A professional nutritionist has named the 15 foods and drinks Australians should only consume in moderation – and never every day.
Claudia Calisto, from Sydney’s Claudiability and Total health and well-beingchose her list based on which foods typically contain the most additives and “empty calories” — calories that provide no nutritional value whatsoever.
She told Daily Mail Australia one of the best ways Australians can take control of their health is by learning how to read food labels.
“Reading food labels helps us judge what we are eating,” she said.
‘Some premium guava juice contains only 25 percent guava, the main ingredient is water – which is fine – and the second ingredient is sugar.
‘So there is actually more sugar in the juice than in fruit – and guava itself contains fructose sugar!’
Sydney-based nutritionist Claudia Calisto (pictured) has compiled a list of 15 foods that Aussies should never include in their daily diet
Ms. Calisto also often refers to the body’s “pH,” which measures whether it is too acidic or alkaline.
She explained that in order to properly digest food, the body must maintain a pH of 7.35 to 7.45, but several foods, such as salt and sugar, can affect that level.
First on Mrs. Calisto’s list were luncheon meat and hot dogs.
‘LUncheon meat is one ultra-processed foods,” she explained.
‘Pork, for example. They go through the process of grinding the pork and adding nitrates, which are carcinogenic.
‘They add water, they add trans fats – which are saturated fats – and then they make it luncheon meat.
“It’s also high in sodium, and foods high in sodium throw off the body’s pH.”
Second on the chopping block was ice cream.
“The problem with the ice cream is that you can eat it occasionally, but not every day because of the sugar content and it has a lot of fillers,” Ms Calisto said.
‘It’s not healthy food.
‘The first ingredient is sugar, then emulsifiers, additives, preservatives.
“At the end it’s only two percent milk.”
Third, fourth and fifth on the list were commercial cakes, cookies and jams.
Ms Calisto recommended Australians regularly eat foods full of sugar and fillers, including ice cream, flavored yoghurt and flavored milk
Ms Calisto again pointed out the large amount of sugar and fillers in the foods.
“There’s a lot of things added: sugar, preservatives,” she said.
“By reading the labels, a person can better determine whether the food is healthy or just fillers.”
Next came flavored milk and yogurt.
“Commercial yogurt is very flavorful,” Ms. Calisto said.
‘Some also contain thickeners and are high in sugar and sodium.
‘Then the flavored milk, flavored milk packed with sugar.’
Ms Calisto also warned against eating salty snacks such as chips every day.
Surprisingly, instant soup was high on her list of foods not to eat daily.
She pointed out the high levels of trans fats and sodium, artificial flavors and colors and preservatives.
‘There is no nourishment – it’s just so processed,” Ms. Calisto said.
She also suggested Australians should replace mass-produced bread with bakery-baked loaves.
In particular, she suggested Bakers Delight whole wheat bread.
“Mass-produced bread contains a lot of sugar because it is commercial,” she said.
‘The wheat used for white bread is bleached, and they add sugar and fats to it.’
Two drinks made it onto Ms. Calisto’s list: soft drinks and boxed wine.
Rather than completely eliminating the listed foods from their diets, Ms Calisto (pictured) suggested Australians eat ‘healthy’ during the week and indulge on the weekend
“Soft drinks are once again full of sugar and kill your healthy gut bacteria,” she said.
‘Some soft drinks can even damage the intestinal mucosa.’
On the case of boxed wine, Ms Calisto instead urged Australians to consider healthier alternatives such as organic red wine.
“The wine that’s in the barrel may cost $5, but it’s a very processed wine,” she said.
“They took the wine, they used the healthy wine to make your different brands of wine.
‘Then the leftovers are mixed and diluted to make barrel wine.
‘So if you want wine, just drink organic wine. Red wine is better than white wine, is less processed and contains more antioxidants.’
The last three items on Ms. Calisto’s list were common breakfast favorites: granola bars, sugary cereals and commercial fruit juices.
She emphasized that all three contain high amounts of sugar, sodium, artificial flavors, artificial colors and preservatives.
“It gives you energy, but within two or three hours you will feel sluggish because it spikes your sugar levels,” she said.
However, Ms Calisto believes it is important to remember to eat everything in moderation and suggests eating ‘healthy’ during the week and enjoying it on the weekend.
Ms Calisto (pictured) urged Australians to avoid mass-produced bread, pastries and cookies and instead encouraged them to shop at bakeries
“It becomes a lifestyle, I don’t want people to worry about ‘good food’ and ‘bad food’ – we can enjoy everything in moderation,” she said.
‘The human body needs nutrients to function.
‘If a person is deficient in essential nutrients, he will crave junk food. When we balance the nutrients in the diet, the urge for poor food choices decreases.”
