the British Heart Foundation, margarine is considered an ultra-processed food with extra ingredients like emulsifiers and artificial colours that have been associated with heart disease, obesity, and type II diabetes.

“It contains artificial trans fats that harm your heart, arteries, and metabolism,” Bassey advised. “Go back to real fats like butter or ghee.”

4. Carbonated drinks

Soy has long been considered harmful to women battling fibroids and other estrogen-dominant

They have been linked to life-altering diseases including cancer, obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease not only in multiple studies but also in hip wellness rave conversations.

“Pure sugar bombs or chemical cocktails (if sugar-free),” Bassey weighed in, “that wreck insulin, liver health, and gut bacteria.”

5. Refined carbs (white bread, pastries, sugary cereals)

We all need carbs for staying active throughout the day. Whenever your mind goes to carbs, however, it is probably white bread that appears first.

This, according to most nutrition experts and dieticians including Bassey, is part of a class of food known as refined carbs that are less beneficial to your health.

Most of their nutrients and fibre — refined carbs, that is — have been stripped off, making their regular consumption harmful in the long run.

Diseases like diabetes, heart disease and obesity have been connected with eating refined carbs.

conditions like PCOS.

6. Energy drinks

The ingredients in energy drinks (caffeine and other stimulants) are unhealthily high, which can affect your heart and liver.

Bassey described them as “over-caffeinated, over-sugared and packed with artificial ingredients that stress your heart, liver, and adrenals.”

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have noted, too, that energy drinks can raise the heart rate and elevate blood pressure.

Optimal health is the goal

Cutting out some of these foods may be difficult at first, especially if you’ve become attached to them for the most part of your life.

Imagine, though: those distressing symptoms that once disrupted your quality of life suddenly cease to exist — and it’s because your diet now consists only of foods that don’t upset your hormones, gut, and vital systems.

Eat healthy. Stay healthy.

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