Health: 3 Foods to Stop Eating Today

Based on recurring scientific studies showing their toxicity to our health, here are three foods you should stop consuming today.

Soda

Sodium benzoate is a preservative found in soft drinks, and it's been linked to the phantom triad of allergies, asthma and eczema. Phosphoric acid, the chemical that gives soda its wonderfully sharp, brassy flavor, has been shown to cause osteoporosis and tooth decay (causing more damage to the bones than battery acid, some experts claim). This acid -- yes, acid -- depletes calcium and other minerals from the body as it's excreted in urine, taking with it the very stuff our bones and teeth are made of. Because of the high amount of minerals it takes with it out of the body, phosphoric acid also does a number on the kidneys, and it's linked to kidney and renal problems in drinkers.

Fried Foods

There's been a great deal of hard research (and backlashing controversy from the food industry) over the health effects of fried foods. Various studies around the world have found correlations between fried foods -- particularly meats -- and the prevalence of cancers developing in the body. While many studies have been deemed "inconclusive," a very interesting and recent study in 2010 concluded that well-done meats, especially fried meats, doubled a person's risks for developing bladder cancer compared to those eating meat rare or underdone. The lead author of the study, Professor Xifeng Wu, was reported to state, "These results strongly support what we suspected -- people who eat a lot of red meat, particularly well-done red meat, such as fried or barbecued, seem to have a higher likelihood of bladder cancer."

Fast Food

Fast food contains so little actual food that it may as well be called "fast edibles." Yes, it's edible, alright; we can push it through our gullets, but does that qualify it as food? Funny thing about food; it should feed the body (i.e. nourish it in some way). Fast food does anything but nourish; more appropriately, it merely shuts the body up until the next feeding time. For starters, fast food is ridiculously high in fat, calories and sodium. In one study, the average meal purchased by fast food customers surveyed was 827 calories. For those needing a reminder, the average adult needs only 1,800 to 2,000 calories in a full day. That 827-calorie meal is about half the calories most adults need in a day all at once; leaving little room for breakfast, dinner, snacks, dessert and any other foods that actually provide essential nutrients (whole grains, vegetables, fruits and lean protein).

The Holy Quran, 1,400 years ago, stated that we should eat pure, wholesome and good food:

“O ye men! eat of what is lawful and good in the earth” [Holy Quran, 2:169]


The Ahmadiyya Post, Health. By Zubair Ahmed. Sept 19, 2011