Few of us can say that he/she has never eaten processed food. It is all around us: as instant meals, packaged cereals, ready-made lunches, spices and snacks. In fact, almost everything that comes in packaging is processed food. Processed food is the one that contains multiple ingredients of manufactured formulas. This usually includes products such as chips, cakes, candies and other snacks. Foods such as soups, canned vegetables and some cereals are usually considered “slightly processed”. Even some foods that look “healthy” can be more processed than you think. A recent report revealed that additives exist not only in obvious offenders (such as artificially flavored popcorn and colorful sweets), but also in fruit salad packaging.
What’s wrong with that? Well, let’s look at four main reasons.
1. Additives, preservatives and dyes
2. Excessive salt
3. Low nutritional value
4. Added sugars
Additives, preservatives and dyes
The problem with food additives and preservatives is that no one really knows how dangerous they are. There are hundreds of additives approved by various food and health organizations, but there are several clinical studies that show how these effects affect human health. The studies that exist are often too small to assess the degree of risk. Artificial food colors are used to create the bright colors you see on sweets, baked goods, sports drinks and other processed foods. It is also used in smoked salmon and salad dressings, and even some medicines. In fact, the use of preservatives, dyes and other additives has increased by 500% in the last 50 years. It is worrying that the biggest consumers of food containing these additives are children. There are many claims that these substances may be responsible for certain behavioral disorders, such as hyperactivity, as well as food allergies and even some types of cancer. Animal tests have linked food additives and preservatives to disorders and health problems such as:
- Certain cancers
- Asthma and allergic reactions associated with sulfites, nitrites and nitrates (used to prevent
- discoloration)
- Digestive problems such as nausea and diarrhea
- Hyperactivity disorder and attention deficit in children
- Antibiotic resistance
- Headache
- Increased risk of heart disease due to phosphate accumulation
- Hormone imbalance due to additional hormones
- Neurological problems, such as those from aspartame consumption in rats
Excessive salt
Sodium is often used as a preservative and to improve the taste of food. It can be difficult to measure your salt intake because even if you do not add it to your food, many flavors or spices can contain large amounts of sodium. Processed foods that contain large amounts of salt or sodium include meat dishes, spices, chips, crackers, pizzas, canned foods, processed cheese, dried meat and fast food. Salt is excellent as a preservative, because it is composed of sodium and chloride ions that reduce the water activity of food. Water activity is the amount of fluid that is available in food to support the growth of bacteria or allow other chemical reactions to take place. Many people claim that salt is needed, and it is true that the human body needs a small amount of sodium to conduct nerve impulses and relax muscles and maintain a proper balance of water and minerals.
However, too much sodium in the diet leads to narrowing of blood vessels, which leads to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. It can also cause your body to lose large amounts of calcium, some of which can be excreted from your bones. As sodium levels rise, the body retains water to dilute it. It also increases the amount of fluid that surrounds the cells and the volume of blood in the bloodstream. More blood means more work for the heart and more pressure on your blood vessels. Over time, extra work and pressure can cause blood vessels to narrow, exacerbating high blood pressure and increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. There is also evidence that too much salt can damage the heart, aorta and kidneys without first raising blood pressure.
Low nutritional value
Highly processed foods sometimes contain additional nutrients – but even so, they cannot deliver the same level of nutrition found in whole, fresh foods. In many cases, they simply add extra calories with little or no nutritional value. When processed foods such as pizza and French fries prevail in your diet, your health will suffer. You will also be at greater risk of gaining weight and other chronic diseases. Compared to ‘real’ food, processed foods have extremely few vitamins and minerals. Even if synthetic vitamins and minerals are added to the food to make up for what is lost during processing, this ‘enriched’ food is not nearly as valuable as unprocessed food.
Synthetic nutrients are NOT a healthy substitute for natural nutrients. In any case, real foods like plants and animal products contain thousands of other trace nutrients that cannot be produced. A very important component of unprocessed food is soluble fiber, which is needed to help your body transfer food through your digestive system. However, the fiber content of whole foods is lost during processing or storage. As a result, most processed foods contain a lot of fiber, unless they are added later. This can lead to poor digestive function and slow bowel movements. In addition, a lack of fiber in the diet means that your gut microbiome does not have the “fuel” to support its growth, which can further contribute to poor digestion.
Extra sugars
Sugars, syrups and other sweeteners are often added to food during processing. Foods with large amounts of extra sugar are usually cakes, cookies, carbonated drinks, energy drinks and sweets. While this may seem obvious, there are plenty of other foods that contain sugars. Sugar is added to food to improve its taste. People love sweet things – and a little extra sweetness can make almost any product irresistible. However, sugar is added to food for other reasons. It improves the taste, texture and color of baked goods, and can even help preserve fruit-based foods, such as jams and jellies.
Sugar also helps with the fermentation needed to produce wheat products such as bread and cakes. Unfortunately, too much added sugar is a major problem in the Western diet. Most foods with a high sugar content simply add unnecessary calories to the daily intake, and little nutritional value. What’s worse, added sugar is often used in pastries that also contain saturated fats (i.e. butter and margarine), which creates even more problems for your arteries. There are a number of health risks associated with a high-sugar diet, including:
Poor nutrition
Foods high in sugar usually contain fewer vitamins and minerals than natural, unprocessed foods. Juices and candies are especially bad! Your body needs a regular supply of nutrients to function properly every day. Over time, a lack of these nutrients will have detrimental effects on your immune system, brain function, metabolism and many other areas of the body. In our nutrition programs, you have a variety of recipes that can serve as a good substitute for ready-made meals and canned food that you can replace with nutritious and healthy foods.
Gaining weight
Although weight gain can be attributed to many factors, diet is certainly the main one. Adding sugar to foods and drinks increases their caloric content, and their infectious taste means that you will probably eat much more than your body needs. Excess calories that are not consumed immediately because energy is stored in the form of fat.
High triglycerides
Triglycerides are a type of ‘bad’ fat in the bloodstream and body tissues. Consuming large amounts of extra sugar can increase triglyceride levels, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
Candida overgrowth
Candida albicans is a type of yeast that lives in our intestines. Although it usually exists without problems, it thrives on excess sugar. Sugar is the “fuel” of yeast, it allows it to multiply and spread throughout the body. Excessive growth of candida can lead to all kinds of digestive problems such as IBS, diarrhea, constipation, bloating. As it gets worse, symptoms can develop into brain fog, fatigue, joint pain, hormonal imbalance and skin problems.
Tooth decay
Sugar is the worst substance that teeth can come in contact with. All forms of sugar promote tooth decay, causing the growth of bacteria. The more sugar you eat during the day, the more likely you are to develop tooth decay.
Reduce your intake of processed foods
A diet rich in processed foods can lead to serious health conditions. The rise of candida itself can disrupt your daily digestive function, which in turn can weaken your immune system to the point where you are more susceptible to other conditions. Reducing your intake of processed foods is simple: just stop buying ready meals and prepare your own food from fresh ingredients! Also, check the food labels that come in the packages to see how many ‘chemicals’ they contain. Replace those foods with ‘real’ fruits, vegetables, nuts and meat – and you’ll be surprised how much better they taste! The Infinity Fit fitness app gives you a lot of information about exercise as well as food and how you can replace bad habits with healthy ones.