Processed Foods Vs Over Processed Foods

What are Over Processed foods? And why should you avoid them?

Let’s first look at the difference between processed food and overly processed food.

Processed food is anything that has been transformed from its natural state, for example: applesauce, made from apples that have been transformed into applesauce. My rule of thumb is that my processed food should not exceed 5 ingredients other than additional veggies or fruits, and I must be able to find those ingredients in a normal kitchen, not a lab. These for me are lesser evils, they are not necessarily unhealthy but just be aware that they often contain added sugar, fat or salt. In a perfect world you want to stay as close as possible to the real produce or make your own at home so you know exactly what is going into it. But we all know that life is not perfect so don’t feel too bad stocking up on some spaghetti sauce.

Examples of common processed foods:

Cheese

Cold cuts, bacon, sausages (always get without sulfites and nitrates)

Canned & jarred fruits & vegetables

Bread

Frozen fruits & vegetables

Yogurt

Hummus

Now let’s talk about over processed foods shall we?

It’s when you take an apple and make an apple Pop Tart! Its foods that contain highly processed ingredients you could only find in a lab. It’s foods you could never make in your kitchen with the same ingredients listed on their package. Its foods containing artificial flavors, artificial coloring, emulsifying agents, preservative agents and a list of ingredients you need a white coat to understand. So if you can’t recognize an ingredient, I bet you your body can’t either. Also if your food doesn’t get moldy or bad, that is a sign it’s not the real deal.

Examples of common over processed foods:

Refined sweeteners like Splenda

Single slice cheese like Kraft…

Breakfast Cereals

Crackers

Frozen ready to eat meals

Candies

Chips like Doritos, Cheetos…

Why should I avoid over processed foods?

Let’s start with why we eat. We eat to give our body the nutrients it needs and calories for it to function. If you are eating foods high in calories and deprived of nutrients that’s not a good mix my friend… I can guarantee that you will be more hungry then if you ate a high nutrient meal with a lower calorie count because your body will say “thank you, I got what I need for a few hours, you can do something else than eat now”.

The crazy thing is that a lot of the ingredients in over processed foods have been linked to cancer, ADHD and allergies. For example food dyes that have been proven to cause cancer in rats are still in our food chain. Over processed foods are overloaded with sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. And if that is not enough, some of the top brands hire scientists to make sure that their over processed foods are addictive. So when you can’t put down that bag of chips my friend, there is so much more going on than willpower. How can these products be in our supermarkets? Targeting our kids? I hear you, it is frustrating that we have the knowledge that these foods are causing disease in our society, obesity and yet they are still there taunting us on every corner, every TV channel. I don’t have the answer why. Money? Corruption? But what I do know is that YOU and only YOU are responsible for your health and the health of your children, so get knowledgeable about what is in your food, when you don’t know what an ingredient is, look it up, and make educated decisions. Knowledge is power baby!

So bottom line, keep your processing to a minimal my friend and your body will thank you for it:)

#knowledgeispower #healthylifestyle #healthyeating #whattoeat #eatinghealthy