I talk to droves of people about diet, weight loss and health, and it’s abundantly clear to me that the average person doesn’t have a clue about what they should be eating. 

Instead they are the victims of terrible diet advice by professionals and lies by food companies!

It’s hard to believe some of this garbage is still being regurgitated (even by doctors and nutritionists!) but since it is still out there, I will set the record straight on these six pieces of worthless advice:

1. 1.  Saturated fats are bad

Your body needs saturated fats to protect nerve cells, produce hormones, assimilate vitamins A, D, E and K, support your heart during stress, and help your brain and nervous system transmit nerve impulses.

The average person needs about 30 percent of their daily calories to come from fats, and about one-third of those should be saturated.

Good sources of saturated fats come from animal sources--meat, butter, lard, suet, milk, eggs and cheese--preferably organic.

2. 2.  All sugars are the same and are OK in moderation

This is the lie that food companies tell you about the poison called high fructose corn syrup in their products.

Unlike glucose which can be burned for energy, HFCS gets stored as FAT.

Plus when your liver metabolizes HFCS, uric acid is created, which drives up your blood pressure and causes gout.

3. 3.  Cholesterol clogs arteries

Cholesterol is a healthy substance—it’s a potent antioxidant, your liver uses it to make bile, and it protects you against depression. 

It also repairs tears in your blood vessels, it's vital for your brain and nervous system and it helps your body manufacture vitamin D. 

The real culprit behind cardiovascular disease is inflammation in your blood vessels.

4. 4.  Vegetable oils and margarines are healthy

Since saturated fats were demonized, this gave food companies an opportunity to market "heart healthy" oils and margarines.

What a crock.

When polyunsaturated oils are heated (as they are during margarine processing), deadly compounds similar to trans-fats are created. 

That doesn’t sound too “heart healthy” to me.

Plus most of the oils in stores are rancid before they even make it to your pantry.

Stick to real butter, olive oil and lard.  If you wish to use polyunsaturated oils, buy the ones that are in dark brown or green containers, and opt for organic brands if possible…and NEVER use them in cooking.

5. 5.  Sugar-free foods are healthy

Sugar-free foods contain artificial sweeteners, including aspartame (Equal or NutraSweet), sucralose (Splenda), Acesulfame K (Sweet One), or saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low).

They are all disease-creating poisons, period.

And they don’t even help with weight loss!  They trick your brain into thinking calories are coming, which in turn drives up your appetite for sweet, high-calorie foods.  They have also been linked to metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis and migraines, to name a few.

6. 6. "My Plate" is sound diet advice

Give me a break. 

"My Plate" is the reincarnation of the Food Pyramid, which had people eating 6-11 servings of bread, cereal and pasta each day.  This flood of refined carbs was anything BUT healthy! 

My Plate has downplayed grains somewhat and made vegetables the largest "plate section," but it still strongly pushes grains and lacks any plausible advice on fats.

Truly GOOD advice

If you want to help prevent disease, achieve a healthy bodyweight, and pave the way to lead a medication-free existence, here are 3 effective strategies that can help support YOUR health from head to toe:

1- Eat real food

When your diet is made up of real foods you:

• Automatically eliminate trans-fats and artificial sweeteners
• Get good sources of antioxidants
• Get natural sources of crucial nutrients

So stay away from processed, packaged garbage and keep it real—fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy and butter (never margarine).

“Processed” food includes fast food too—so drive right past the golden arches, the colonel and the chihuahua.   

2- Encourage sound digestion

When you make your meals easier for your body to break down, you pave the way for better digestion, less gas and bloating, less heartburn and more regular BMs! 

And the great thing is, this is very easy to do—when you follow the food pairing principles in my Great Taste No Pain health system.  Great Taste No Pain shows you what foods to pair together (and which combinations to avoid!) to encourage easy, smooth digestion.

Since I first wrote Great Taste No Pain in 2007, I continue to hear from people all over the world telling me that they could not believe it was so easy to end their digestive misery!

3- Balance your intestinal flora

The friendly flora in your gut helps your body digest starches and fibers, supports regular BMs and houses most of your immune system…but they can only do so when there’s a strong enough population of them!

Unfortunately, people who have diets high in processed foods, soda and refined carbs have fed the harmful bacteria in their guts...and are likely looking at a serious flora imbalance as a result.  Plus medication use (especially antacids and antibiotics), stress and lack of sleep can make your gut flora topsy-turvy. 

The best way to help restore a proper flora balance is with a top-notch probiotic supplement like Super Shield.

Super Shield’s 13 strains of potent, well-studied beneficial bacteria can help give your gut microbiome a much-needed boost, so it can in turn help keep your immune function high, and curb gas and constipation!

Now that’s GOOD advice you can take to the bank!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia