If we know something is harmful, why do we keep eating it? It's incomprehensible, right? And it's even more incomprehensible if you recognize yourself in these things.

If we eat the wrong things every day, our body feels like we are running daily with a backpack full of rocks. At first, we barely notice the tiredness, but over time, year after year, the damage accumulates. Statistics from 2024 show that 61% of Europeans are overweight. This isn’t just about appearance. Excess weight is strongly linked to more than 200 health problems, from type 2 diabetes to heart disease.

And you know what is particularly interesting: in folk medicine, our ancestors said the same thing that still applies today: you are what you eat. The old people could be even more precise: if you eat food made in a factory, your body will become like a factory—noisy, polluted, and worn out.

Let’s look at 10 foods that slowly harm us, yet we keep eating them day after day...

1. Canned tomato sauce – hidden sugar in a disguise of health
   
   Tomato is a superfood, but store-bought sauces often hide sugar. In one cup of commercial tomato sauce, there can be up to 12 g of sugar. That’s the same as eating three sugar cubes. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association from 2022 shows that every additional daily intake of 10 grams of added sugar raises the risk of type 2 diabetes by 23%.
   
   So it’s better to make your own sauce at home. A few tomatoes, a dash of olive oil, a bit of garlic. Add some garlic, which cleans the blood; today we know that garlic contains allicin (a natural antibacterial substance that helps reduce bacteria in the body). It's much healthier!
   
   
2. Processed meat products – silent enemies of your arteries
   
   Hot dogs, salami, p{-15454}t{-15447}s, and store-bought burgers... Even though they may sound tasty, they hide a lot of salt, nitrites (chemicals for longer shelf life which prevent spoilage but can form harmful substances in the body), and fats. WHO already confirmed in 2020 that processed meat products increase the risk of colon cancer by 18% if consumed daily.
   
   They say that sometimes the butcher at the market is a better doctor than a modern diet. If you do eat meat, choose a piece of fresh, local meat instead.
   
   
3. Low-quality vegetable oils – hidden sources of inflammation
   
   The label says sunflower oil, but in reality, it is often highly refined (meaning too heavily processed, with natural substances removed). Refined oils can contain free radicals (molecules that damage healthy cells) that accelerate aging and disease. A 2023 study in the Nutrients Journal showed that regular consumption of bad oils increases the risk of inflammation in the body by up to 45%.
   
   It’s better to use olive, flaxseed, or coconut oil. In the countryside, people used to cook with lard, which—believe it or not—if homemade and used in moderation, is more stable for baking than refined vegetable oils.
   
   
4. French fries – the king of fast food that slows us down
   
   Acrylamide (a compound formed at high temperatures that is crucial in the development of cancer) forms when frying food. Research from 2021 at Harvard showed that regular consumption of French fries increases the risk of heart disease by 17%. In America, there are an estimated 34,000 annual deaths linked to excessive fried food consumption.
   
   But you can still eat potatoes. They also contain potassium, which helps the heart. Just bake them in the oven, as our grandfathers did by the wood stove.
   
   
5. Store-bought salad dressings – sugar, colorants and secrets in a bottle
   
   A dressing bottle often contains more chemical additives than a personal computer. High fructose corn syrup (a very sweet syrup that burdens the liver) is found in 75% of prepackaged foods in the USA and increasingly in Europe. Consuming these products increases the chances of fatty liver by 61%.
   
   Why not make your own salad dressing? Lemon, apple cider vinegar, olive oil... Folk wisdom says vinegar thins the blood. Homemade dressing improves digestion and regulates blood sugar.
   
   
6. Artificial sweeteners – when sweetness isn’t so innocent
   
   Aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose... They sound like they came from a chemistry lab. EFSA confirmed in 2023 that they are safe within limits, but a Nature study the same year shows they can disrupt gut bacteria and increase appetite by 21%.
   
   Folk healers offer a different solution: honey, homemade syrup (the best is made from spruce tips or dried pears cooked in water)... Such a syrup has a naturally sweet taste without tricks.
   
   
7. White bread and pasta – quick fuel, quick burnout
   
   White flour has had its fiber and minerals removed. Frightening! After eating it, your blood sugar climbs fast like a rocket, then drops quickly. Studies from 2020 show that people who eat refined flour are more likely to develop belly fat (+32% risk over 5 years).
   
   In our region, people used to say: black bread gives strength. Homemade flour from the mill, whole grain, or buckwheat groats show all the power of nature.
   
   
8. Energy bars – candy dressed as sports food
   
   They look healthy but often contain 30-50% sugar. Unless you’re running a marathon, your body doesn’t need them. In 2024, it was reported in the USA that as many as 65% of energy bar buyers do not even exercise regularly.
   
   Folk snacks: walnuts, dried plums, and honey are much better at meeting your energy needs. Shepherds and foresters used this recipe long ago.
   
   
9. Store-bought fruit juices – more sugar than in soft drinks
   
   The label says 100% fruit, but sugar is often added. One 0.5 L bottle can contain up to 10 teaspoons of sugar. Pasteurization (heating to destroy microbes) also destroys any potential vitamins...
   
   People used to grate an apple and eat it. The fiber in an apple reduces blood sugar spikes, while juice from the store raises it faster than you might imagine.
   
   
10. Sugary breakfast cereals – a sugar punch already in the morning
    
    Most cornflakes have 30-40% sugar. And when your sugar spikes in the morning, fatigue, nervousness, hunger come in the afternoon... A 2022 study says: children who eat sugary cereals have a 38% higher risk of overweight.
    
    An old folk recipe suggests: oatmeal, dried fruit, cinnamon. Cinnamon regulates blood sugar and has been shown to lower blood sugar by 8-24%.

The path back to simple, homemade food

The world is fast, and food is getting more and more complicated. But the solution is simple:

• more homemade dishes,
  
  
• more seasonal foods,
  
  
• less processed,
  
  
• more garlic, onion, apple cider vinegar, honey, buckwheat, oats ...

Our ancestors didn’t have laboratories. But they had knowledge, observation of nature, and good old-fashioned common sense. Today, we have data to back up this wisdom. If you swap out just one of these foods each week, you'll be doing your body a big favor by 2025. Not because food is trendy, but because it’s natural.

And nature always knows what it’s doing.