DMAA was factor in marathon runner's death

A now-banned drug in a sports nutrition supplement was a factor in the death of a runner during the London Marathon, a coroner has ruled.

Claire Squires, 30, of Leicestershire, collapsed and died on the final stretch of the 26.2-mile course last April.The inquest heard the drug DMAA, found in some nutritional supplements and not banned at the time, was in her system.

The coroner said she died of cardiac failure caused by extreme exertion, complicated by DMAA toxicity.

'Tragic loss'

Her boyfriend said she had put a scoop of a product containing DMAA into her water bottle.

Recording a narrative verdict at the hearing at Southwark Coroners' Court, Dr Philip Barlow said: "Claire Squires collapsed during the final stages of the London Marathon.

DMAA

Products containing DMAA have been withdrawn in various European Union countries and the world

In August 2012, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) advised people not to consume products containing the stimulant

It said DMAA could be fatal and linked it with high blood pressure, nausea, cerebral haemorrhage and stroke

DMAA is also listed on packaging as geranium extract, geranamine, methylhexanamine and 4-methylhexane-2-amine.

"She had taken a supplement containing DMAA which, on the balance of probabilities, in combination with extreme physical exertion, caused acute cardiac failure, which resulted in her death.

"My hope is that the coverage of this case and the events leading up to Claire's death will help publicize the potentially harmful effects of DMAA during extreme exertion."

He offered his condolences to her family "for a very tragic loss of an obviously dear person".

Miss Squires, a hairdresser from North Kilworth, aimed to raise £500 for the Samaritans, but her death led to donations totalling more than £1m.

'Bit like caffeine'

DMAA (1,3-dimethylamylamine), which increases the heart rate, was being sold in the UK at the time in some sports nutrition supplements.

In August last year, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency ruled DMAA was an unlicensed medicinal product.

Claire Squires collapsed on the final stretch of the 26.2-mile London Marathon course in April last yearIt said all products containing DMAA needed to be removed from the UK market due to concerns about potential risks to public safety.

Miss Squires' boyfriend Simon van Herrewege said she had put a scoop of sports supplement Jack3D, containing DMAA, into her water bottle before setting off on the race.Products containing DMAA were not banned in the UK at the time.Miss Squires had run the London Marathon two years before and wanted to beat four hours for the race.She had also completed the Great North Run and the Belfast Marathon.

Mr van Herrewege told the inquest: "Claire ended up getting a tub of this supplement Jack3D to give you a bit of an energy boost. It is a bit like caffeine."Claire never really got on with it. She never really liked it."She said she would take one scoop in her water bottle.Mother volunteered "She said that if 'I hit a bit of [a] wall I will take it'."

DMAA has been banned by the US Army following the deaths of soldiers who had taken it.The hearing was told Jack3D is still being sold on Amazon but DMAA has been removed as an ingredient.

Outside court, Mr van Herrewege called for better supervision of the "so-called health food and supplement industry".He said her death had left a "gaping hole in their hearts and lives".

"The outcome of the inquest left us feeling a little numb. Claire took part in the marathon to do some good and challenge herself in the same way she did for many other events.

"Claire was passionately against the use of drugs and would never, ever, have taken anything that would have caused her harm, or even worse, risk her life."Miss Squires chose to raise money for the Samaritans partly because her mother had volunteered for the charity for 24 years.Her death led to a public outpouring of support for the organisation.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21262717

Warrior Bootcamp Schedule 28th Jan - 3rd Feb 2013

The even weaker sex: Faddy diets and fears that muscles aren't feminine have left modern women weaker than their grannies

Can you whisk eggs without your arms aching, or push a car that’s broken down? Your grandmother might have been able to do this, but chances are you can’t. For new evidence suggests humans are getting weaker — today’s generation simply don’t have the same muscle power as their parents. And it’s women who are affected most.

In Western countries such as the UK, U.S. and Canada, muscular strength has hit a plateau and muscular endurance — the ability to repeatedly exert force, such as doing sit-ups — has declined by 8 to 10  per cent since the Eighties,’ says Dr Grant Tomkinson, senior lecturer in health sciences at the University of South Australia, a leading researcher on trends in fitness over time.

It seems our average muscle power peaked in 1985 — since then we’ve increased in weight, but our muscles have got weaker and weaker, especially among women.

