Packed or processed food can harm your body beyond your imagination, Eat At Your Own Risk
The trap of processed food. - Processed food apart from tremendous money on advertisements- linking them to high life and prosperity, have below is common to trap an unsuspecting customer.
1. Sugar
cubes, High Fructose Corn Syrup. - Always yummy but well known that - sugar, when consumed in excess, is seriously harmful.
As
we all know, sugar is “empty” calories – it has no essential nutrients, but a
large amount of energy.
But
empty calories are really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the
harmful effects of sugar…
Many
studies show that sugar can have devastating effects on metabolism that go way
beyond its calorie content.
It
can lead to insulin resistance, high triglycerides, increased levels of the
harmful cholesterol and increased fat accumulation in the liver and abdominal
cavity.
Not
surprisingly, sugar consumption is strongly associated with some of the world’s
leading killers… including heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer.
Most
people aren’t putting massive amounts of sugar in their coffee or on top of
their cereal, they’re getting it from processed foods and sugar-sweetened
beverages.
Bottom
Line: Processed foods and beverages are the biggest sources of added sugar (and
HFCS) in the diet. Sugar is very unhealthy and can have serious adverse effects
on metabolism when consumed in excess.
2.
Processed Foods Are “Hyper Rewarding” and Lead to Over consumption
We
all want to eat good food. That’s just human nature.
Evolution
provided us with taste buds that are supposed to help us navigate the natural
food environment.
Our
appetite gravitates towards foods that are sweet, salty and fatty, because we
know such foods contain energy and nutrients that we need for survival.
Obviously,
if a food manufacturer wants to succeed and get people to buy their product, it
has to taste good.
But
today, the competition is fierce. There are many different food manufacturers,
all competing with each other.
For
this reason, massive resources are spent on making foods as desirable as
possible.
Many
processed foods have been engineered to be so incredibly “rewarding” to the
brain, that they overpower anything we might have come across in nature.
We
have complicated mechanisms in our bodies and brains that are supposed to
regulate energy balance (how much we eat and how much we burn) – which, until
very recently in evolutionary history, worked to keep us at a healthy weight.
There
is quite a lot of evidence that the reward value of foods can bypass the innate
defense mechanism and make us start eating much more than we need, so much that
it starts to compromise our health.
This
is also known as the “food reward hypothesis of obesity.”
The
truth is, processed foods are so incredibly rewarding to our brains that they
affect our thoughts and behavior, making us eat more and more until eventually
we become sick.
Good
food is good, but foods that are engineered to be hyper rewarding, effectively
short circuiting our innate brakes against over-consumption, are NOT good.
Bottom
Line: Food manufacturers spend massive amounts of resources on making their
foods as “rewarding” as possible to the brain, which leads to over-consumption.
3.
Processed Foods Contain All Sorts of Artificial Ingredients
If
you look at the ingredients label for a processed, packaged food, chances are
that you won’t have a clue what some of the ingredients are.
That’s
because many of the ingredients in there aren’t actual food… they are
artificial chemicals that are added for various purposes.
This
is an example of a processed food, an Atkins Advantage bar, which is actually
marketed as a low-carb friendly health food.
Atkins
Advantage, Ingredients List
I
don’t know what this is, but it most certainly isn’t food.
Highly
processed foods often contain:
Preservatives:
Chemicals that prevent the food from rotting.
Colorants:
Chemicals that are used to give the food a specific color.
Flavor:
Chemicals that give the food a particular flavor.
Texturants:
Chemicals that give a particular texture.
Keep
in mind that processed foods can contain dozens of additional chemicals that
aren’t even listed on the label.
For
example, “artificial flavor” is a proprietary blend. Manufacturers don’t have
to disclose exactly what it means and it is usually a combination of chemicals.
For
this reason, if you see “artificial flavor” on an ingredients list, it could
mean that there are 10 or more additional chemicals that are blended in to give
a specific flavor.
