What Is Processed Food?

Processed foods are terrible for your health. Each time you eat a meal containing processed food products, you’re doing serious harm to your health. If you suffer from any kind of chronic health problem, you can usually trace it back to a poor diet. Are you putting yourself at risk?

What is Processed Food?

Processed food is another word for convenience food that has been altered from its natural state.

Some examples of processed food products include:

•Breakfast Cereal

•Candy

•Soda

•Fast Food

•Microwavable Meals

•Canned Food

•Snack Cakes

Health Dangers of Processed Foods

The above-mentioned processed foods have no nutritional value and are filled with preservatives and additives that can wreck havoc with your health. A diet high in processed foods is one of the most common reasons for chronic health problems ranging from autoimmune disease to cancer.

Some of the dangerous chemicals in processed food products include:

•Food Dyes

Food dyes such as Yellow #5, Red #40, and Blue Lake have been linked to the development of ADHD symptoms in children.

•MSG

This popular flavor enhancer hides under the names of gelatin, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, malted barley, yeast extract, rice syrup, broth, and casein, making it quite difficult to detect. Monosodium glutamate is an excitotoxin, which means it over-stimulates the brain cells to the point of permanent damage.

•Trans Fats

Despite popular belief, saturated fat isn’t the cause of heart disease, it’s trans fats you have to watch out for. The scary thing is just about every processed food product out there contains these deadly chemicals. Margarine, soups mixes, cake mixes, snack cakes, and snack chips are the worst offenders.

•Aspartame

Aspartame is one of the worst chemicals in processed food and is heavily used in diet soda. According to research done by neurosurgeon Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, aspartame is both an excitotoxin and a carcinogen. This dangerous synthetic sweetener has an incredible 92 different health symptoms associated with it.

•BHT & BHA

Commonly found in breakfast cereal, these phenoleic compounds have been linked to the development of cancer and have also been shown to cause behavioral problems and severe allergic reaction.

How to Avoid Processed Food Products

The best way to avoid processed food products is to shop the perimeter of the store and become a label-reader. Load up on organic vegetables, fruits, nut butters, hummus, dried beans, organic brown rice, quinoa, millet, organic meat, poultry, fish, and healthy fats. Even if a product claims to be “natural” on the front, read the label on the side. The less ingredients the better.

Giving up processed food isn’t easy at first. You’ll go through cravings and withdrawal symptoms that will make giving up your favorite foods difficult at first. Once you start experiencing these “die off” symptoms, you’ll understand how addictive those foods really are. Drink plenty of water, rest, and fill your body with plenty of nutrient-rich foods. Within a few months, you’ll be amazed at how much healthier, clear-headed, and thin you are!