Watch Out! Hidden Dangers in Your Diet
By Genevieve Cunningham
So you're trying to eat well. You've nixed most of the junk food and switched to diet soda. You cut back on snacking. Overall, you're doing a really good job! But for some reason, your health is not improving as much as you'd like. What gives? Unfortunately, it may be that your diet still isn't clean enough. If you're really trying to change your health for the better, take a look at these hidden dangers that may be lurking in your kitchen.
Extra Sugar
Sugar makes everything taste good. It sweetens our diet, and we like it. The problem is that sugar is in just about everything. It's in the obvious things such as dessert foods, chocolate, candy bars, and etc. But it's also in food you wouldn't expect such as bread, some tortillas, and microwave dinners. We consume massive amounts of sugar daily. This habit is increasing our body weight, putting strain on the pancreas, and decreasing overall health.
Excessive Caffeine
Too much caffeine can be hard on your body. It speeds up your heart rate and puts your nerves on edge. While it's OK to have a little every day -- hey there, morning coffee! -- it's not really a good idea to rely on coffee all day every day. And if you consume numerous energy drinks during the day, you really need to nix this habit and replace it with water, juice, or almost anything other than the sugar-packed, caffeine-filled danger of energy drinks.
Salt
A little bit of salt can be good for you. In fact, if you didn't have any salt in your body at all, you wouldn't survive. But just like sugar, salt is now in almost everything that we eat. It's most especially in foods meant to last a long time -- things such as frozen dinners, canned goods, and even frozen meat. It's a preservative, and we use it liberally. Try to pay attention to your sodium intake. Consuming too much can lead to blood pressure problems and water retention.
Diet is one of the most important parts of health. It affects everything. Unfortunately, even when we're trying to be good, there may be hidden dangers on our menu. Look out for these potentially dangerous diet additions, and plan your diet to enhance your health like never before.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Glen Carbon, Ill.