By Dr. Mercola
The dangers of excess sugar consumption have been well-established and were officially recognized in the 2015-2020 U.S. dietary guidelines,1 which recommend limiting added sugars to a maximum of 10 percent of your daily calories.2 Make no mistake, however, that this goal is nearly impossible to achieve on a processed food diet.
A fast-food meal consisting of a burger, fries and soda can easily add up to an entire day’s worth of required calories, while leaving your body starving for vitamins, minerals, live enzymes, micronutrients and healthy fats. This kind of diet, consumed daily for months and years on end will inevitably prevent you from maintaining good health.
In fact, research suggests refined high-carb diets are as risky as smoking, increasing your risk for lung cancer by as much as 49 percent.3 Researchers have also predicted obesity will overtake smoking as a leading cause of cancer deaths.4 Unfortunately, Americans not only eat a preponderance of processed food, but 60 percent of it is ultra-processed5,6 — products at the far end of the “significantly altered” spectrum.
Read moreDr. Mercola: Ultra-Processed and Plastic-Contaminated Food Wreak Havoc on Health