Recent food science suggests modern foods lead to degeneration. Tooth decay, for example, is not as prevalent in primitive groups who eat traditional hunter-gatherer food, contrary to groups who rely on imported foods, or even most suburbs in the West. As a response to this came the Paleo Diet, based on what humanity as a species used to eat before the relatively "recent" Agricultural Revolution. Said in more simple terms: we just aren't eating naturally. Here's a list of modern foods that have been proven to be unhealthy for us.

Salt is highly refined, stripped of its rich mineral content. To aid storage, aluminum compounds and others are added. It is known to contribute to sodium starvation, and overstimulation of the glandular system, causing an array of degenerative diseases, such as prostate cancer. Replace with sea or Celtic salt, which preserves the natural minerales found in salt.

Flour is often made from grains, which contains both lectins (toxins protecting the frail grain from foraging predators), and phytic acid, which leads to deficiency ofvprotein, iron, and zinc. White flour is highly refined, and bleached to look prettier. Almost all nutrients are removed to improve shelf life. Replace with nut flour or maybe buckwheat flour. Ordinary grains can be soaked and sprouted to leech out most (if not all) toxins.

Sugar is highly refined, like salt, stripped bare of its nutrition. It correlates with cancer, heart issues, kidney and liver disease, increased desire for tobacco and caffeine, and so on. It binds with calcium, thus making the body take its calcium from your teeth — you end up with tooth decay. Replace with honey or maple syrup, but overall, reduce the amounts.

Vegetable oils are usually processed at high heats. The process includes adding the poison solvent hexane, which also binds with the pesticides in the oil seeds. The heat makes the unsaturated fats oxidize, making them poison. To compensate for the lost storability, the chemical compounds BHT and BHA, said to cause cancer and brain damage, are added. Margarines are similar, stuffed with trans fat, which is toxic, but which the body treats as regular fat cells. Replace both with cold-pressed vegetable oil or coconut oil.

Soy is rich in phytic acid, and enzyme-inhibitors, blocking protein synthesis (stalling growth). Just avoid it.

Industrial meats and eggs are processed in horrible conditions. Cows and chickens are crammed together, receiving steroids to survive the diseases and lack of health which pervades in such environments. Red meat is linked with heart problems, and cancer. You really don't need a lot of arguments for this: it is common sense that a sad animal is a diseased animal, and diseased meat will transfer all this on to you. Eat eggs and meats from animals raised on pasture. Eat lean meats (most hunting game) and fish.

Pasteurized milk is robbed of its original nutrients by means of heating, so as to comply with modern safety standards. No minding the animals the milk comes from is diseased in the first place, due to all the steroids they get. Note that, according to the Paleo Diet, non-Scandinavians shouldn't eat dairy. 70 % of the population is lactose intolerant, and this isn't surprising, as the milk is obviously inteded for the calf. Replace butter with olive oil, bacon grease, or coconut milk. Replace sour or whipped cream with semi-frozen coconut milk with either a drop of lemon juice or honey, respectively. Replace milk with coconut milk or nut milk (the latter is made by blending 1 part almonds to 2-4 parts water).

As we can see, modern foods do us little good. We get all kinds of deficiencies, cancer, heart problems et cetera. The general wisdom is to avoid highly refined foods, and foods not widespread in nature until the arrival of agriculture. Also avoid industrial foods. They often contain high amounts of iodized salt or refined sugar, or even artifical sweeteners like aspartame, linked to both cancer and MS development. Do your body a favour: try the Paleo Diet. It will make you feel better, since you're no longer stuffing it with toxic and alien material, but instead food your body has known since the birth of our species.

For Paleo Diet recipes, see www.paleofood.com, cindalouskitchenblues.blogspot.com/, www.performancemenu.com/recipes/recipes.php. Look here for examples on menus.