‘I’m seeing a massive epidemic of weak women who have no muscle strength,’ says London-based physiotherapist Sammy Margo. 

‘There are skinny women who have no muscles supporting their spine, and overweight ladies who don’t have any muscles under the fat.’Women’s lack of muscle has serious implications for their health. 

Experts say poor muscle strength is to blame for a host of health problems such as osteoporosis and fractures, arthritis and back pain.

So why are women so weedy — and what should they do about it?

GIRLS WANT TO BE THIN, NOT STRONG

It takes only a cursory comparison of the covers of men’s and women’s magazines to understand the differences in what motivates men and women  to exercise.

While men strive to get ‘the ultimate six pack’ and ‘more body bulk now’, women’s objectives tend

Ken Fox, professor of exercise and health sciences at the University of Bristol, says: ‘The majority of young females want to look thin. 

'They don’t eat much, they don’t exercise much, and because of that they have weak musculatures — it’s really not a healthy way to be.’

A survey by the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation found 40  per cent of women said feeling better about their appearance was the main factor that motivated them to exercise; in another, a third of women said they felt more pressure to be thin than healthy.

SCHWARZENEGGER BODY MYTH

Girls and women often avoid muscle-building exercise such as weightlifting or press-ups because they’re afraid of becoming too muscular and bulky.

Even the golden girl of the London Olympics, Jessica Ennis, has admitted she had at first been concerned about weight training because she ‘didn’t want to be all muscly’. 

But many experts say it’s actually difficult for women to ‘bulk up’ because of their hormones. 

This resistance exercise, as it is known, triggers muscle growth by causing small amounts of trauma to the muscles — the body repairs the damage by adding protein strands to the muscle to increase its strength and size. 

Testosterone is the hormone that triggers this process and men naturally have higher levels of it than women, meaning it’s much harder for women to develop big muscles, explains Professor Fox.

‘They can get toned but looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t an issue,’ he says. 

Women also can’t lose as much fat — men can conceivably get down to 4  per cent body fat while women typically cannot get lower than 10  per cent. 

Women evolved this way because they need more fat to bear children.

THE PROBLEMS START AT SCHOOL

Today’s children are set up for a life of puniness from an early age, thanks partly to our increasingly indoor lifestyles.

Dr Gavin Sandercock, a lecturer in sports science at Essex University, tested the strength of 315 Essex ten-year-olds in 2008 and compared the results from children of the same age in 1998.

Today’s children managed only around two thirds of the sit-ups of the previous generation; arm strength had fallen by 26 per cent and grip by 7 per cent. 

Dr Sandercock says he was especially concerned by the children’s poor performance at sit-ups, because ‘your ability to do sit-ups has been shown to be an indicator of back pain in later life’.

Meanwhile, in a study by the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation of 1,500 schoolchildren, half the 14-year-old girls surveyed said getting sweaty was ‘not feminine’, and a third of boys said girls who are sporty are not feminine.

It probably doesn’t help that teachers don’t have the right specialist PE training, which is leaving younger generations ‘physically illiterate’, as Susan Campbell, the head of UK Sport said last week.

She claimed this lack of training means thousands of children start secondary school unable to run, jump, throw a ball or catch.

MUSCLE MATTERS

Women’s disregard for muscles may be costing them dearly. Muscles are the ‘scaffolding’ that holds the body up, vital for protecting the joints and bones, and it’s essential to start building muscle in early life to avoid miserable repercussions.

Numerous studies have shown the strength of your muscles can be a key indicator of longevity. 

Healthy muscles reduce the risk of falls in later life, says Professor Janet Lord, director of the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Musculoskeletal Ageing Research. 

‘Muscle allows you to control your movement,’ she says. ‘So if you do have a trip, you fall in a controlled way and there’s less chance you’ll fracture your wrist for example.’

A PAIN IN THE BACK

Strong muscles are also vital for preventing sore backs. Sammy Margo blames the endemic problem of back pain on weak tummy, or ‘core’ muscles. 

It’s the stomach muscles that hold you up straight when sitting or standing. 

But if these are weak, we tend to use the tiny muscles in the back, which leads to damage. 

If you have poor tummy muscles, you tend to slump and overstretch the muscles, tendons, ligaments and discs in the back — setting  up inflammation and, in the  long term, chronic back pain,’  she explains. 

