As we ring in the new year, you will likely be looking to clean up your diet and remove some foods that are making you fat. But what about the foods that may be keeping you unhealthy and you didn’t even know it? Today, we break down 7 foods I’ll never eat again starting in 2024 and we’re making our decisions based on science and the latest research that points us towards better food options.
We kick off this list with a fruit that gets a lot of attention but never necessarily for these reasons. We’re talking about bananas. Now some like to blame the banana, saying that it is a ‘high calorie’ fruit that packs on weight when eaten. I’m sorry but I am not buying it. Though higher in calories than say strawberries, blueberries or any other type of berry, it is not impactful enough to make people fat by eating one or even two a day.
What is shocking however is the recent findings of the effects of bananas on the bioavailability of anthocyanins and polyphenols in smoothies when they are included. They contain an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase that acts to degrade up to 80 percent of the polyphenols present in blueberries and greens in your shake.
That isn’t to say that eating the banana on its own at a different point during the day is bad, but it should get you to start rethinking their inclusion in your antioxidant rich smoothie that you are eating to boost your health.
Next we look to Doctor Lustig MD for his warning on whole grain bread. While we may think we are buying whole grain bread in the store, there is a high likelihood that what we purchase is no longer whole grain bread. The food industry allows the labeling of these breads based on what the product started as, not what it arrives to you as in the package.
Too often, during the manufacturing of these breads they pulverize the grains which ends up releasing the inner contents much too soon during the digestive process. This can cause a rapid spike in blood sugar and insulin which sets off a cascade of metabolic issues that can lead to you getting fatter faster. Instead, you have to look for real whole grain bread found in specialty health food stores that is much more dense and, some would say, less tasty.
We keep moving on with my personal experience with food PTSD that came from eating white bean soup just prior to experiencing one of the worst GI sicknesses of my life. Though it was just unfortunate timing it still left a mark in me that causes physical nausea and stomach upset every time I see the soup – even now when perfectly healthy.
That said, it does bring up a very important point regarding soups. If you eat any soups from a can right now you are definitely going to want to remove them from your diet in 2024. The amount of sodium and nitrates contained in these soups is just unnecessary and not conducive to long term health. Don’t fall for the label lies either. The amount of sodium stated, though already high, is usually for just half the can. We likely are eating the whole can so you can double that amount if you want to find out how much salt you truly are getting.
Next we have to focus on avoiding food dyes at all costs. There is a great amount of research attributing things like blue #1, yellow #5 and #6, and red #40 to hyperactivity and behavioral disorders in kids. Throw in the fact that a mounting amount of research has suggested that these dyes are directly linked to increases in carcinogenic disesase and they are surely things to avoid – since they do nothing more than make your foods look prettier on your plate.
Speaking of these food dyes. You’re going to want to watch how they make their way into farm raised salmon. Not many people know this but the natural color of this fish is gray, not pink. Watch to see how they do this.
Also, be sure to check out why Dr. Lustig thinks that eating yogurt may not be giving you the gut benefits that you thought it was supposed to.
Research Referenced:
Polyphenol breakdown in smoothies from bananas
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2023/fo/d3fo01599h
Blue #1 Associated with ADHD
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36262950/
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Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS served as both the head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. Jeff earned his Masters of Physical Therapy and Bachelor’s of Physioneurobiology from the College of Health Sciences University of Connecticut Storrs. He is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
[Video clip] There was a recent study published about inorganic strawberries, where they actually took inorganic strawberries from the supermarket, brought them home, put them in a commercial press, pressed the juice out of them, and there was so much pesticide in the juice,
They were able to take that juice and respray the crop. Whoa! That’s nasty. And still have the same level of pesticide protection from the juice that was squeezed from an organic fruit. [End clip] What’s up guys? Jeff Cavaliere, athleanx.com. Admit it, you’ve been on Instagram just like me,
Scrolling through the stories and something like that pops up and all of a sudden, you’ll never eat strawberries ever again. Well, I can kind of put your mind at ease a little bit, maybe. And that is I’m not sure that that study was ever reproduced to show what was being said
There. However, are there other instances where you might want to actually reconsider some of the foods you’re eating? I believe there are. And as always, I’m going to use science to guide my decision making and help you into making some of the same decisions, perhaps if you agree.
