Realistically, every one of us knows that some substances are harmful even when taken in
moderation. In fact, you know there are substances of which even a miniscule portion can kill you—
arsenic, for example. Of course, this is an extreme example, but it demonstrates immediately and
emphatically the inaccuracy of the phrase. There are of course many consumable substances that
don’t produce immediate disastrous effects, but still harm your body and undermine your
appearance or performance.
Diet Trap #4: Living on “Health Food”
“Plant-based whole foods are nutrient-rich healthy foods. ‘Health
foods’ are generally somewhat-better junk foods. Junk foods are
garbage.”- John Allen Mollenhauer, founder of NutrientRich.com
“Health foods” are products often marketed in their own grocery aisles or even whole stores
(‘health food stores”). But many, if not most, of the “health foods” on the market today are refined
foods. Some should actually be classified as “junk food” because they are merely manufactured
foodstuffs made from ingredients that were once organic or were originally whole and natural.
These include breakfast cereals, most energy bars, fruit juices, etc.
There are refined foods that include health-promoting ingredients, and there’s no question that
they’re preferable to many other more impoverished foods. The real problem arises when they’re
promoted as healthy or when people live on them exclusively.. There are lots of pretty unhealthy
people living on so-called health food!
A client once told me that she loved a popular “whole grain” breakfast bar (packed with refined fats,
and sugars, additives and genetically modified organisms) “because it tastes like pie, but it’s good
for you!” (Good for you based on what--the marketing copy on the box? Believing everything you
read, especially if written by the food company, is a diet trap too.) Sadly, I had to break the news to
her that if her intention was to eat pie, she was right on target; if her intention was to eat
healthfully, she was still eating pie!
Next time you see a box of cereal that contains puffed wheat, omega-3s and blueberries covered in
honey, realize that after being baked at several hundred degrees, it’s clearly no longer in its natural
state and therefore not really promoting your health. It is not “health” food, merely “better” junk
food. If you have a strong desire for something sinful, these junk health foods are a step above
traditional junk foods, but they are still not plant-based whole foods and are therefore not nutrient-
rich.