5 foods men should eat less of

Okay, so you’re that guy who works out three times a week, doesn’t smoke, and for the most part, keeps calm when life gets complicated. Basically, you’re leading a fairly healthy lifestyle that should reward you with being able to avoid most chronic diseases.

But, there’s one very important component you’ve neglected.  This component is so important that if you continue to go down the path you’ve been on, you may wake up one day with numerous health issues and regret you didn’t embrace this healthy habit much sooner.  What could this be?  You’ve been making poor food choices. Instead of eating foods fueling your body with vital nutrients like antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and fiber, you’ve been eating one too many cheeseburgers and fries and it’s beginning to show.

Let’s take a look at 5 types of foods men tend to indulge in and should eat less of and what foods would be healthier alternatives:

1.  Eat less junk food

A steady diet of chips, burgers, sausage, donuts, cookies, and all other overly sugared, high fat foods are not what anyone, man or woman should be choosing.  These highly processed concoctions can change the course of your life by raising your risk of heart disease, certain types of cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

Maybe when you were young you could get by with this type of unhealthy eating.  But now as you age, too many brats, thick steaks, unhealthy oils, and sodium-packed foods can take their toll.  Foods like this can result in rapid weight gain, poor digestive function, and make you feel sluggish lacking energy.

Eat more:  Foods high in antioxidants.  Put on your grocery list the following – all kinds of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries), citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes), peppers (green, red, yellow), and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kale, bok choy, cauliflower, cabbage, and turnips). 

Antioxidant rich foods have the nutritional power to combat free radicals which have the potential to cause damage to cellular DNA that can become irreversible and lead to disease.  Very few if any junk foods have antioxidants.  Antioxidants found in the above foods can benefit your health reducing signs of aging along with the possible prevention of a number of degenerative, age-related diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and Alzheimer’s disease.

2.  Eat less canned soup

Soup as a food, can be healthy.  But canned soup is overly-processed and packed with too much sodium making your blood pressure soar.  Canned soup is very convenient, cheap, and easily made but simply is not a type of food that has high amounts of any one health-promoting nutrient such as protein, vitamin C, or calcium.   

Eat more: Soups made from scratch.  Making a homemade version of a canned soup is actually quite easy and will be so much healthier.  You are in charge of what ingredients you put in and can make adjustments such as using low-sodium broth or adding in ingredients such as high-protein, high-fiber dried lentils or split peas. Load up your homemade soups with chunky cuts of veggies such as diced potatoes, cut carrots, frozen corn or peas, beans, or low-sodium diced canned tomatoes.

3.  Fatty meats

Yes, bacon tastes delicious and so does a thick, juicy steak.  But chowing down on one too many fatty cuts of meat like bacon, fatty steaks, sausage, or fried fish will only provide an abundance of too much unhealthy fat, sodium, and too many unnecessary calories.  The fat found in fatty cuts of meat are highly saturated, the type that can clog up your arteries leading to a heart attack or stroke. And all the excess calories will most likely end up accumulating in the area where most men tend to gain weight – unhealthy belly fat.

Eat more: Lean sources of protein.  Fortunately, there are plenty of tasty, lean protein from beef, poultry, and fish.  Choosing lean cuts of beef is easy when you look for the words “round” and “loin” as in ground round, sirloin, or top round steak.  These cuts have little marbling indicating less fat within the fibers.  Always choose poultry with the skin removed such as chicken breast and fatty or cold water fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, or trout are the best fish for obtaining the heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids.  Avoid frying these protein sources by instead baking, broiling, stir-fry, or grilling. 

4.  Drink less alcohol

No one is saying you can’t have your beer, wine, or hard liquor.  But when it goes over the limit for moderation for men, then that is a problem.  Drinking in moderation for men is no more than 2 drinks per day – anymore than this and it can lead to weight gain and chronic disease.  Liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, head and neck cancers, high blood pressure, and psychological disorders, all are associated with overconsumption of alcohol. 

Instead:  Limit yourself to no more than 2 drinks per day if you do choose to drink an alcoholic beverage.  Anyone who finds themselves unable to follow this limit or is having withdrawal symptoms when they stop drinking, or where alcohol is affecting their relationships, job, or ability to function, should seek help for alcohol abuse. 

5.  Eat less fast food

How many times a week do you find yourself sitting in the drive-thru lane at a fast food restaurant?  Maybe you’ve ordered a sugary beverage or you couldn’t stop thinking about a double-bacon cheeseburger?  One too many trips to fast foods joints will knock your intake of sodium, fat, and calories out of the ball park into an unhealthy area.  Consider the fact that most fat food burgers contain 50 to 100 percent of your daily sodium requirements and all of your saturated fat for the day.  Too much sodium causes fluid retention and increases blood pressure and saturated fat spells disaster for increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease.  Calorie-wise, a typical quarter pounder with cheese, fries, and soft drink contains 910 calories – over 45% of a man’s daily calorie requirement.

Eat more:  Food prepared at home. You will drastically cut back on the amount of sodium, fat, and calories and have more money in your pocket.  When you eat more meals at home prepared from scratch, they are healthier and taste better.  Meals do not have to be gourmet to be good for you.  A simple meal of a tuna fish sandwich on whole wheat bread with an apple and a small salad can be quite filling and much more nutritious.  Feed your body food to nourish and sustain it.  Every day, have at least one fruit and or vegetable at each meal, choose more beans and lentils, add in nuts and seeds, choose whole grains, lean protein, and low fat dairy. Do this, and watch your health improve dramatically.