‘It’s not just back pain but ankles, neck pain, shoulder pain, even knee pain. 

'You can postpone or prevent the need for a knee replacement just by building up the surrounding muscle.’

WOMEN DON’T EAT ENOUGH PROTEIN

Healthy muscles rely on regular intake of protein — it is essential for the structure and functioning of muscle cells.

Catherine Collins, principal dietitian at St George’s Hospital, London, says recent health concerns over meat, and the growing popularity of extreme diets that exclude whole food groups, such as veganism, means more and more women may be missing out on protein.

‘The best sources are meat and dairy products,’ she says. ‘It’s essential we get about 60g a day — equivalent to an 8oz steak or 200g chicken breast.’

Being deficient in protein can have devastating effects, she adds.

‘If you’re not getting enough protein from food, your body cannibalises your own tissue. It starts by taking from your muscle bulk, but then it will use organs.’

BLAME LIFTS, CARS AND THE INTERNET

Our sedentary lifestyle has been blamed for expanding waistlines, but it is also causing our muscles to waste away, say experts.

The decline in manual labour means our jobs are now overwhelmingly office based, and even getting up to go to a meeting has been replaced by email.

 ‘It’s not just the fact that the average person sits for eight hours a day,’ says Sammy Margo.

‘We have remote controls so we don’t have to get up to change channels, and cars and internet shopping so we don’t have to walk to work or school or carry heavy shopping back home.’

OLYMPIC EFFECT

There may be good news on the horizon, however, thanks largely to the stunning success of Britain’s female athletes at last summer’s London Olympics.

Lucy Wyndham Read, a personal trainer, has noticed a shift in women’s requests and aims.

‘Women are now asking for an athletic shape. They want to look feminine, but have definition and tone,’ she says.

Strong could be the new sexy — and it’s healthier, to boot.

Source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2266092/Weaker-sex-Faddy-diets-fears-muscles-arent-feminine-left-modern-women-weaker-grannies.html?printingPage=true

Is too much running bad for you ?

Anyone who’s finished a marathon or Ironman wouldn’t be shocked to find that the effort caused damage to their body and heart. Traditionally, though, that damage has been thought to be only temporary, subsiding after a few weeks.

But, a newly published report in Mayo Clinic Proceedings suggests that the damage endurance athletes do to their hearts actually adds up over time. Repeated extreme exercise or long-distance racing can cause a buildup of scar tissue on the heart, which can lead to the development of patchy myocardial fibrosis in up to 12% of marathon runners. The effects of “chronic exercise” can also include premature aging of the heart, stiffening of the heart muscles, and an increase in arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation.

“It’s a cumulative thing,” said Dr. James O’Keefe, of the Mid-Atlantic Heart Institute and one of the authors on the study.

“More [exercise] is certainly not better,” said Dr. Chip Lavie, another author on the study and a cardiologist at the Ochsner Medical Center.

In fact, in the release announcing the study, the recent death of ultra-marathoner Micah True–who frequently ran distances in the range of 50-100 miles–during a training run is called out as likely being connected to the long-term effects of excessive endurance exercise. An autopsy of his heart found it enlarged and scarred and suggested that he died of a lethal arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat.

Multiple studies have shown that immediately after a marathon, 30 to 50% of runners show increased levels of enzymes and biomarkers that are typically released during heart attacks and associated with heart failure. Originally, it appeared the race-related damage was less severe in people who trained over 45 miles per week, but O’Keefe says that doesn’t prove to always be true.

In fact, elite athletes often suffer from an enlarging of the heart and thickening of the heart muscle known as “athlete’s heart.”

Much of the damage seen immediately after the race goes away within the month. It is only when the heart is consistently and repeatedly damaged that the scarring builds up. If you’re going to continuously compete in long-distance running, cycling or triathlon events, there are a few precautions you could take, O’Keefe says.

Break up your exercise to give your heart a rest, recommends O’Keefe. Sitting at your desk, your heat pumps about five liters per minute, but during exercise it can pump up to 25 liters a minute. “That’s a lot of cardiac work to do for four hours at a time,” he said.

