Breaking up with processed foods high is a challenging process. When produced with care, they can provide a supplement to a diet based on real foods. However there are many dangerous ingredients in traditional processed foods. Be mindful of these three ingredients when making decisions about what you are putting into your body.
Highly Refined Vegetable Oils: Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA’s) have been recommended used in cheap, highly processed foods for decades. Corn, soybean, canola, safflower, and sunflower oil are on this list, which are omega-6 fatty acids. These unsaturated fats, break down when heated (oxidation) and this process triggers inflammation throughout the body. The overconsumption of unstable fats is now directly linked to all of the major chronic diseases affecting our country. Natural and real foods are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, universally accepted to have a positive impact on overall health. Decades of mis-interpreted research is finally being reviewed and overturned as recommendations are shifting back to real food based healthy fats. If you are choosing chips or crackers, look for products cooked in coconut, avocado, or olive oil.
Sugar: Processed foods rose to prominence in the 20th century. As dietary recommendations came out against saturated fats, sugar was the replacement to make foods taste good. The result has been a disaster. Widespread and addictive, added sugar lies in just about all processed foods. Even “health” foods must be double checked. Look for code names like corn syrup, corn sweetener, dehydrated cane juice, or fructose. There are dozens more. Similar to vegetable oils, excess sugar is linked to all inflammatory and chronic diseases. Look at the label first for grams of sugar, if it’s in double digits per serving look for a better option!
Chemicals: There is a long list of different chemicals found in processed foods, it is the only way they stay fresh and taste decent. Food dyes are banned in some countries, but still allowed in the United States despite being directly linked to different cancers. BPA (bisphenol-A) is found in most canned foods and linked to diabetes and insulin resistance. Benzoate preservatives (BHT, BHA, and TBHQ) are linked to all sorts of chronic conditions. The days of eating foods with long lists of chemicals, preservatives, and words we can’t pronounce has to come to an end. If you don’t know what the ingredient is, find a different option to put in your body!
