If you eat for convenience instead of for nutrition, it will be reflected in your health. If you already have a chronic illness, your body needs you to pay attention to what you give it. This is a long list of health risks that may seem severe, but we did not always live this way. Everything about our modern nutritional lifestyle seems to make people sick. Which might explain why health care costs are rising.

TRANS FAT

We'll start with the biggest, most obvious problem. Several Scandinavian countries have completely banned trans fats - they cannot even be brought across their borders. In Canada and the US, where our governments are less willing or able to protect us, manufacturers are being asked to label the poison in their foods.

Trans fats are unsaturated fats, usually vegetable oils, that are hydrogenated by a chemical process involving platinum. They are added to food for a very important reason - they do not go rancid as quickly as natural oils. This increases the shelf life of foods by several months. This is good for business.

Unfortunately, trans fats are bad news for human bodies. They completely ravage cell membranes and blood vessels, causing over ten times more heart disease, gram per gram, than saturated fat. Ingesting trans fats does more damage to your body than smoking. The rule here is to completely avoid any and all trans fats. Period.

SODIUM

Sodium is another easy one. Most people know it as table salt - sodium chloride. It is difficult to argue with the scientific evidence showing that people who eat less sodium tend to have less high blood pressure and heart disease.

Although it has been an important part of human history, people were not meant to eat salt. It is not naturally present in meat, fish, nuts, berries, fruit, vegetables, grains, tubers or any other food we evolved to eat. A few thousand years ago, people figured out that salting meat prevented it from spoiling. This led to a more stable food supply that helped civilization move forward. It was so prized that there was a time when people traveled for weeks just to get salt.

But we have been using too much of this good thing. Packaged food, frozen food, fast food and restaurant meals are simply loaded with sodium. This is the only reason they taste good. Many of these foods are little more than salted cardboard. Food becomes tasteless after months of storage and processing, and the only way to make it edible is to salt it like crazy.

The salt you sprinkle on food is a small part of your sodium intake. Soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, relish and other condiments are very high in salt. Any meal you have not made yourself, whether it comes from the grocery store, fast food chain or sit-down restaurant, is likely to be loaded with sodium.

Sodium raises blood pressure by constricting blood vessels. This happens more in people who are salt-sensitive, a fact that is often overlooked by doctors. It is also made worse when you don't eat enough potassium or magnesium - which is found in whole grains, fruit and vegetables.

Sea salt contains a better balance of potassium and other minerals than regular table salt. Mrs Dash, Herbamare and other salt substitutes can also be used to make food taste better. Getting used to eating without sodium only takes a month or so.

CARBOHYDRATES

Have you always assumed that a low-fat diet was best? Think again. After decades of controversy, we now know that Atkins was right. Twenty years of being told to cut out fat has led to an obesity and diabetes epidemic. The reason? If you are eating less fat, you are usually eating more carbs.

Low-carb diets have been consistently outperforming low-fat diets in clinical trials. People who eat more protein and fat have less diabetes, lower cholesterol and greater weight loss than people who eat low-fat diets. The reason is that sugar triggers insulin release - and insulin puts us into fat storage mode. For one millions years, when humans were hunters and gatherers, this fat storage helped us survive during lean times. This survival tool works against us now that we can eat to our hearts' content three times a day.

Carb-triggered insulin releases leads to chronic inflammation. This contributes to high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, osteoarthritis, many cancers and other chronic diseases of aging. When patients are concerned about their weight, blood sugar, cholesterol and heart risk, I tell them to avoid carbs. That means fewer bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, pastries and baked goods, fruit juices and soft drinks - not even the diet ones. Whenever possible, choose low-glycemic index carbs. They are better than refined carbs, but should still be balanced with protein and fat at all times.

GLUTEN

Gluten is a protein found in wheat and other grains. Many people have not heard of it, and most physicians do not consider it, but gluten sensitivity is becoming an epidemic. This is still considered controversial, but it won't be for long.

