You may not look up to a nutritionist the way you
do an athlete or your best friend, but maybe you should reconsider. The truth
is that nutritionists know a lot more than what we hear them tell us when they
talk about food. They know how to heal the body with nutrition. They know how
to strengthen the body to combat illness, fatigue, and weight gain. They also
know what not to eat. And what a nutritionist eliminates from
her diet should definitely be on your list of must-skip foods, too.
What you may not realise, however, is that often
your nutritionist passes on foods you might think are not only perfectly
healthy, but foods you probably think you need to eat to lose weight. Ready to
be surprised? We consulted Keisha Luke, a Toronto-based culinary
nutritionist, and she gave us the skinny on the foods she avoids as much as she
possibly can!
1. Any Diet Food
Diet Coke-lovers, you may want to take a step away
from this story. Same for you, low-calorie ice cream fans, as well as
anyone thinking that their diet snack is immune to this rule. The sad truth is
that anything labelled with the term "diet" isn't likely to be all
that good for you. It may be lower calorie than another nondiet product, but by
taking out the calories or fat, they also had to take out good stuff — and
likely put in a lot of bad stuff or unnatural stuff as well.
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Luke's rule: "As
a culinary nutritionist, the emphasis is not on dieting as much as it is on
maintaining a healthy lifestyle using whole foods. 'Diet' foods do not mean
healthier. Balance is important for the body, so that we are fuelling it with
the proper vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Depriving our bodies of such
vitamins, minerals, and nutrients lends itself to binge-eating and a roller
coaster of cravings."
2. Canned Fish
Wait a minute! Fish is pretty much the healthiest
protein out there, right? Well, with very few exceptions, fish can be the best
bet for anyone wanting to lose weight or maintain a healthy diet, but when it's
canned, it loses a lot of its positive capabilities. Additionally, a lot of
canned fish contains potentially harmful chemicals and added salt and oil!
Luke's rule: "Canned
fish (especially salmon) contains high levels of mercury, which causes excess
toxins in the body, and the preservation process of canned foods such as tuna
makes the food lose nutritional value, not to mention the hazards of BPA-laced
cans, which can be very detrimental to your health!"
3. Margarine
OK, so you've heard you shouldn't be slapping
butter on everything and you already knew not to put mayonnaise on much of
anything (if at all), but even margarine? Say it isn't so! We know. It would be
great to be able to keep using that miraculous yellow stuff that can make
anything from a sandwich to popcorn so much better with each bite, but your
nutritionist stays away from it without exception. Why? It may have less fat,
but the fat in it is the worst kind.
Related: Butter vs Margarine
Related: Butter vs Margarine
Luke's rule: "Yes.
I know we hear this a lot: 'I can't believe it's not butter.' And that is
because it's truly not butter. Although it is deemed as a healthier alternative
for butter or even coconut oil, margarine contains trans fat, which is not the
best for our health."
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