Source : http://running.competitor.com/2012/06/news/how-much-running-is-bad-for-your-heart_54331

Warrior Bootcamp Penang Schedule 21 - 27 Jan 2013

Malaysia is the fattest country in South-East Asia

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is the fattest country in South-East Asia with its obesity rate on the rise, says Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

“This is not a glorious title. We are outweighing our Asean neighbours and number six in the whole of Asia – behind some Middle Eastern countries,” said the Health Minister.
Citing statistics from the National Health and Morbidity Surveys, Liow said 15.1% of Malaysians aged 18 and above were suffering from obesity as of 2011.
“This is an increase from the 14% figure of the same demographic in 2006,” he pointed out.
It was also reported that over 2.6 million adults were obese while over 477,000 children below the age of 18 years were overweight.
Liow said the rate of Non-Com­municable Diseases (NCD) such as diabetes, cancers and cardiovascular problems had also increased dramatically among Malaysians.
“This exciting era of electronic gadgets and instantaneous communication is actually a double-edged sword,” he said.
“We are increasingly becoming couch potatoes; we are not leading an active enough lifestyle to prevent ourselves from becoming obese, which is a precursor to many health problems,” he said at the launch of “Healthy Lifestyle With Skipping” programme in Hotel Istana yesterday.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/1/18/nation/12591415&sec=nation

10-year-olds showing signs of heart disease

CHILDREN as young as 10 have already developed risk factors for heart disease and stroke in adulthood.

The worrying study of 102 children, aged 10-12 years, found 16 with three or more risk factors.The study involved an interview and a medical examination to measure their weight, blood pressure, physical fitness, activity levels and Cholesterol.It found that 29 were overweight or obese, six had elevated cholesterol and five had higher than normal blood pressure levels.

While fitness was good, their activity levels were low with less than half the group getting the recommended hour of exercise a day, the findings to be published in the 'Irish Medical Journal' reveal.Overall, fewer girls than boys reported getting the proper quota of exercise daily, the researchers at the Department of Physiotherapy in Trinity College revealed.

The authors pointed out that it is widely accepted that many of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease have their roots in early childhood and persist into childhood."While there is a genetic component to the disease process, lifestyle also plays an important role," they added.Physical inactivity, poor physical fitness, fat intake, blood pressure and elevated cholesterol are all risk factors.

The incidence of overweight and obesity in boys was 22pc but it was as high as 35pc in the girls tested."According to the National Task Force on Obesity, excess body weight is now the most prevalent childhood disease in Europe, affecting one in six children."

A recent study in Sweden, involving children of a similar age, also reported that those with low levels of physical activity had a higher risk score for cardiovascular disease.

"Our findings are consistent with the literature to date and highlight the importance of physical activity in childhood," they added.

http://m.independent.ie/national-news/10yearolds-showing-signs-of-heart-disease-3355766.html

Is running bad for you?

Kate Gosselin feels best when she runs 10 miles every other day, according to Us Weekly. But what the 37-year-old mother of eight doesn’t know is that when it comes to vigorous exercise, more isn’t always better. Turns out, people who work out too hard for too long may be less healthy than sedentary people, and are more likely to die than moderate exercisers, according to an editorial recently published in the British journal Heart.

The editorial authors reviewed decades’ worth of research on the effects of endurance athletics. They found numerous studies that showed that moderate exercise was good, but excessive exercise was damaging. For instance, in one German study published in European Heart Journal, researchers compared the hearts of 108 chronic marathoners and sedentary people in a control group. Surprisingly, the runners had more coronary plaque buildup, a risk factor for heart disease.

In another observational study, researchers tracked over 52,000 people for 30 years. Overall, runners had a 19 percent lower death risk than non-runners. However, the health benefits of exercise seemed to diminish among people who ran more than 20 miles a week, more than six days a week, or faster than eight miles an hour. The sweet spot appears to be five to 19 miles per week at a pace of six to seven miles per hour, spread throughout three or four sessions per week. Runners who followed these guidelines reaped the greatest health benefits: their risk of death dropped by 25 percent, according to results published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Forget about chafing and sore muscles: excessive exercise can cause even more serious wear and tear on your body. During a strenuous workout, your body works hard to burn sugar and fat for fuel. And just like burning wood in a fire, this creates smoke. The “smoke” that billows through your system is actually free radicals that can bind with cholesterol to create plaque buildup in your arteries, and damage your cells in a process known as oxidative stress.

