A lot of us don't like to think about everything we put into our bodies, but as more and more studies reveal how damaging the things that we eat are to our to health, it is time we take a closer look at what exactly is in the foods we claim to love so much.
1. Hot-dogs (& other processed meats)
An American classic right? What else would you serve on your Fourth of July barbecue with family and friends? Maybe, it's time to serve some more veggie plates because just a little bit of research into the truth behind hot dogs might make you never want to see one again.
Hot dogs are made out of a collection of left-over bits of pork, beef, and chicken trimmings that are then churned together into a paste to be mixed with corn syrup and food starch. While the idea behind this may be well-founded as, it is practical to use every bit of the animals that we kill, it is not when we consider the amount of preservatives and other chemicals that are loaded into this meat to make it actually taste good.
This concoction pretty much encompasses every other type of ham, salami, and pepperoni; all pumped full with harmful chemical compounds that have consistently been linked to causing cancer.
2. Coca-Cola
Another American favorite, that we all know isn't healthy but exactly how unhealthy is it? The amount of high fructose corn syrup in each 600mL bottle contains the approximate equivalent of 15 teaspoons of sugar. That's almost two times the amount of the recommended daily amount (if any should be consumed)! And don't forget the list of unknown chemicals that are also found in every bottle, making me question, is it really worth drinking this soda at all?
3. White Bread
What could be wrong with bread? A lot actually, and especially with white. White bread isn't something I would really even consider to be actual bread as it is mostly made from enriched flour that is bleached in order to attain the white color and separated from any layers of bran that might actually be nutritional. In consuming white bread, you are mostly consuming high calorie starches, sugar, and a range of chemicals used in the bleaching of the flour.
4. Microwave Popcorn
Yeah no one actually considers popcorn to be a health food, but it might be more dangerous to our health than we realize. First you begin with the bag; lined with an acid that has been listed as a carcinogen with the EPA and linked to cancer and infertility, it's a wonder that we still allow the bag itself to hold the movie snack we love so dearly.
Next, of course, is the amount of saturated fats, trans fats, and chemicals within the popcorn itself linking to many more cases of heart disease and failure within the U.S. Finally, you get to the artificial butter flavoring; an ingredient so toxic that even workers were experiencing lung issues simply breathing in the fumes off of the flavor.
5. American Cheese
Otherwise known as a pasteurized processed cheese product, American cheese is far from our natural idea of cheese. In fact, many products will contain over 50% of other products than the actual cheese itself, all in order to better preserve the product and enhance the appearance for our modern-day grocery stores.
6. Eggs
Eggs themselves are not really dangerous, and as long as you can get over the fact that they are essentially hen periods, it wouldn't be bad to consume them. Unfortunately the process of producing eggs is often in factory conditions where chickens are treated more like egg-machines than living creatures.
Due to the high stress environment where they are kept, in tightly enclosed cages, their bodies become prone to illnesses and other bacteria, often resulting in many salmonella cases that we have experienced in past years. Not only are they suffering from illnesses, they are also fed food filled with artificial proteins, hormones and other chemicals that are in turn, consumed by us. (The video gives a rather skewed positive narrative on the reality of these animals' lives.)
7. French Fries
French fries are the wonderful golden snack that almost everyone I know loves. But I think we can all agree that the production and ingredients of these highly processed potatoes are anything close to healthy food or possibly, edible food. They might be closer to being sticks of trans fat than actual potatoes.
While we may love them it is important to know just how unhealthy their production is. The heats and oils used to fry potatoes increase the levels of fatty acids in the potato causing inflammation and the beginning of many diseases. Not only that, but depending on what fast-food restaurant has made them, they can last eerily long, probably due to the amount of preservatives in them.
While many of us may be aware of the dangers of the processed foods and meats we continue to consume, there are two reasons we keep coming back; accessibility and price. All of the foods listed above are within an easy range of access for most people and are sold at relatively low prices meaning those who do not have the time or money to find and prepare healthy and nutritional food are going to eat what is closest and easiest because it fills them and it tastes good.
Most of these foods too are the easy ones to spot as being unhealthy, but there are dozens of others we eat everyday that many might not even consider as unhealthy. As our food is controlled more and more by big companies we have no idea how it is grown or processed, meaning there are higher risks in consuming unknown and dangerous chemicals.
Here are links to information on the above listed foods:
http://authoritynutrition.com/why-processed-meat-i...
http://www.navdanya.org/news/359-the-truth-about-w...
http://foodbabe.com/2013/11/12/microwave-popcorn/
