Processed Food

If the food comes in a

box or package IT IS A NO NO

With your busy lifestyle, it is often easier to grab a pre-packaged or frozen meal. While you score on

convenience, those pre-packaged and processed foods are not helping you with

achieving overall health. Let’s face it, you may lose weight. But the long-term

impacts of processed foods may not be worth it. So why is processed food bad

for you?

It’s not all “real food“.

Processed foods, by definition have been altered or put through a process that prevents them from

spoiling or deteriorating before they can be purchased or consumed. Milk, for

instance, goes through a pasteurization process to kill bacteria. This is not

the type of process that we are referencing. However, foods that are processed

that are unlikely to be healthy include canned foods, snack foods such as

potato chips and cookies, boxed meals or breakfast cereals and processed meats

such as hot dogs or luncheon meat. They also contain bad fats. A diet

consisting of processed foods can not only make you sick, but it can make you

gain weight. According to the World Health Organization, processed foods are

the cause for increased obesity levels and diseases including cancer and heart

disease.

It’s loaded with sodium.

Like fat, sodium is necessary for us to live and function at optimal levels.

When we sweat, for example, we lose sodium. Therefore nature has placed

it in the unprocessed foods that we eat such as vegetables, dairy product and

even water so that our bodies maintain the right sodium balance. However,

processed foods usually contain more salt than you need. According to the

Mayo Clinic, “about 11 percent of the sodium in the average U.S. diet comes

from adding salt or other sodium-containing condiments to foods while cooking

or eating. But the majority of the sodium — 77 percent — comes from eating

prepared or processed foods that contain the mineral.” Too much sodium leads

to high blood pressure as it causes more fluid to be retained in the blood vessels.

It contains high fructose corn syrup.

High fructose corn syrup

makes processed foods taste and look good. It can be found in many frozen

foods, yogurt and bread. In his book, “In Defense of Food: An Eaters

Manifesto,” Michael Pollan refers to high fructose corn syrup as a “biological

novelty” indicating that it causes ill health because our bodies are unfamiliar

with this substance. High fructose corn syrup has been linked to increasing

obesity levels, heart disease and diabetes. In addition, there is some belief

that it encourages overeating.

The best plan of attack

for healthy eating and weight loss is to consume as much whole foods as you can

by incorporating fruits, vegetables and lean meats into your diet. It’s not

just about weight loss. It’s about overall health.

Source: http://www.examiner.com/fitness-in-madison/diets-101-why-are-processed-foods-bad-for-your-health