“Your body is designed to deal with oxidative stress that comes from exercise for the first hour,” says cardiologist James O’Keefe, MD, Director of Preventative Cardiology at the Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, and author of the Heart editorial. “But prolonged intense exercise causes excessive oxidative stress, which basically burns through the antioxidants in your system and predisposes you to problems.”

However, O’Keefe insists that this is no excuse to trash your running shoes and take to the couch. “Exercise may be the most important component of a healthy lifestyle, but like any powerful drug you’ve got to get the dose right,” he says. It’s true: exercise—in moderation—can reduce your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 1 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, dementia, obesity, and premature aging. Regular workouts can also promote muscular health, skeletal health, and boost your mood. Overdo it, though, and many of these health benefits practically vanish.

Researchers are still working to define the safe limits for vigorous exercise. The bottom line: if you work out to promote your long-term health and well-being, doing vigorous exercise for longer than an hour isn’t necessary, and is actually counterproductive, says O’Keefe. Use these tips to maximize the benefits of moderate exercise:

If you like to work out every day: Don’t do hard endurance exercise for more than one hour per day, and listen to your body: if your muscles are sore, consider building in a day of “rest” and swap hard-core cardio for walking or stretching.

If you want to work out longer than 60 minutes a day: After the first 45 to 60 minutes of vigorous exercise, switch it up by doing yoga, strength training, or lighter activity like swimming—and don’t race.

If you’re already training hard: Researchers don’t know for sure whether cutting back on sustained endurance exercise (i.e., running more than 25 miles a week for the past 10 years) can undo the damage done, and improve a person’s health. (O’Keefe’s guess is yes, though, based on related animal studies with promising results.) If you typically wake up with low energy, see no improvement in your fitness, have you lost your appetite, or have begun to think of workouts as a chore, you might have reached your personal threshold. Use common sense and cut back; like your muscles, your heart may need a day off from daily vigorous exercise. You don’t need to lay around, but stick to walking or yoga instead of your regular workout for one extra day each week.

If you want a workout that helps you live longer: Sprint for 20 to 40 seconds, then let your heartbeat return to normal, and repeat five to eight times. According to O’Keefe, high-intensity interval training can improve your fitness without taking a long-term toll on your health.

If “run a marathon” is on your bucket list, no matter what: “People do a lot of things for reasons besides living longer, like jumping out of airplanes and racing cars. We’re not saying those are bad, but they’re not for your health,” says O’Keefe. The same goes for marathon running. There’s no firm information that running a few marathons is going to hurt you. Just know that competing regularly (i.e., running one race per year for a decade) won’t promote longevity.



source

Warrior Bootcamp Pg Schedule 14 - 20 Jan 2013

20 healthy foods that aren't actually healthy

It's a brand new year and I'm sure everyone is trying to get back on track on eating healthier after all the sinful digs over Christmas and New Year. Eating healthy can be tricky, especially when there are a lot of marketing gimmicks trying to trick our brains into buying the so called healthier food choices.

Here are some guidelines to help you plan your meals better.

Some examples of “healthy food” words on product labels:

- Fat Free

- Reduced Fat

- Low Fat

- Sugar Free

- No Added Sugar

- Diet

We are supposed to believe that each of these categories makes a food healthier. In reality, this could be further from the truth. Here is what those “healthy food” phrases actually translate to:

Fat free - but full of sugar and chemicals.

Reduced fat - but increased carbohydrates.

Low fat - but high glycemic index.

Sugar free - artificial everything else.

No added sugar - because the all natural version has enough sugar to give you type II diabetes anyway.

“Diet” food - but it causes cancer in lab rats so don’t drink/eat too much of it.

Consider the logic that food manufactures would have us believe: fat-free is good for you; jelly beans, jolly ranchers, and cotton candy are fat-free; therefore all those sugary candies are good for you. Makes sense? Think about it.

In fact, a study at John Hopkins University recently determined a link between high blood sugar and heart disease. This means high glycemic foods, such as the candy mentioned as well as many similar products, are inherently unhealthy.

Let’s examine some examples of nasty food that is supposed to be healthy, but will secretly kill you faster than the Terminator (not the Arnold character in any of the sequels).

