{"id":19344,"date":"2025-10-23T11:01:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/19344\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T11:01:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:01:09","slug":"california-cardiologist-with-20-years-experience-shares-5-things-he-would-never-eat-protein-bars-diet-food-canola-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/19344\/","title":{"rendered":"California cardiologist with 20 years experience shares 5 things he would never eat: Protein bars, diet food, canola oil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you throw protein bars <\/a>into your gym bag or choose ‘zero sugar’ treats and artificial sweeteners over a piece of fruit and regular sugar? Given the wide variety of flavoured yoghurts and protein bars on the market, it\u2019s important to know whether such foods are healthy, or what benefits they may offer. Also read | Tamannaah Bhatia’s fitness trainer reveals 3 worst foods to eat after workout’: Why you should avoid avocado toast<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Are Are protein bars good for you? Here’s what Dr Sanjay Bhojraj said. (Freepik) <\/p>\n

Dr Sanjay Bhojraj, an interventional cardiologist from California, US, and founder of Laguna Institute of Functional Medicine, shared an Instagram post on October 21 titled ‘5 things I would never eat<\/a> as a functional cardiologist’ \u2014 and protein bar is one of the foods he won’t touch. He listed other food items he avoids as well and wrote in his caption, \u201cThese might surprise you.\u201d<\/p>\n

1. Seed oils \u2014 canola, soybean, and corn oil<\/p>\n

Dr Bhojraj said, \u201cOnce they\u2019re refined and heated, they oxidise and cause invisible inflammation inside your arteries and cells. I swapped them out years ago for olive oil<\/a>, avocado oil, beef tallow, and grass-fed ghee.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. \u201cDiet\u201d or \u201czero sugar\u201d products<\/p>\n

\u201cArtificial sweeteners<\/a> trick your brain and gut into thinking sugar is coming, confusing your insulin response and making you crave more. Now, if I want something sweet, I go for real fruit, dates or a touch of raw honey \u2014 your body knows what to do with those,\u201d Dr Bhojraj explained.<\/p>\n

3. Flavoured yoghurts<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cThey look healthy, but most have more sugar than a dessert. I keep it simple with plain Greek yoghurt, fresh berries, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Protein bars<\/p>\n

According to Dr Bhojraj, \u201cHere\u2019s the truth \u2014 most are candy bars in disguise, loaded with seed oils and syrups that bloat your gut. I grab a handful of nuts or a boiled egg instead. Simple, real food.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. ‘Vegetable’ chips<\/p>\n

\u201cThey sound clean, but they\u2019re fried in the same inflammatory oils you\u2019re trying to avoid. If I want crunch, I\u2019ll bake sweet potato slices or roast chickpeas at home,\u201d Dr Bhojraj added.<\/p>\n

\"Dr Dr Sanjay Bhojraj said choose simple, real food options to support overall health. (Made using Gemini AI) <\/p>\n

He further shared, \u201cThe truth? I don\u2019t eat this way to be perfect \u2014 I eat this way because I\u2019ve seen what long-term inflammation does to the heart, metabolism, and brain. Functional medicine is about awareness. And when you understand how food signals your biology, your choices get a lot clearer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.<\/p>\n

This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Do you throw protein bars into your gym bag or choose ‘zero sugar’ treats and artificial sweeteners over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19345,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16111,7,16115,9,8,16114,16112,16113,16110],"class_list":["post-19344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-artificial-sweeteners","tag-california","tag-california-cardiologist-with-20-years-experience-shares-5-things-he-would-never-eat-protein-bars","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-functional-medicine","tag-healthy-foods","tag-inflammation","tag-protein-bars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}