Having given diet advice for decades I have narrowed down the six food groups which I advise all my patients to avoid when they come to me with hormonal and inflammatory conditions.
Avoiding these foods will ensure the body restores faster and minimises further inflammation, but also help improve your metabolism. Often these foods create inflammation of the gut lining, which is the bedrock for our metabolic pathways. Fixing the foundation (the gut) is our first priority for weight loss, and making sure you don’t eat these foods will ensure that your tummy keeping it happy.
I find it easier to avoid these 6 groups as a rule when out about about. However, of course there will be times when you can’t avoid them or don’t want to eg: social events.
Today we have such a great range of choices which makes it much easier to find suitable alternatives to these foods. Of course, there are times that we cannot strictly avoid these foods in social settings, but if we can avoid them most of the time you will find the body restores and balances much quicker.
6 FOODS TO AVOID
- Gluten
- Dairy
- Omega 6 (bad)oils
- Soy
- Coffee
- Alcohol
Already I can hear the gasps of shock when reading your favourite drink – coffee – is on the list!
Before you stop reading, please let me explain each in summary below, and providing links to the full blog for more deeper understanding.
1: Gluten
Over the last few years, due to such a rise in apparent gluten related disorders, they have had to come up with a new term for the symptoms induced by the ingestion of gluten. Besides celiac disease and wheat allergy, the most studied form of gluten-related disorders characterised by this evident immune mechanism is called: non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS).
This has caused a prevalence in ‘Gluten induced’ hormone imbalances evident in women, men and children and can occur via multiple mechanisms, which has detrimental implications for our metabolism.
2: Dairy
It is known that avoiding dairy can dramatically improve period pain, heavy periods, endometriosis, acne, and PMS. In a number of studies, dairy has been shown to increase infertility when consuming the low fat variety.
When it comes to weight loss, dairy consumption creates inflammation in the intestinal tract (more for some people), which can hinder the balance of hormones and contribute to infertility, estrogen dominance, lowered testosterone.
3: Omega 6 (bad Oils)
Now whilst fats are important, it’s also important to choose the healthier versions over the not so healthy versions. Whilst we have understood over the last decade or two that fats are not necessarily the reason for Cardiovascular Disease, it does still contribute to these diseases in combination with a high sugar diet.
So I’m not advocating a High Trans Fat diet or lifestyle. On the contrary, I am by no means endorsing the ‘Low Fat diet’ and convenience lining the supermarket shelves. It’s about the right quantity and quality of the fat.
Too many of us have bought into the marketing ploy that vegetable oils are good for us. The truth is these vegetable and seed oils are anything but healthy. Research concludes that a lower ratio of omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of many of the chronic diseases of high prevalence in Western societies, as well as in the developing countries.
The sneaky thing is…so called healthy food manufacturers repeatedly opt for vegetable and seed oils in their products due to the cost of using good healthy oils. So in fact these healthy foods are not so healthy, and this means it impacts our gut lining and increases inflammation systemically. All resulting in an increase in weight not a decrease that you’re looking for.
4: Soy
Soy has been touted as a healthy food group for as long as I’ve been around.
The bad news…
Soy is commonly hidden in our foods and are listed as these ingredients: Soy lecithin, soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, texturized vegetable protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein or any other phrase containing the word “soy.”
It’s cheap and it’s a common filler in packaged foods. It’s in everything from chewing gum, chocolate and bread to microwave meals, frozen pizzas and processed meat.
You know from reading all about Vegetable and Seed Oils above that often so -called – healthy foods are not so healthy after all due to the industrialisation and hybridisation of our food sources. Soy is just like this and when used incorrectly (ie: the wrong type of Soy) can have dangerous implications on our metabolism.
5: Coffee
“Hold the fort! What?… surely not the coffee?”
Ask yourself this question: How would you rate your perceived stress / anxiety out of 10?
If you have any perception or physical signs of anxiety or stress, then you have stress full stop.
And what does this have to do with your coffee?
Well consider your body like a car engine. If your car engine is struggling, straining and not performing great, then you’re not going to push the car harder. No, you’re probably going to give the car a break and get it some help. Well, coffee is a stimulant and it’s like putting your foot down on the gas. It’s going to drive your adrenals beyond where they should given your body is already not coping (think back to how your anxiety / stress rating is).
6: Alcohol
“Now you’ve got to be kidding me… you’re taking away my booze too?”
Alcohol intake is associated with premenstrual anxiety, mood problems, and headache. Drinking more than three to six alcoholic servings per week increases risk of breast cancer. If that’s not enough to convince you, consider that alcohol increases belly fat. When you drink a glass of wine, your liver shifts to burning alcohol for fuel instead of burning fat in your body. This side tracks your fat-burning mechanism and may slow down your rate of fat burning by more than half.
In Summary
Keeping your metabolism in top notch at all times can be difficult, but if you’re serious about keeping weight off along with preventing chronic health issues, then you should consider cutting out the above food and drink.
The occasional consumption is not going to break tour metabolism or health, but consistent consumption daily will. Worth considering isn’t it at least?