Celiac disease is an allergy to gluten and another related protein called gliadin. It affects about 1% of the population, mostly Caucasians, and is diagnosed by measuring antibodies in blood or seeing microscopic damage on an endoscopic tissue biopsy.

Many more people may have a gluten allergy that is less obvious but still a problem. These people have health problems that disappear when they avoid gluten - and reappear when they re-challenge themselves by eating it again. Some physicians diagnose this by measuring antibodies in stool - rather than blood.

The scientific literature is filled with evidence that when it comes to gluten allergy, we are only diagnosing the tip of the iceberg. It can cause a wide range of health problems, including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, autoimmune disease, migraines, infertility ... the list goes on.

We do stool testing and often recommend a 4-6 month program of supplements and herbs to restore intestinal health in people with gluten allergy. We share the frustration of patients whose allergists and gastroenterologists tell them their gluten allergy is not real. We have seen dramatic results far too often to discount this phenomenon. Many of our gluten-sensitive patients can eat bread in Europe. This may be because our genetically modified grains are banned there. It may also be related to centuries of breeding to help our grains survive harsh winters. This has led to fibers that are more sharp and needle-like when seen under a microscope.

FACTORY MEAT

While there is no doubt that a plant-based diet is the healthiest and most environmentally-friendly diet there is, many people like to eat meat. For some people, there is something animal meat that is too hard to resist. It is true that these are very nutrient-dense foods that can be very good for us if chosen wisely.

Unfortunately, the large-scale industrial approach of the 21st century has changed everything. Animals are not produced to maximize weight and size - not for our health. The specific risks associated with each animal need to be considered separately.

Cows love grain. They won't stop eating it. Compared to grass, grain makes them bigger and fatter, and makes their meat more tender. Unfortunately, it also gives them intestinal infections and pus-filled liver abscesses. These are dealt with by giving them antibiotics and other medications. Grass-fed beef is rich in stearate and other medium-chain triglycerides - which are healthy fats. It even contains omega-3 fats. Grain-fed beef does not have these, which may be why red meat has such a bad reputation for causing heart disease.

While salmon and other fatty fish are rich in omega-3 fats, not all fish are good for us. Deep sea fishing is being replaced by fish farms that are popping up in coastal areas around the world. These areas are far more polluted with PCBs, dioxins and other chemicals than deeper waters. Farmed salmon are also fed grain, corn and shredded fish parts - including other salmon. This unnatural diet creates strange creatures that are not even salmon-coloured - so they are dyed pink. Atlantic salmon is not as clean as Pacific salmon, and wild is always best. Avoid tuna, shark and other large, carnivorous high-mercury fish. Eat lower on the food chain.

Chickens receive the worst treatment of any animal. They literally go insane in their tiny cages, and the high levels of stress hormones they release make them more prone to illness. A physician-farmer friend of mine told me he felt that industrial chicken is far more chemical-filled and unhealthy than industrial beef or fish. In Canada, chickens that spend their entire lives in factory cages and are only free to run around for the last few days or weeks of their lives can still be called free-range. This creates a problem for the average consumer. The only solution we can recommend is to develop a relationship with a farmer you know and trust and buy directly from them or from a local butcher who deals with them.

OLD FOOD

Modern humans do something that almost no other living creature does: we eat old food. Our fruits and vegetables are often picked 3-4 weeks before we eat them. They have to be picked before they are ripe, and can travel thousands of miles on ships and trucks, bounce around in crates and warehouses, before we even see them.

This is a very new development; the icebox which led to the refrigerator and freezer has only been in the average home for around seventy-five years. Globalization has made it possible to buy New Zealand Kiwi in June and California cherries in December. We can get anything anytime in most cities in Canada, but this comes at a price.

