The Five White “Poisons” That Ruin Your Diet

The most important aspect of a healthy body is without a doubt, nutrition. Some of the main foods/additives associated with bad diets are known as the five “poisons”. These include refined (white) rice, refined salt, pasteurized cows milk, refined sugar and refined (white) flour. They are considered “poisons” mainly because they contain very few nutrients, protein and vitamins and also contribute to adverse health issues over a prolonged period of use.

Refined Salt

Too much salt is linked to a number of health issues including high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks and heart failure among others. A lot of food products sold in our supermarkets are high in sodium and on average an adult intakes 8g of salt per day. A healthy adult only requires around 1g of salt per day for daily functions and children even less than this so it's especially important to monitor your intake and regularly check the labels of food products when shopping is especially important.

Healthy option includes our favourite; Himalayan Salt, which is a naturally occurring salt rich in vitamins and minerals that give it the rich pink colour. Other great options are Sea Salt, Black Salt and Persian Blue Salt.

Refined Sugar

The health issues of too much sugar in our diets is widely advertised in the media on a daily basis. These include type 2 diabetes, reducing liver sensitivity to hormone and cardiovascular disease among others. Nowadays, sugar is included in almost everything we eat, even things you wouldn't imagine them being included. A little bit of sugar now and then can be forgiven but for the sake of our health and diet, it would be best to use a healthier alternative.

A common substitute is honey, which works well with most things and is a great alternative due to it's natural sweetness however it's not for everyone and what about people who don't like honey?

Other alternatives include Stevia, Dates, Coconut Sugar, Maple Syrup and Blackstrap Molasses.

Refined Rice

Widely eaten all over the world, rice is the only thing on this list that is actually a type of food and not an additive. On that note, whilst no major studies have confirmed it's link to any negative health issues, rice in general is healthy and nutritious BUT only when eaten in more natural forms whilst staying away from the processed options. This is one of the reasons that Asian countries who consume rice in high quantities have low records of health-related issues from their diet. Healthy rice options provide a quality carbohydrate source of low-GI carbs that yield high energy levels.

Healthy options include Brown (whole-wheat) Rice, Red or White Quinoa, Cauliflower Rice, Couscous, Freekeh, Bulgur Wheat.

Refined Flour

All flours such as wheat, barley or rye contain gluten which can cause intestinal damage in people with celiac disease. In our day to day consumption of processed foods that contain these highly refined flours they can also cause type 2 diabetes.

When making anything with flour, try and go for a healthier approach with a flour made from Coconut, Almond, Quinoa or Brown Rice.

Pasteurized Cows Milk

For something we use in large quantities on a daily basis, be it for adding to tea or coffee, mixing into porridge or adding to a bottle for our babies, milk is one of the highest consumed food products in the world. As well as being highly processed with lots of unknown chemicals and additives, the major milk manufacturers also add high amounts of sugar to sweeten the milk, which adds a lot of sugar-related health issues to the mix. Whilst going organic is the best option if sticking to cow's milk, there are a range of options available for the more adventurous, as well as the lactose-intolerant.

These healthy alternative milks include Soy, Almond, Cashew, Coconut, Oat.