Goal 2: Eliminate gut harming processed ingredients
Spoiler: This is going to include most packaged food. If it crinkles, it’s probably processed.
Your body was made, or evolved, to ingest whole, natural foods. When you give it these foods it knows what to do with them. It quickly and efficiently converts them into energy and absorbs the nutrients. When you put unknown, chemically altered substances into your body it doesn’t know what to do with them. It cannot use them so it filters them out via your liver. If you ingest too many and overload your liver they start to leak into the bloodstream, or are deposited anywhere your body has room, like into fat cells.
What happens when you do this over time and more and more toxic substances build up in your body? Well, insert a long list of bad symptoms
MSG has (so far) been linked to obesity, migraines fibromyalgia, liver problems, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, neurological issues, gut issues, and much more. It’s obviously something our bodies do not recognize. Just because you may not have a problem now, doesn’t mean it isn’t causing damage. Don’t wait until you start having symptoms!
The worst part is that MSG itself is called by many other names. So to truly avoid it you need to avoid all those other names too.
I’ll make it easy on you, and deal you a harsh blow all at once. It’s pretty much in everything highly processed. Yeah, it sucks, I know. But, if you really want to read the labels of your favorite items just to make sure, you can find the list here. It is most often added as a thickener for sauces, and to add flavor. The flavor it adds though is not that great in my opinion – not once your tastes have changed to appreciate real food. But if they haven’t yet, be prepared to think some healthier foods are a little more bland.
Research substitutes for your favorite items. You might find a perfectly acceptable replacement. I know that I have found healthy versions of ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, stir fry sauces, and more that we are all very happy with.
Another big one you want to avoid is soy. I have no idea who first started that whole “soy is a super food” business because that was the worst idea ever. Soy is like grains. If it is prepared properly, soaked, fermented (like natto), organic, and taken in limited quantities as part of a balanced whole food diet, then it is fine. But sadly, it is put into 80% of processed food in its most unhealthy form.
Soy causes women’s hormones to get out of whack and has been linked to breast cancer, cervical cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome and other hormone imbalance-related disorders in women. Need to get your husband on your side? Soy causes an imbalance in estrogen which can give males more feminine characteristics. Lastly, most soy is a GMO, which are responsible for killing off the good bacteria in your gut and wreaking havoc on your digestive system.
