5 Foods That Ruin Your Metabolism

The foods to stay away from at all costs.

By Danielle Fontana Dooley, Associate Director, Digital Content · Jan 15, 2016

While we have a pretty solid grasp on the foods that are good for our waistlines, but it’s easy to lose sight (or look the other way) of the foods that are hindering weight loss and slowing down our metabolisms. Here, we’ve outlined some of the foods that you should officially break up with for a revved-up metabolism.

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Sugar

According to celebrity nutritionist Cynthia Pasquella, having too much sugar will cause chaos to your metabolism, in addition to major imbalances in your blood glucose and hormone levels. “The body needs a very small amount of sugar for energy and any excess that it doesn’t need right away for fuel immediately gets stored as fat.”

What to eat instead: Pasquella says to stick to natural sugars like whole fruit (think apples, bananas and dates), organic stevia (a naturally sweet herb), raw honey and grade B maple syrup or blackstrap molasses, but make sure to enjoy these alternatives in moderation.

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Vegetable Fats

According to nutritional health coach Madeline Shaw, vegetable fats are found in sunflower and canola oil and can be detrimental to your health. “These common cooking oils contain hydrogenated oils, which cause inflammation throughout the entire body, disrupting your hormones and metabolism.”

What to eat instead: Pasquella suggests adding in healthy fats that will actually help you burn belly fat like coconut oil and avocado oil.

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Processed Foods

“If it comes in a box or has a longer shelf life than you do, you don’t want to eat it,” explains Pasquella, adding that these processed foods often have a lot of chemicals, additives and preservatives that are highly toxic to the body. “In your body’s effort to protect itself, it will store those toxins in body fat, particularly around your waistline.”

What to eat instead: “Buy the ingredients and make your favorite snacks from scratch,” says Pasquella. “There are so many simple and delicious recipes available via a quick Google search and your tummy will thank you for taking the time to make a healthy alternative.”

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Unorganic Meat

“Get organic meat,” Shaw says, adding that while we have so many hormones in our body—growth hormones, appetite, insulin, etc—that adding animal hormones into the mix via cage-raised animals can cause a huge disruption.

What to eat instead: “Switch to grass-fed, nature-raised and organic meat to avoid the added hormones.”

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Soda

According to Pasquella, soda is loaded with sugar, has zero nutritional value and is highly addictive. “Over-consumption can lead to diabetes, obesity and a number of other health conditions,” she says, adding that diet soda is equally guilty, as it contains toxic artificial sweeteners like aspartame. “It literally weighs you down!”

What to eat instead: “Switch out soda for coconut water or kombucha, which is naturally fermented and contains healthy bacteria that can help you digest food better,” says Pasquella.