1. Diet Soda

Why is it good? A sugar free version of the popular carbonated beverage that you can drink on the go.

Why is it bad? OK, so soda is horrible for you, but take out the sugar and add in carcinogenic artificial sweeteners, combined with the artificial flavors and colors that are in all sodas, and you have a recipe for a Tumor in a Can. Then of course you’ve got the caffeine factor, which is linked to hyperactivity, high blood pressure, and can mess with your blood sugar. Unfortunately the caffeine is an oh-so-good afternoon supplement.

Instead choose: filtered water and the occasional glass of milk

2. Sushi made with white rice and imitation crab meat or vegetables

Why is it good? Seaweed contains essential nutrients such as selenium, calcium, iodine, and omega-3 fats. Sushi is nearly always wrapped in seaweed.

Why is it bad? This garbage doesn’t deserve to be called sushi. They are just small, compact, high glycemic, high calorie, carbohydrate nuggets. There’s not even much protein in these things. Eat 3-4 of them and you’ve had your serving for the day.

Aside from that, imitation crab meat isn’t even good for you. It is mostly just a crab flavored tofu-like substance fortified with sugar, sugar, and more sugar. It isn’t tofu, it’s actually a bunch of processed white fish, but it tastes like tofu. 

Instead choose: In order to get some healthy carbs, some high-quality protein, and the benefits of omega-3 fats, choose real sushi made with salmon or tuna. To make it even healthier, order sashimi instead of white rice.

3. Peanuts

Why is it good? Peanuts contain healthy fats that contribute to the reduction in triglycerides, which are known to promote cardiovascular disease. In addition to monosaturated fatty acids, peanuts also contain magnesium, vitamin E, arginine, fiber, copper and folate all of which help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Why is it bad? Aside from being high in fat and calories, peanuts also are loaded with omega-6 fats that distort the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. Peanuts are often contaminated with a carcinogenic mold called aflatoxin, and they are also one of the most pesticide-contaminated crops.

Instead choose: almonds or all natural organic peanut butter, but pour off the top layer of oil and replace with olive oil if the resulting peanut brick is too stiff. Olive oil is very low in omega-6 fats.

(But honestly, if you want the peanuts you should just eat them. They’re not that bad for you diet-wise.)

4. Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter

Why is it good? All peanut butter provides a heart-healthy substantial quantity of monounsaturated fat.

Why is it bad? Most commercial peanut butters are made with the same type of sugar that cake frosting is made with. Reducing the fat makes it even worse because even MORE nasty sugar is added and they contain less healthy fat. I’d rather just eat the extra calories.

Instead choose: As with peanuts, choose almonds or all natural organic peanut butter instead. Just remember to pour off the top layer of oil and replace it with olive oil if the resulting peanut brick is too stiff. Olive oil is very low in omega-6 fats.

5. Corn Oil

Why is it good? It contains omega-6 fatty acids, which are unsaturated fats that don’t raise cholesterol. Sweet.

Why is it bad? In the true spirit of peanuts, corn oil has 60 times more omega-6s than omega-3s. Omega-6 fatty acids increase inflammation, which boosts your risk of cancer, arthritis, and obesity. This is why we prefer a balanced ratio of omega-3s, which are found in walnuts, fish, and flaxseed.

Instead choose: Canola or Olive oils, which have a far better ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s. In my humble opinion, choose olive oil instead since canola oil has some less important issues of its own.

6. Fat-Free or Reduced Fat Salad Dressing

Why is it good? Less fat means less calories. Plus that salad dressing fat is lard just like mayo and crisco.

Why is it bad? Firstly because when fat comes out, sugar goes in. Either that or artificial flavors and sweeteners. Secondly, since many vegetables are fat soluble, taking away the fat from the dressing means fewer of the salad nutrients will be absorbed into your body.

This was confirmed by a study at Ohio State University wherein a higher fat salad dressing resulted in an increased uptake of the antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene.

Instead choose: A salad dressing made with olive oil, or just use olive oil and vinegar as your salad dressing. 

7. Anything made with Soy

Why is it good? It’s not. But in the spirit of argument: vegetarians and vegans eat the stuff so they can get protein in their diets. 

