7. Highly salted, pickled, or smoked foods
Let’s start from the point that all hydrogenated oils are vegetable oils. Vegetable oils cannot be extracted naturally like butter is; vegetable oils must be chemically removed from their source, and then they are changed to be more acceptable to consumers. They are frequently deodorised and coloured to make them look appealing.
All vegetable oils contain high levels of Omega 6 fatty acids. An excess of Omega 6 fatty acids cause health problems, such as heart disease and an increase in various cancers, especially skin cancer. You need a good balance of both Omega 3 and Omega 6. Try to get plenty of Omega 3 every day. This can be had in the form of supplements and grass-fed meats; also, fatty fish such as salmon and mackerel are a very good source of Omega 3.
Hydrogenated oils are used to preserve processed foods and keep them looking appealing for as long as possible. Hydrogenated oils influence our cell membranes’ structure and flexibility, which is linked to cancer.
Manufacturers add nitrates and nitrites to foods such as cured sandwich meats, bacon, salami, or sausages to give them colour and to prolong their shelf life. Although nitrates do not cause cancer in and of themselves, under certain conditions these chemicals, once they are inside the body, change into N-nitroso composites. It’s this N-nitroso that is associated with a greater increase in the risk of developing cancers.
Smoking foods such as meat or nuts cause these food items to absorb considerable amounts of the tar that smoke produces. Tar is a known carcinogen. Meats such as bacon, sausage, bologna, and salami are high in fat and salt. Pickled foods are also very high in salts.
There is overwhelming evidence that eating these types of foods greatly increases the risk of colorectal cancer and causes higher rates of stomach cancer. The rates of stomach cancer are much greater in places such as Japan where a traditional diet contains many foods that are highly salted and/or smoked.
8. Processed white flour
Most of you have already heard by now that white flour is not a good thing, but you most likely have no idea just how bad it really is for your health. Refining grains destroys its natural nutrients. Mills are no longer content with waiting for their flour to whiten with time; they now bleach flour with a chemical called chlorine gas.