A Quick Look Into Processed Foods
While many people instinctively know that there is something unwholesome about processed foods, few people have the entire story as to why they aren’t the most healthy way to nourish your body. In this day and age, people looking for a healthier life are increasingly acknowledging the terrible truths about the processed foods that they’ve been eating for years.
Obviously we live in an era of abundance, especially in the western world. We have more food than ever, more people than ever, more resources than ever, just about more everything than ever before.
But at what cost? How do we account for all this abundance? Where does it come from. Mainly our food. We don’t really think about how are grocery stores just seem to be packed at all times with all of our favorite foods and goodies. Most of us either don’t know or don’t care that the majority of the food we eat is actually processed in a factory. Convenience comes at a price, at with food that price tends to be in the form of poor nutrition.
Addiction to Processed Foods
While cucumbers are delicious, no one has ever become addicted to them. That’s because whole foods in their natural state are correctly balanced for human nutrition. Processing foods strips away essential components of whole foods, such as fiber, and this changes the way the body digests and uses the foods.
Whole foods in their natural state contain carbohydrates. But they also come with a healthy balance of fiber, water, proteins and fats to provide perfect human nutrition. Processed foods are engineered to trigger a dopamine release, a “feel good” chemical in the brain that tricks your body into thinking it is satisfied even though the “food” is missing essential nutrients and/or fiber.
People can become addicted to this dopamine release, which in turn leads to overeating and uncontrollable food addiction.
Obesity Issues
You ever wonder why fat burners are so popular and all over the internet? Why there’s so many top fat burners lists on the internet? Processed foods add another whammy against human health by including a whole raft of additives that have been shown to promote obesity. The so-called “foods” available in most supermarkets today are heavily laced with cheap fillers and preservatives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), artificial sweeteners, and high-fructose corn syrup.
Heavily processed grains that are designed to quickly convert to sugar are used to make breakfast cereals, pretzels, waffels, bagels and muffins.
Dosing the body with high levels of carbohydrates dramatically increases the body’s insulin levels. Over time, this leads to insulin resistance, which has been strongly connected to a whole host of illnesses and maladies, including significant weight gain.
Unnatural Combinations
Nutritionists and health experts agree that natural foods are designed to be eaten in certain combinations in order to work more efficiently with the human body’s digestive system.
Processed foods regularly combine starchy ingredients with proteins, which can work to block the digestive tract, raise blood acid levels, and provide a vector for pathogens to enter the intestinal tract.
Rocking the Inner Ecosystem Boat
Human beings have evolved an advanced relationship with microorganisms that live in the digestive system. Processed foods upset that balance, suppressing and killing off many helpful microorganisms, causing people to suffer from chronic digestive illnesses and unnatural cravings.
Whole, unprocessed foods, on the other hand, strongly support the natural beneficial microorganisms that live in the digestive tract.
Mood Killer
Many people have noted that eating a lot of heavily processed foods leads to memory problems, mood swings, and even clinical depression. Few people realize that serotonin, a natural body chemical that helps control mood and depression, is most abundant in the intestinal tract. Thus, the digestive system and brain work together, each reciprocating the other in stabilizing mood and emotional health.
Most health experts understand that diet has a major impact on mental health, and that eating a lot of processed foods can disturb the digestive system, thus leading to a greater risk of bad moods and depression.
Rushing Through Life at the Expense of Your Health
Processed foods come attractively-packaged, ready to be eaten “on the go”. Many people have come to depend on the convenience of processed foods to multi-task at work, commute or run errands in the car, or to consume quick meals while performing other things. Always eating in a rush disturbs the body’s natural rhythms, making it difficult for people to know when they’ve already eaten enough.
sources
http://www.cbn.com/tv/2533330727001
http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/dirty-secrets-of-the-food-processing-industry
