By: Karen Reed of Positive Health Wellness. More information can be found at: https://www.positivehealthwellness.com/.
Not all food is created equally. There are certain types of food that will destroy your metabolism. This means that your ability to burn calories will decrease, so you don’t need to eat as much throughout the day. Of course, you probably won’t realise that, so you end up consuming far too many and find it difficult to stick to a healthy weight.
If you want to keep your metabolism healthy, you will need to avoid certain types of foods. Sure, there’s a saying of everything in moderation, but you still need to stick to as healthy a diet as possible. Do the best for your metabolic rate.
It’s time to look into the foods that are the worst for your metabolism. I know some of them I was really disappointed about eating. In fact, there were some that I considered healthy until finding out the truth.
So, here’s a full list of the foods to avoid to keep your metabolism strong and stable.
Wait, What Exactly Does the Metabolism Do?
In short, the metabolism controls the breaking down of calories in the body. It uses up these calories to provide energy for the whole body. The faster and stronger your metabolism, the more calories you will burn throughout the day.
When you don’t get enough calories, your metabolism will take the calories from storage in your body. Calories can come from fat and muscle, and the metabolism doesn’t really care which calories it takes. Usually, it takes from the easiest source to burn.
If you drop your calorie intake suddenly, your metabolism can panic. It is possible for it to go into starvation mode, which means it burns fewer calories than before. You end up having to eat less. Certain types of food can cause this similar issue.
We all have a metabolism, and there is a genetic component to it. Some of us just burn more naturally than others. And yes, those of us who are overweight and trying hard to lose it (or maintain a current rate) hate those who have a naturally fast and strong metabolism!
Without the metabolism, we don’t get the energy that we need. We can struggle to get through a day and feel weak and tired. If we don’t get enough calories to feed our metabolism, we get the same feeling. It controls the whole day-to-day running of our bodies, so it is important.
This is why it is so important to fuel our body properly. We want the strongest metabolism properly to make sure it burns the right number of calories efficiently and effectively.
So, it’s time to focus on the right diet. Here’s all you need to know about the foods that destroy the metabolism so you can avoid them.
Fruit Juice Has Far Too Much Sugar
Let’s start with something that is marketed as being excellent for our health. In truth, fruit juice is one of the worst ingredients you can feed your body.
But how is that the case when it’s full of vitamins and minerals? Well, it’s because the juicing process means that we don’t quite get all the nutrients within the fruits. The most important one—fibre—is completely removed because the juicing process gets rid of all the pulp. All you get is the natural sugars, which are far worse for you when the fruit comes without the pulp.
It’s the fibre that helps to keep the natural sugars stable. Without the fibre, those natural sugars get straight into your bloodstream and cause a hike in blood sugars. Your metabolism is affected by this.
You see, when you have a blood sugar hike, your body releases insulin. Your body is then forced to store the calories you’re eating/drinking for later. Your metabolism needs to help the body handle the new blood sugar problem.
This is the case whatever type of fruit juice you have, even if you make it yourself. If you really want to drink your fruit, smoothies are the better option. They use whole fruit blended down, so you still have the pulp. They’re still not better than eating the whole fruit, but they’re better than the juices.
Drinking store-bought fruit juice is worse than drinking your own. The processes for these usually included added sugars, destroyed nutrients, and added food colouring. You may find the added sugars disguised as juice concentrate, fructose, or even corn syrup, but you’re still getting the bad stuff in your system.
The best thing you can do is avoid fruit juice as much as possible. Once a month probably isn’t that bad, but regularly drinking it is going to destroy your metabolism. If you really want fruity water, add the whole fruit to your water. Slices of lemon or lime added to water offer a great start to your day. You can also have herbal tea with some honey or lemon or opt for coconut water to get some flavouring. There are plenty of natural and healthier options than fruit juice.
Peanut Butter Damages Your Gut
Delicious peanut butter in jar of peanut near isolated on white
This is a tricky one because there are plenty of benefits to peanut butter. The problem is that we tend to eat far too much of it and that destroys our metabolism and our guts.
The problem with peanuts is where they are grown and stored. They usually have a fungus called aflatoxins, which damage the gut health. Of course, when one part of the body is damaged, the rest of the body must work harder. Your damaged gut will lead to your metabolism slowing down. After all, your body just can’t digest the food to give the metabolism the calories it needs.
Peanuts are also a common problem for those with allergies. People who have leaky gut or food sensitivities will also find that peanuts affect their metabolism. We start to feel ourselves getting bloated or feel cramping, and it’s all because of the wrong food in our diets—well, the fungi in our diets.
But what if you have a probiotic? What if your gut is full of good bacteria? The fungi in peanuts don’t really care. The aflatoxin will fight against the probiotics and win, so your whole digestive health is affected. Unfortunately, the peanuts are also full of omega-6, which the probiotics can’t fight against. Omega-6 is linked to inflammation, which kills your metabolism.
While peanuts are bad, there are certain nuts (yes, peanuts aren’t nuts, but they’re commonly mistaken for them) that will be good for your metabolism. Almonds are one of the best options to eat, and you can get almond butter! You could also opt for seed butter instead if you really wanted some sort of butter ingredient on your toast or with your fruit.
