By: Dr. Keith Kantor

 

The health and wellness industry is for profit and often misleading. There are several “health foods” on the market that are loaded with sugar, unhealthy fats/oils, and preservatives.   Eating whole unprocessed foods in the natural form is the best diet; these foods include fruits, vegetables, quality animal protein, nuts, seeds, and natural oils.

 

Meal replacement bars or nutrition bars

 

These bars are often loaded with sugar and if they do not contain real sugar they are loaded with sugar substitutes and preservatives that prolong their shelf life. If you read through the ingredient list and you cannot pronounce the ingredients then put it down. There are some packaged bars that are made from dried fruits, nuts, spices etc. But most of these bars are glorified candy bars. A healthy alternative would be to make your own nutrition bars with nuts, seeds, oats, quinoa, honey, protein powder, coconut oil, etc. Homemade bars are less expensive and less processed.

 

Cereal

The food companies that are associated with cereal are billion dollar industries. There really is no boxed cereal that I would recommend. Cereal is high in carbohydrates, preservatives, additives, and in some cases sugar and dyes. These cereals only increase insulin levels, creating a temporary surge in energy resulting in a crash that causes additional cravings for sugar, or high carbohydrate foods. Eating a diet that promotes fluctuations in insulin levels only hinders the body’s ability to learn how to use its own fat as fuel, in other world “fat burn.” Instead of cereal I recommend eating an egg omelet, steel cut oats, fresh fruit, etc. in the morning over cereal.