6 Dirty Foods You Are Eating Without Even Realizing It

The times have come when people are starting to really get concerned about their food habits, the consistency of nutrient value in the food, how healthy the food we eat really is, the diet plans and calorie counters are upgrading constantly, smoothies are all over instagram and very much present into our daily lives. But we also crave for burgers, meals that we can put them into our cheat-day, sorts of meat that we enjoy, dairy products, chocolates etc.

Although people who are very passionate about living healthy lifestyle will search the internet, read the articles about food that might be into their system and they’re consuming but can be toxic for our bodies in the long run.  For example, they know the toxins that some meats bring, and the statistics have also shown that the consumption of hot-dogs has been linked to over 100 cases of illness and 21 cases of deaths in one year, reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These were attributed to listeria monocytogenes, a pathogen that is food-borne. This is the list of the foods that we should be wary of:

1. Ground Turkey

Studies have shown that the tests made on ground turkey have shown a high percentage of salmonella in a range of 16.8% to 28.8 % . Salmonella invades the gastrointestinal tract, causing salmonella poisoning. Without being feared of being intoxicated you should look out for an organic turkey that has been grown without antibiotics. Thermal processing is an effective method for inactivating pathogens like salmonella, so make sure you cook it well.

2. Ground Chicken

Similar as the ground turkey, ground chicken tests also shown a higher percentage of salmonella in the meat in the range of 18% to 35.5%. Apart from salmonella, ground chicken is also said to have campylobacter jejuni, which causes severe diarrhea and if the bacteria spreads to the bloodstream it can end with fatal consequences. The studies have shown that refrigerating the meat doesn’t help in killing the bacteria properly, but the heat levels do, so if you cook ground chicken cook above 165°F for safe consumption.

3. Ground Beef

In the ground beef was also found salmonella up to 18.5 %. A study has proved that purchasing and consuming ground beef from a specific source was the cause of tones of cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and escherichia coli (E. coli) gastroenteritis. If you choose to buy ground beef, be sure to check those packages with see-through protective foils on them, so you can see the condition of the meat, and also check if is it grass-fed cattle types. These types can reduce the levels of bacteria in the meat.  Cook it at temperatures above 165°F to make sure that the bacteria are removed, and use spices like oregano or cranberry to reduce the effects of the pathogens while cooking.

4. Raw Oysters

Seafood is also under the scanner, because of the high levels of trash and toxins thrown into the seas and oceans. Consumption of raw oysters has been linked to hepatitis A, per study and these were traced to illegally harvested oysters which haven’t been passed through the health measure tests and systems. The actions that you need to take are these: consume only oysters that are fully cooked, and buy oysters only from safe harvest beds. You can check these out in your area.

5. Fruit Juice

Are you shocked that fruit juice is on this list? You shouldn’t be. Fruit juice can be dangerous as it contains high levels of fructose and glucose on the other hands is processed to release the energy out of our bodies. Fructose is a complex sugar and the liver once processes it stores it as fat. In 2014 a study from a journal showed that an average fruit juice contains about 45.5 grams of fructose per liter, so you should be more careful when you crave an orange juice or any type of juice, once you are thirsty, you have no idea how much you can drink and the measurements of grams per fructose will go higher, which means, you’re getting fat by a sip.

6. Soy Protein

Non-fermented soy products that we consume are bad for our health. A Norwegian study showed that most of the soy products that were produced in the U.S. were genetically modificated and this is done so as to withstand the glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weedkiller roundup. This means that if you’re consuming non-fermented, non-organic soy supplements you are basically consuming this chemical that can lead to many illnesses and human cell death. This has been known to cause these illnesses:

• Allergic rhinitis (hay fever)
• Asthma
• Breast cancer
• Cystic fibrosis
• Endometrial cancer
• Hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid)
• Kidney disease
• Urinary bladder cancer

Source: Cure Joy