It turns out that you probably got most of your calories from only three (yup, 3) foods: corn, soy and wheat. About 67 percent of most people's diets come from those three foods and their derivatives. It's no surprise that we face a health crisis today, a crisis of obesity and life-style diseases. Some of the common derivatives include:
- High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
- Corn oil
- Soybean oil (hydrogenated or plain refined)
- Refined wheat flour
So, what's wrong with that? Well for starters:
- It skews the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats in our diets from the healthy 1:1 to 2:1 to an unhealthly 30:1
- Gluten intolerance caused by heavy wheat consumption
- Weight gain
- blood-sugar swings and reduced insulin sensitivity
- And, if too much corn and soy is bad for us, what do you think it does to the farm animals that eventually find their way onto our tables.
- Don't purchase processed foods and eat one-ingredient foods instead like fruit, vegetables, beans, eggs (free froaming if you can get them), nuts, seeds, a meats from grass-feed or free roaming animals
- Get most of your carbs from fruits and veggies, rather than from grains
- Make your own salad dressings (olive oil and quality vinager are an easy choice)
- Make sure that your tomato sauces don't have HFCS or soybean oils, or make your own
- Eat guacamole or hummus with veggie sticks rather than with crackers