Almonds and seeds offer more protein to the body than peanuts, so they help with the building of lean muscle. More muscle means more calories need to be burnt throughout the day, so you end up with a stronger metabolism. You only need a teaspoon of the almonds or seeds to get this benefit.
Fake Sugar Is Just as Bad as Real Sugar
With the news that sugar is bad for us, we’ve started to rely on artificial sweeteners instead. Aspartame is one of the most common, although sucralose is on the rise. There are various reports about artificial sweeteners being bad for us.
In fact, studies are showing that aspartame is bad for our bodies. It’s causing cancer and affecting our metabolisms negatively. Other artificial sweeteners may not be as bad, but that doesn’t make them great. In fact, plain sugar is proving to be better for us than artificial sweeteners, and we already know that that isn’t great!
If you want to protect your metabolism, so you do actually lose weight, it is time to drop the artificial sweetener route. These aren’t going you any good at all.
Some studies have shown people who have artificial sweeteners end up eating more. They feel an increase in their appetites, even though the metabolism isn’t working any faster. Diet soda has been linked to the increased obesity problem, as well as metabolic syndrome.
But if you can’t have artificial sweeteners or sugar, what are your options for sweetening up food? Natural sweeteners are your better option. The natural Stevia has so far proven to have no negative side effects. Raw honey or the use of naturally sweet foods like fruit have also proven to be good for the diet and the metabolism.
Fat-Free Products Don’t Mean Weight Loss
There are so many products labelled fat-free or low-fat. Some are labelled low carbs or skinny. These labels really don’t mean that much, but they are misleading. How often have you reached for a yoghurt or a certain drink because of the belief that it will help you lose weight?
The majority of these products may be just as their labels say. They may have few fats in them, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to help with your weight loss. It’s not just the fat that you need to worry about, after all! Deep down you know that, but you want to believe that you can still have all your favourites in your diet, right?
Well, removing the fat from your favourite products leads to one issue: tasteless products. How do the manufacturers make sure you’ll buy the fat-free or low-fat options? They add more sugar in them. They throw in flavours, sweeteners, and corn syrup to get you to enjoy the taste and make sure you put money in their business.
Does this really sound like they have your health protected? Of course not! We’ve just looked at how artificial sweeteners are destroying our metabolisms, and we know how bad sugar is for us.
You would be better off eating the full-fat options of the food. And there’s no actual proof that fats cause us to gain weight! There’s no proof that our metabolisms are affected by the saturated fats in food. In fact, there’s no scientific evidence is caused by saturated fats! So, why do we feel this need to focus on a low-fat diet when we should be looking at a low sugar diet?
Fats are good for us, and we should be adding more into our diets. Omega 3 fatty acids help to protect the brain development, while monounsaturated fats have been linked to better bone health. Some high-fat diets have even been proven to help create a state of ketosis to help us lose weight! Fats have been linked to improved immune systems and metabolic rates.
So, it’s time to stop focusing on low-fat foods. You need to focus on the full fat options or whole food options. Have full fat cow’s or almond milk. Opt for whole egg omelettes instead of the egg white-online options.
Whole Grains Aren’t Nearly as Beneficial as Once Thought
When you start a diet, there are high chances that you’ve found out whole grains are excellent options. They have some carbs, but they also have plenty of fibre. They’re the best things for your overall health, right?
Well, you’re wrong. The research over the last few years is wrong. Whole grains aren’t nearly as beneficial as scientists once made them out to be. Sure, they have fibre, but there are plenty of better fibre options out there. Fruit and vegetables are full of them, and there’s no need to start adding carb-filled, gluten-filled foods to your diet instead.
Whole grains are full of gluten, and you likely know someone who either is either intolerant or allergic to the ingredient. Gluten is the main reason for inflammation in the body. In fact, the ingredient has led to people developing antibodies to fight the proteins, so their overall health is affected.
The gut lining is destroyed, and your brain doesn’t quite get the message that you’re full. In fact, your body thinks that you’re hungrier than you really are, so you start eating more. You consume far more calories than your metabolism can burn—and your metabolism is slowing down because of the damage to your body!
There’s a reason why the Paleo and Atkins diets have become so popular. There’s a reason scientists have started recommending the keto and Okinawa diets. They’re low in grains—in fact, some of them cut grains out completely.
We went thousands of years without grains at all. While the research is affected by little data, there is still no proof that we had food intolerances and allergies before the introduction of whole grains into the diet. And to make matters worse, the whole grains today usually have extra chemicals added to help grow enough for the enlarging population.
If you want to protect your metabolism, you need to cut grains—all grains—out of your diet as much as possible. Get your fibre and carbs from your fruit and vegetables. Opt for coconut and almond flour instead of wheat or white flour. Your body will thank you for your decision.
Put Your Metabolism First
Your diet is destroying your metabolism. All those foods that you once thought were good for you are being proven differently. Scientists are finding that the extra ingredients are causing damage to our guts, which affects the way our body can burn calories.
More “diet” foods are proving to be bad for the body and bad for the metabolism. They’re causing people to gain weight instead of losing it. This is likely the case for you.
So, are you ready to put your metabolism first? Will you make some changes to protect your metabolism? All you have to do is avoid the foods above and follow the suggested changes instead.