Of
course, most of these chemicals have allegedly been tested for safety. But
given that the regulatory authorities still think that sugar and vegetable oils
are safe, I personally take their “stamp of approval” with a grain of salt.
Bottom
Line: Most highly processed foods are loaded with artificial chemicals,
including flavorants, texturants, colorants and preservatives.
4.
Many People Can Literally Become Addicted to Processed Junk Foods
The
“hyper rewarding” nature of processed foods can have serious consequences for
some people.
Some
people can literally become addicted to this stuff and completely lose control
over their consumption.
Although
food addiction is something that most people don’t know about, I am personally
convinced that it is a huge problem in society today.
It
is the main reason why some people just can’t stop eating these foods, no
matter how hard they try.
They’ve
had their brain biochemistry hijacked by the intense dopamine release that
occurs in the brain when they eat these foods.
This
is actually supported by many studies. Sugar and highly rewarding junk foods
activate the same areas in the brain as drugs of abuse like cocaine.
Bottom
Line: For many people, junk foods can hijack the biochemistry of the brain,
leading to downright addiction and cause them to lose control over their
consumption.
5.
Processed Foods Are Often High in Refined Carbohydrates
Bread
There
is a lot of controversy regarding carbohydrates in the diet.
Some
people think that the majority of our energy intake should be from carbs, while
others think they should be avoided like the plague.
But
one thing that almost everyone agrees on, is that carbohydrates from whole
foods are much better than refined carbohydrates.
Processed
foods are often high in carbs, but it is usually the refined variety.
One
of the main problems is that refined, “simple” carbohydrates are quickly broken
down in the digestive tract, leading to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin
levels.
This
can lead to carb cravings a few hours later when blood sugar levels go down
again. This phenomenon is also called the “blood sugar roller coaster” – which
many people who have been on a high-carb diet can relate to
Not
surprisingly, eating a lot of refined carbohydrates is associated with negative
health effects and many chronic diseases.
Do
NOT be fooled by labels like “whole grains” that are often plastered on
processed food packages, including breakfast cereals.
These
are usually whole grains that have been pulverized into very fine flour and are
just as harmful as their refined counterparts.
If
you’re going to eat carbs, get them from whole, single ingredient foods, not
processed junk foods.
Bottom
Line: The carbohydrates you find in processed foods are usually refined,
“simple” carbohydrates. These lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin
levels and cause negative health effects.
6.
Most Processed Foods Are Low in Nutrients
Processed
foods are extremely low in essential nutrients compared to whole, unprocessed
foods.
Junk
Food With Yellow Caution Tape
In
some cases, synthetic vitamins and minerals are added to the foods to
compensate for what was lost during processing.
However,
synthetic nutrients are NOT a good replacement for the nutrients found in whole
foods.
Also,
let’s not forget that real foods contain much more than just the standard
vitamins and minerals that we’re all familiar with.
Real
foods… like plants and animals, contain thousands of other trace nutrients that
science is just beginning to grasp.
Maybe
one day we will invent a chemical blend that can replace all these nutrients,
but until that happens… the only way to get them in your diet is to eat whole,
unprocessed foods.
The
more you eat of processed foods, the less you will get of vitamins, minerals,
antioxidants and various trace nutrients.
Bottom
Line: There are many nutrients found in whole foods that are not found in
processed foods. The more processed foods you eat, the less you will get of
these nutrients.
7.
Processed Foods Tend to be Low in Fiber
Fiber,
especially soluble, fermentable fiber, has various benefits.
One
of the main ones is that it functions as a prebiotic, feeding the friendly
bacteria in the intestine.
There
is also evidence that fiber can slow down the absorption of carbohydrates and
help us feel more satisfied with fewer calories.
Soluble
fiber can also help treat many cases of constipation, which is a very common
problem today.
The
fiber that is found naturally in foods is often lost during processing, or
intentionally removed. Therefore, most processed foods are very low in fiber.
Bottom
Line: Soluble, fermentable fiber has various important health benefits, but
most processed foods are very low in fiber because it is lost or intentionally
removed during processing.