Anyone can recognize rotten food. Given enough time, bacteria and fungus will grow on almost any food, forming colonies that we can see and smell, and most people won't eat such food. But what keeps these microbes from growing on live food? This is a fascinating question that is fundamental to life itself. The living plant or animal will defend itself against invaders, by making antioxidants and other phytochemicals. These phytochemicals are the very essence of why fruits and vegetables are good for us, and are likely linked to the subtle energy that differentiates the living from the non-living.

The longer a dead piece of food goes uneaten, the less it can give to the person who eats it. Grow your own food and eat it the day you pick it if you can. Buy local produce that you know is fresh. Consider building a root cellar for the winter. Consider a greenhouse. This is the future of agriculture; the Obamas have even set up a vegetable garden at the White House.

PESTICIDES AND EMPTY PRODUCE

If your fruits and vegetables are not organic, you are wasting your time. Most people assume that the main reason to eat organic is to avoid pesticides. This is only part of the reason. Several studies confirm that industrial produce is not really food - it just looks like food.

As discussed above, the life-saving chemicals that make plants good for us are called phytochemicals. Plants make them to defend themselves from fungus, bacteria and malnutrition. Crops that are treated with fertilizers don't starve for nutrients. Crops that are sprayed with pesticides and herbicides don't get infections. This was at the heart of the Green Revolution in agriculture that has increased yields, made large-scale agriculture profitable - and made it possible to continue feeding the world.

Here is the catch: just like humans, plants need stress. A person who does not exercise builds no muscle. An infant that gets no infections produces no immune system. The same goes for plants: No infections, no deficiency, no stress: no phytochemicals. This means no vitamins. That is why those huge, shiny strawberries that all look perfect have no taste. They are just fruit-shaped cardboard.

What this means in scientific terms is that several researchers have published laboratory data confirming that organic fruits and vegetables contain many times more vitamins than regular produce. You pay more because an acre of organic farmland might only yield have as many pounds of tomatoes as an acre of farmland that has been fertilized and sprayed with pesticides. Those tomatoes might cost twice as much, but they likely provide much more nutrition.

It is very important to choose organic dairy, because most pesticides are fat-soluble. The more fat there is in your non-organic yogurt, cheese and butter - the more chemicals they are likely to contain. Unfortunately, we need pesticides and fertilizers. Without them we would not be able to produce enough food to feed the world. But they do cause problems - cancers, immune system disorders, and behavioural problems have already been linked to pesticides. That is why many countries have banned their use on lawns and gardens, and the province of Ontario even recently followed suit. If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford food that was grown without them, you are definitely getting your money's worth.

FOOD ADDITIVES

Chemicals are added to food for so many reasons ... artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, emulsifiers, thickeners and thinners. And they all end up inside your body. The average person has over five hundred different chemicals in their body at any given time. They have got to go.

There are dozens of chemicals that are known to be harmful that are still in our food. There are hundreds more that are probably harmful - but evidence is lacking. The general principle is more important - you have so many different molecules in your body that any chemical is probably going to do something to at least one of them.

Based on this principle, the best approach is to avoid chemicals altogether. Don't buy anything with an ingredient list unless you recognize every single item on the list. Don't walk the aisles of the grocery store - the real food is around the edges. Don't buy food with fancy packaging. Don't buy anything whose manufacturer can afford advertising - when was the last time you saw an ad for broccoli?

SPECIFIC ISSUES

There are some foods that can worsen specific problems. These are not foods that everyone should avoid, but if you have a specific condition they apply to you:

• Vegetables from the nightshade family can worsen arthritis
• Grapefruit can affect several medications and increases the risk of breast cancer
• Gout can be triggered by aged cheese, beer and wine, red or organ meat, dehydration and eating too much frui
• Spinach, rhubarb, chocolate and other foods high in oxalate can trigger kidney stones.
• Food allergies can worsen almost any condition - the most common culprits are wheat, dairy, corn, nuts, fish and eggs. Many different testing methods are available - we perform blood testing for IgG antibodies to hundreds of foods. Skin testing with an allergiest is useful for environmental allergies - but not most foods.