Why is it bad? Straight up, soy is thought to be linked to increased estrogen in males and increased breast cancer in women. The estrogenic effects are sometimes said to merely be the presence of the phytoestrogens and estrogen mimicking compounds found in soy. Soy also promotes hypothyroidism, thyroid cancer, and infertility just to name a few additional disorders. Phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines are all highly present in soy products.Some people are allergic to soy protein.

Instead choose: any high protein whole food such as brown rice, goats milk, coconut milk, almond milk, whole grains, nuts, seaweeds, seeds, beans, and lentils.

If you must have a protein powder, choose any of a variety of protein powders available on the market today, including whey and egg protein. As a side note, goats milk is considered one of the healthiest foods on the planet today, so give it a try.

8. Yogurt cups, especially those with fruit at the bottom

Why is it good? Individually, fruit and yogurt are two of the healthiest food choices at the grocery store.

Why is it bad? Manufacturers load these products up with corn syrup, which effectively doubles the amount of sugar. All the better to entice kids to ask you to buy this crap.

Instead choose:Natural unsweetened yogurt. If it's too sourish for your liking, put in some fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries, grapes or even raisins.

9-11. Fruit Juice, Dried Fruit, and Fruit Cocktail

Why is it good? Well because fruit is good for you. It has a ton of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants; not to mention fiber.

Why is it bad? Fruit juice and fruit cocktail normally have sugar added. Some fruit cocktails come in a thick sugary syrup, and there’s more sugar in a glass of fruit juice than in a candy bar and as much as in a glass of soda (grape juice has about 40g of sugar in one serving). You get no fiber from fruit juice, and the stuff usually has preservatives added to it.

Dried fruit is similarly bad because it is also loaded with sugar, although not with added sugar. Think of it this way: take any fruit, which is naturally loaded with sugar, remove all the moisture thus shrinking it down to a fraction of its normal size, then sell it by the bucket load to consumers who don’t understand that this little tiny piece of fruit still has nearly all the calories and sugar of the original fruit!

Instead choose: eat the whole fruit including the skin if possible, but limit it to one serving of fruit per meal/snack to avoid insulin spikes. If you must have fruit cocktail, choose one that comes packed in its own juices instead of syrup.

12. Smartfood (Cheesy Popcorn)

Why is it good? Because cheesy popcorn is oh so tasty.

Why is it bad? Because you are really just eating the popcorn equivalent of potato chips. Seriously, compare total calories and you will find that you are not saving much on the calorie front by eating Smartfood instead of chips.

Instead choose: get some spray butter, pop some plain popcorn, spray a light coat of spray butter on the popped corn, sprinkle various spices on the corn (but go easy on the salts), and shake it up in a bag. Now you have a low fat tasty treat.

13. Beans packed in sugary syrups such as Boston Baked Beans

Why is it good? Baked beans are good for you because these types of beans are loaded with fiber

Why is it bad? The sugary syrup, just as much as in a can of soda, is just going to spike your blood sugar and insulin levels. This is never good for preventing heart disease or type II onset diabetes.

Instead choose: Red kidney beans. These things are packed with protein and fiber, and can be mixed with any sort of salad or pasta.

14-20. Granola, White Pasta, Pasta Salad, English Muffins, Bagels, Croutons, and Pretzels

Why is it good? Granola has some fiber, pasta salad has some vegetables, croutons make our salad crunchy, english muffins are one step up from bagels, and pretzels are a quick low-fat snack.

Why is it bad? One word: carbohydrates. All of these foods are made with corn syrup and/or processed white flour. These foods will spike your blood sugar faster than Bruce Lee could have kicked you in the face. You also won’t get much nutrition in the way of protein, fiber, vitamins, or minerals from any of these foods.

Instead choose: 100% whole grain or whole wheat pasta and English muffins for increased fiber and protein. Egg salad because, like it or not, eggs are good for you and are high in protein. Almond slices are high in omega-3 fats and are crunchy like croutons. Substitute healthy nuts for white starches whenever you can and you too can receive a 30% less chance of heart disease.

Clearly there are many alternatives to sneaky consumer foods. Fruits and vegetables remain a key ingredient in a healthy diet, and now you can look for tricky catch phrases when purchasing ‘health foods’. Drink plenty of water, get plenty of sleep, and eat wholesome low-sugar, healthy-fat foods; I bet you will end up doing OK as a result.

source