When almost 70% of the population are overweight you really must ask some questions about the foundations of our modern day lifestyles. If 70% of a school year failed their exams the finger of blame would be quickly pointed at the teacher. The children evidently did not know the information for the exam.
When it comes to getting in shape though, these same odds apply, yet still we do not question the foundation of knowledge upon which they are built. Though many factors contribute to the current obesity rates in the western world the most obvious reason is simply that the “healthy” living advice must be wrong. Here are five foods that prove testament to this. They are all considered healthy yet for the majority of people (and this means you too!) they result in weight gain. Probably you will notice that these foods are the mainstay of our entire diet! It would take the mainstay of our diet to be wrong for 70% of people to be overweight!
Bread and pasta
The modern day staples of our diet make up almost every meal that we eat. Sandwiches for lunch and pasta dishes for dinner. What people do not mentions is that wheat (Bread, Pasta and many other foods) is perhaps the most common food sensitivity today. This means every time you are eating your bread or pasta (including whole grain, organic etc) your body is fighting the very food you are think is healthy. The result of this is usually bloating and fat gain. Though the properties of bread and pasta make it more likely to be a food sensitivity than other foods it is more to do with the complete domination these foods have within our diet. Very often people go for years without having a day without eating these products. The human body does not react well to eating the same foods day in day out.
Dairy
The second mainstay of our diet is also a big contributor to body fat. Dairy, like wheat is very difficult for some people to break down. This coupled with the amount and regularity of our consumption means most people have developed some level of sensitivity towards it. The fastest way to get fat is to eat food you are sensitivitie to. Many dairy products now also come in low fat versions which then fuels hunger as the body rarely does well off a meal containing carbohydrates alone. (For most people the protein in dairy is not enough to control hunger and / or is the wrong type).
Cereal
The “healthy” bowl of cereal means that for the majority of the population they have messed up a third of their meals every week before 8am in the morning. The majority of cereals contain both wheat (as in bread and pasta) and is eaten alongside milk (dairy). Combining the two most common and strong food sensitivities into an early morning kick start is a sure fire way to make you overweight and out of shape. Cereals also very rarely provide the ideal fuel mix to control hunger. Therefore, often, you are eating again by the first break in work.
Low fat meals
Almost everything you buy in this day and age has low fat written on it. As the only society in the history of humanity to actively go low fat, it is no surprise to see we are the fattest. With no correlation between fat consumption (we are not eating more today than the past) and obesity you do wonder how much longer people are going to keep sounding this low-fat horn. By not eating fat within your meals you will invariably not hit your ideal fuel mix and this will mean you are hungry or have food cravings. At this point you are much more likely to eat high sugar or sensitive foods, e.g. chocolate, breads, biscuits etc. Low fat meals also mean you do not consume enough of the fat soluble vitamins. This reduces overall efficiency which will affect body fat.
Margarine and “good” fats
The world of low fat eating has come hand in hand with avoiding saturated fat. This makes us the only species on the planet to avoid saturated fat and the only society in human history to do so as well. Our new “healthy” fats come in the form of margarines, poly-unsaturated oils and so forth. Our bodies are not as keen on these as the advertisers would make out. The oils are subject to becoming trans fats from the heating process of cooking and heat in general. Trans fats create problems within our systems. Any decrease in our efficiency has the potential to increase body fat.