The 5 Things You Must Remove from Your Diet Today

DietsInReview

By Brandi Koskie - DietsInReview.com

You've heard everyone from the Biggest Loser trainers, Dr. Oz and Oprah to even less famous nutritionists urge you to remove these five food ingredients from your diet. Make the choice to do it today. When you recognize these ingredients on food labels and choose not to eat them for that reason, you'll be making a meaningful difference in your weight loss efforts.

Store-bought cupcakes like these are typically made of all five of these unhealthy ingredients.
Store-bought cupcakes like these are typically made of all five of these unhealthy ingredients.

Know what is in your food, and make a conscious effort to eliminate these ingredients:

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup - A man-made sweetener with zero nutritional value. The list of foods without High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is shorter, but a few examples include soda, fruit juice, cereal, condiments, cookies, pickles and even cough syrup.

2. Sugar - A cup of white granulated sugar has 774 calories. You'd have to walk for 90 minutes or swim for an hour to burn that off. Don't burn it off? It converts to fat. Look for and avoid the "ose" in the ingredients label, like Dextrose, Fructose, Lactose, Glucose, Maltose and Sucrose.

3. Enriched Flour - This includes "white" flour products like sliced bread, tortillas and crackers. These grains are missing important nutrients that were stripped during processing. Stick to whole grains to reap all the fiber, minerals and vitamins.

4. Trans Fat - You'll see this on labels as "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated." These man-made fats (more economical than using pure saturated fats) increase LDL-cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) and increase risk of heart disease. Trans fat hides in packaged foods like margarine, baked goods, frozen foods, chips and more.

5. Saturated Fat - These are hard or solid fats, like butter or animal fats. They have a negative effect on heart health and increase cholesterol. Stick to healthy monounsaturated fats (MUFAs), like those found in avocados, nuts and olive oil.

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