That being said, I’m going to start off with Rhonda Patrick, one of my favorite nutrition experts of all time, making me rethink one of my other favorite fruits, bananas. [Video clip] Another thing that I’ve changed my mind on, and this is actually very, very recent,
Is adding bananas to my smoothie. Most of my smoothies I get greens and then a lot of berries like blueberries. And blueberries have polyphenols in them, they have flavonoids, they have anthocyanins. Well, it turns out bananas have an enzyme in it, um,
Called polyphenol oxidase, it actually degrades polyphenols. This was a human study that came out recently. Adding bananas to the berry smoothies, blueberries and stuff. Metabolites of polyphenols were significantly lower in plasma from people that had the smoothie with the banana added,
Versus not with the banana. [End clip] So, to start, it’s very important to understand that there’s nothing inherently wrong with a banana by itself. As a matter of fact, people like to bash bananas saying they’re high calorie. Let’s be honest, they’re higher calories
Than some other fruits, but no one ever really got fat eating a banana. However, if you’re trying to get the benefits of, let’s say, blueberries that we’ve all talked about, even here on this channel, you could be undercutting your sole purpose by including a banana in that smoothie of yours. Now,
I got to admit, any time I’m in an airport and I’m trying to do the right thing and eat something healthy, I’ll inevitably guide myself towards one of the smoothie stands. And what’s in every single smoothie they make? Bananas. Go check it out for yourself. Not to mention, I’ve even reluctantly
Put some kale into my smoothies, trying to benefit from those anthocyanins that doctor Rhonda Patrick talked about, not knowing along the way that I was really severely undercutting the effectiveness of what I was doing in the first place. The bottom line is you might want to rethink the timing
Of your banana, not the banana itself, but where and what you’re using it with, because you might be doing a lot less nutritionally for yourself than you thought you were in the first place. [Video clip] Whole grain bread, is it whole grain? Says whole grain right on the label.
Here’s a grain right here. Okay? The husk. If it stays intact, it’s a whole grain. You swallow it, okay, say a true piece of whole grain bread. The enzymes in your intestine have to strip this husk
Off and we don’t have enzymes that work very well for that, so it takes a long time. And so that’s why a whole grain is good because it’s a delivery system for getting the food further down the
Intestine to feed your bacteria. Whole grain bread in the supermarket is not whole grain because the grains have been pulverized to smithereens. Now you consume it, and the starches are immediately acted on by the saliva and by the stomach. And now you liberate all of that glucose, and it
Goes via the portal vein to the liver, generates an insulin spike, and you’re off to the races in terms of chronic metabolic disease. [End video] Now, this is a change that’s not new for me. It’s actually one I made a long time ago. However, it certainly gives me a lot more confidence
When I hear somebody as good as Doctor Lustig talk about the reasons for avoiding whole grain bread. Because most of the time it ain’t whole grain bread. See, when I used to eat what I thought was healthier bread, I would go and look for things that said whole grain on them. Not realizing
That all it really meant was how it started, not really how it finished in the package. Anything might start as a whole grain, but when you pound it and pulverize it, like he said, down to nothing. To the point where you’re taking away all the nutritional value, then what are you left
With other than just a bunch of empty carbs? So, I made my way to those specialty health food stores or even Whole Foods, and I actually found what he was talking about. That brick like bread that
Can knock you out if you hit someone in the head with it. And remember, the goal is to preserve the integrity of that grain so that it doesn’t cause those insulin spikes that might happen from eating
The fake whole grain bread. Look, this is a case where our best intentions can go awry, but it’s videos like this that are hopefully serving the purpose of making you aware of what those pitfalls might be so you can avoid them all together. Now, this next one is actually a very personal
Choice of mine, but it comes along with a personal story. You see, there’s only two times in my life that I’ve thrown up. That’s it. When I was five and not again until I was in my mid-40s,
I got some kind of a neuro virus that caused me to not throw up just once that day, but about 20 or 30 times. Now, that scarred me. But not necessarily the act of throwing up, but the fact that the last thing that I ate healthy was white beans soup. Fresh,
Unbelievable white bean soup that my wife had made. And unfortunately, every single time that I see white bean soup to this day, I get nauseous, and I want to throw up. I’ve had that strong of a
PTSD experience with it that will not allow me to even have it in the same room as me. I’m sure you guys may have even a similar story. But what it actually does is it sort of illustrates a point
That was actually homemade white bean soup, and it’s actually the only type of soup that I’ll ever eat. Because if you look at the amount of sodium that’s contained in a canned soup, you might run away and hide like I have forever. And don’t fall for the label lies where they
Make you think that there’s only 800 or 900mg of sodium in that can of soup because it is for two servings, and nobody eats just half a can. And it’s all due to the preservation that’s required
To make canned foods last for a long time. Look, preservatives help mummies last a long time too, but they’re dead. So, what kind of quality of life is that? The bottom line is, soup is an amazing addition to a healthy meal plan that actually gives you a convenient way
To get the vegetables in in a day that you might be missing right now, but you got to make sure you’re making it yourself, you’re not just relying on the cans on a shelf.
