12 Food Substitutes That May Protect Your Health

It is fun to have a nice meal at the table when you come home from a long day at work and feel very hungry. There are so many people in this world who can’t afford that luxury. More often, they have no money to buy the food they need and when they get an opportunity, they jump to the food. They may not ask what’s in it because they are overwhelmed by the joy of having that special meal.

This is the case for most consumers in Developing Countries. But what happens in the Industrialized Countries?  The story is different. Most citizens have enough food at an affordable price. Those who may be less fortunate have Government assistance to buy the food they need. I can see my youngest son challenging me when I ask him to leave the computer and come to the table. he starts asking me: where did you buy this food, daddy? Is it fresh? What did the label say? To tell you the truth, I did not even read the label. But nowadays, people do. They may even go far to the farm where the food was grown.

The following article will tell you more.

Naturalon, Natural Health News and Discoveries-The American people are becoming more aware of their diets and are looking into the foods that they are eating. They want to know what’s in them, and how they are prepared, and what those additives and chemicals mean to their health. Americans want to eat healthier, but sometimes it’s a matter of not knowing what to eat instead. We are all creatures of habit and it’s easy to just pick up the same things we are used to eating. Here is a list of healthy food substitutes you can use to replace those dangerous cancer causing foods you have become accustomed to.

1. Instead of Microwave Popcorn

Those little bags of popcorn are so convenient to just stick in the microwave, you wouldn’t think for a minute that they could be dangerous to your health, but they are. First, let’s talk about the bag itself. It’s lined with a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid ( PFOA) This is a toxin you can find in Teflon also. After being heated, this toxic chemical is known to cause infertility and cancer in lab animals. The EPA lists this chemical as a known carcinogen.

Now, let’s talk about the contents. Although every manufacturer uses slightly different ingredients, most of them use soybean oil (a GMO product) as well as various preservatives such as propyl gallate, a chemical that is causes stomach problems and skin rashes. Now they don’t actually say they are using GMO corn kernels, but that’s because the government says they don’t have to. Even if they don’t use GMO corn, you can bet they aren’t using organic corn!

Also, applied to the popcorn itself, is a chemical called diacetyl. Use of this chemical caused Conagra Foods to remove it from their brand of popcorn, ACT, because it was causing lung diseases in the workers at their factory.

It’s easy to make your popcorn the old fashioned way! Use a pan with a little salt and coconut oil. Or use your own brown paper bag, add some popcorn, fold it over tightly and make your own homemade microwave popcorn minus all those dangerous chemicals. If possible you could buy an air popper, which pops your popcorn with hot air only, no oils needed.

2. Instead of Canned Tomatoes

Tomatoes are exceptionally dangerous due to their high acidity, which seems to cause BPA to leech from the lining of the can into the tomatoes themselves. The level of BPA can be so high in fact; you should seriously consider not feeding them to children. Due to FDA laws, there are no standards for labeling BPA so simply because a can does not say it has it does not mean that it does not contain BPA. Be safe and avoid cans. Cook fresh or buy glass bottles.

There are other options to using those canned tomatoes that contain dangerous preservatives. There are numerous brands that sell diced or whole tomatoes in glass bottles. Of course, buying fresh, organic produce and making your own homemade sauce is always your best option.

3. Instead of the Typical “Dirty” Produce

A 2009 study found that when pregnant women drank water contaminated with atrazine, their babies had reduced body weights.  Were you aware that the sewage from cities in the USA (nicely called bio solids) is used in the fields of farms in the USA as a form of fertilizer?  You will never find organic food being cultivated in composted human sewage waste! Conventional foods are also subjected to an enormous amount of these types’ chemicals as well as hormones, to make the fruit and veggies grow bigger. Apples are probably the worst offenders with pesticides showing on more than 98 per cent of all apples tested. Fruits with a 90 per cent positive rate of pesticide residue included oranges, strawberries, and grapes.

Washing fruit does not remove 100 per cent of the residue. Pesticides are toxic chemicals to insects as well as human beings.

Almost all produce sold in the USA is contaminated in some way with pesticides and dangerous fertilizers that even washing does not remove. Did you know that when monkeys are offered a regular banana and an organic banana, even if they look exactly the same, they will always choose the organic banana? Perhaps we should take a cue from our monkey friends and always, always choose produce that says organically grown.

4. Instead of Processed Meats

All these processed meats contain numerous chemicals and preservatives, including sodium nitrates, which make them, look appealing and fresh but are well known carcinogens. Smoking meats seem to be particularly bad as the meat picks up tar from the smoking process. Yes, tar, the same deadly ingredient that cigarette smoke contains.

Processed meats such as chopped ham, salami, and most lunch meats are easily replaced with just a little forethought. Try going the veggie route when you can. Some of your best options, however, will come from your own home cooked meals. Use some of your left over chicken from Sunday for chicken sandwiches on Monday. Fish also makes great sandwiches or added to salads. It just takes a little creativity and forethought to make healthy lunch sandwiches.

5. Instead of Farmed Salmon

It’s a known fact that farmed salmon are nowhere near as healthy for you as wild salmon.

Farmed salmon are fed chemicals to make their meat that reddish pink color that should occur naturally but doesn’t because of the diet of chicken litter that they are fed. Also, due to their diet, they have less of the healthy omega-3 that we think we are getting when we consume fish. Studies have also shown that farmed salmon contain high levels of PCB’s, mercury, and cancer causing dioxins.

With more than 80 percent of the salmon on the market today being farmed salmon it’s becoming more and more difficult to find wild salmon, not to mention more expensive. When looking for salmon in your supermarket, the fastest way to find wild salmon is to look at the price. If you find one filet that is smaller than the others but double the price, it’s wild. Also, most salmon in your market should be clearly marked as wild, if it is. Also, look for a label that says Alaskan salmon as opposed to North Western salmon. You might also want to consider eating more canned salmon. For some reason, farmed salmon does not hold up to the canning process, so most of the salmon that is canned should be wild.

6. Instead of Potato Chips or French Fries

Potato chips have artificial flavors, numerous preservatives, and colors as well, which is something else your body doesn’t need.  Potato chips are fried in high temperatures to make them crispy but this also causes them to make a material called acrylamide, a known carcinogen that is also found in cigarettes.

It’s hard to say no to your kids demands for chips sometimes, therefore, as a sneaky alternative, buy them baked potato chips or tortilla chips which are at least lower in both fat and calories. Air popped popcorn and whole wheat pretzels are another healthier option. Or try baked apple chips or banana chips which are dehydrated. Both are crispy and are far healthier than regular potato chips.

Although your kids probably won’t be happy about it, there are not many healthy substitutes for potato chips since it involves frying. If you must, in order to keep your kids happy, you can thinly slice your potatoes and fry them in either olive oil or coconut oil. Although still fried, at least these are homemade and do not contain the excess salt nor the added chemicals that processed chips have. You can also try baking thin slices of potatoes or sweet potatoes as a healthy alternative. You can also cut finger sized pieces of potatoes or sweet potatoes, drizzle them with olive oil and bake for potatoes that taste as good as French fries.

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