CREDIT: JESSICA THOMPSON
Yes, candy is delicious, but swap that unhealthy garbage with dried fruit and bask in the awesomeness of natural sweetener, which won't make you feel sick after.

Time to ditch the donut. There are so many rules to healthy eating which makes it easy to get overwhelmed. There’s the 80:20 rule where you eat healthy 80 per cent of the time and unhealthy 20 per cent of the time, not a great idea because you can do a lot of damage eating poorly 20 per cent of the time.

Besides, how well can you really keep track of that diet? What about the infamous cheat day where you eat healthy all week and allow yourself a whole day to cheat? Again, most people have a really hard time sticking to this as they often end up cheating for more than one day or they do some serious damage on their cheat day.

Then, we are all guilty of saying, “everything in moderation”, but is this the case for all foods? Are there some foods that you should just never eat?

In an article by Dr. Mercola, on mercola.com, he explains why we should never eat donuts, soda, commercial French fries, chips and breaded, fried, non-fish seafood. I’d like to add a few things to the list.

White flour

There is little to no nutritional value with white flour, just lots of empty calories. Instead, go for milled, whole grain flours or flours made from beans and vegetables; for example oats, brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato, garbanzo bean, almond and hemp.

Candy and marshmallows

Again, these sugary products contain empty calories and sugar that can result in acute and chronic health conditions. Instead, try nature’s candy with dried fruit and dry-roasted, unsalted nuts and seeds. Add in a little touch of pure dark chocolate and you are set with a healthy and yummy snack.

Artificial sweeteners

They have the same effect on your body as white sugar. Try using a small amount of natural sweetener, like raw honey or agave. These are typically sweeter than sugar so you only need a small amount.

Microwave popcorn

There are chemicals in this that just should not be in our diets. Purchase an air popper and add your own natural flavourings. There are many examples online of recipes to spice up the simple movie night snack.

Margarine

Even the so-called healthy varieties are not good. Instead, opt for healthy oils, such as olive or coconut oil, or sparing amounts of unsalted butter. Even better, try to enjoy some foods without the added fat, or use foods like avocado, homemade low-salt hummus and mashed hard-boiled egg