The next one for me is one that I’ve tried to cut out the best I can years ago and still find myself fighting because I’m just never fully aware of where these things exist. And we’re talking about
Artificial dyes. You know, those colors of the rainbow with a number attached to it at the end. Red number 40, blue number one, yellow number five, or number six. The bottom line is, guys, you should look to avoid these at every single turn. Because I don’t believe there’s anything
That’s beneficial that comes from it, other than the fact that your food may look prettier on your plate, and that’s not a good enough reason to eat it. Especially when you realize some of the dangers that are linked to these things. One thing I know for sure is that there is some scientific
Literature linked to increased hypersensitivity and hyperactivity in kids, so I do my best to make sure that my children don’t eat these things. But beyond that, there’s immunosuppressive effects that have been linked to these dyes, supposedly even at safe levels, whatever that might be. Or
Even carcinogenic links that have suggested that long time use of these could lead to cancer. Again, something I’m not interested in. When I made my own RX-1 pre-workout supplement, guys, I took all those food colorings out. And believe me, they’re on the market. I don’t want
To name names but read the back of your label and some of the most popular ones actually have these colorings in them. For what reason? So that your pre-workout glows in the dark when you drink it? No thanks, I’ll pass and so should you, because these additives are
Adding nothing to your long-term health and should definitely be avoided at all costs. And that brings me to food number six and believe it or not, it’s actually related to the last one. We’re talking about farm raised salmon and coloring. Yes, because the natural color of farm
Raised salmon is actually this very pale, almost white. But the way that they make it look like this is through the inclusion of some of the very same food colorings in the feed that they supply,
These farm raised fish. And as the old saying goes, you are not only what you eat, but you’re also whatever you eat ate because that’s also making its way into your body. So once again, the recommendation is to always seek out whatever it is you’re eating in its most natural form.
Wild caught fish is going to be better for you than farm raised fish every single time. The bottom line is, make sure you’re also getting it from a reliable source because with all fish, no matter farm raised or wild caught, you’re still going to have to be concerned about heavy
Metal contents and high levels of mercury, so you want to be sure you know where you’re getting it from. But if it came down to these two choices, guys, certainly with salmon pass the farm, raise and choose that wild caught every single time. [Video clip] Yogurt has active cultures and active
Cultures help populate the intestine with good bacteria . The question is, if these foods worked, why would you have to keep eating them? If they’re live cultures, they reach the intestine. It’s nice and dark and murky, and certainly bacteria are growing in there. Why don’t they just set up
Shop? And the answer is because they’re not living anymore, they died. And that’s the reason why you needed them, is because your own died, because you have an inhospitable intestinal environment. So, you don’t need a probiotic, you need something that will let the bacteria grow. You need
A prebiotic. Well, what’s the prebiotic that’s in real food? Fiber. But it’s been taken out of the processed food. [End clip] And so once again, Doctor Lustig makes me think twice about something that I’m eating every single day. And for me, that’s a good thing because I
Think we should always be open to reevaluating what we put in our body. But for me, I will continue to eat yogurt, and only because I do believe that I’m getting that prebiotic portion of the equation right by eating lots of fiber every single day. You can even go back to the whole
Grain bread, if you’re getting things like that. Right? And you’re eating enough of the vegetables, not the canned kind, but the regular vegetables, you should be providing your body with enough of the fiber to create that environment that’s necessary for the good bacteria colonization of
Your digestive tract. So, even though the yogurt portion of my diet may not really be hitting it out of the park, and I might actually be providing myself with a bunch of dead bacteria in the process. I still think that, as he said, the most important part is getting the fiber portion down
To create a better environment for the yogurt that you are eating. Therefore, continue to eat your yogurt, but make sure you’re not avoiding your fiber if you want to do it right. Now, if you want to know what I eat every single day, there’s actually 17 foods that make it into
My daily nutrition plan. You can see that video here where I break each one of them down. Yes, yogurt is on that list. If you’re looking for a complete program, guys, that includes a meal plan, you can find it at athleanx.com. Click Subscribe, turn on your
Notifications so you never miss a video when we put one out. All right, guys, see you soon.