8.
It Requires Less Energy and Time to Digest Processed Foods
Toast
With Margarine
Food
manufacturers want their processed food products to have a long shelf life.
They
also want each batch of the product to have a similar consistency and they want
their foods to be easily consumed.
Given
the way foods are processed, they are often very easy to chew and swallow.
Sometimes, it’s almost as if they melt in your mouth.
Most
of the fiber has been taken out and the ingredients are refined, isolated
nutrients that don’t resemble the whole foods they came from.
One
consequence of this is that it takes less energy to eat and digest processed
foods.
We
can eat more of them in a shorter amount of time (more calories in) and we also
burn less energy (fewer calories out) digesting them than we would if they were
unprocessed, whole foods.
One
study in 17 healthy men and women compared the difference in energy expenditure
after consuming a processed vs a whole foods-based meal.
They
ate a sandwich, either with multi-grain bread and cheddar cheese (whole foods)
or with white bread and processed cheese (processed foods).
It
turned out that they burned twice as many calories digesting the unprocessed
meal.
The
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) is a measure of how much different foods stimulate
energy expenditure after eating. It totals about 10% of total energy
expenditure (metabolic rate) in the average person.
According
to this study, people who eat processed food will cut their TEF in half,
effectively reducing the amount of calories they burn throughout the day.
Bottom
Line: We only burn half as many calories digesting and metabolizing processed
foods compared to whole foods.
9.
Processed Foods Are Often High in Trans Fats or Processed Vegetable Oils
Vegetable
Oils
Processed
foods are often high in unhealthy fats.
They
usually contain cheap fats, refined seed- and vegetable oils (like soybean oil)
that are often hydrogenated… which turns them into trans fats.
Vegetable
oils are extremely unhealthy and most people are eating way too much of them
already.
These
fats contain excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids, which can drive
oxidation and inflammation in the body.
Several
studies show that when people eat more of these oils, they have a significantly
increased risk of heart disease, which is the most common cause of death in Western
countries today..
If
the fats are hydrogenated, that makes them even worse. Hydrogenated (trans)
fats are among the nastiest, unhealthiest substances you can put into your
body.
The
best way to avoid seed oils and trans fats is to avoid processed foods. Eat
real fats like butter, coconut oil and olive oil instead.
Just Eat Real Food!
When
we replace real, traditional foods like butter, meat and vegetables with
crappy, processed junk foods, we get fat and sick.
Real
food is the key to good health, processed food is not.
Source Authority Nutrition
tag on profile.
By
Swarntabh Kumar {{descmodel.currdesc.readstats }}
Packed or processed food can harm your body beyond your imagination, Eat At Your Own Risk
The trap of processed food. - Processed food apart from tremendous money on advertisements- linking them to high life and prosperity, have below is common to trap an unsuspecting customer.
1. Sugar cubes, High Fructose Corn Syrup. - Always yummy but well known that - sugar, when consumed in excess, is seriously harmful.
As we all know, sugar is “empty” calories – it has no essential nutrients, but a large amount of energy.
But empty calories are really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the harmful effects of sugar…
Many studies show that sugar can have devastating effects on metabolism that go way beyond its calorie content.
It can lead to insulin resistance, high triglycerides, increased levels of the harmful cholesterol and increased fat accumulation in the liver and abdominal cavity.
Not surprisingly, sugar consumption is strongly associated with some of the world’s leading killers… including heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer.
Most people aren’t putting massive amounts of sugar in their coffee or on top of their cereal, they’re getting it from processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Bottom Line: Processed foods and beverages are the biggest sources of added sugar (and HFCS) in the diet. Sugar is very unhealthy and can have serious adverse effects on metabolism when consumed in excess.
2. Processed Foods Are “Hyper Rewarding” and Lead to Over consumption
We all want to eat good food. That’s just human nature.
Evolution provided us with taste buds that are supposed to help us navigate the natural food environment.
Our appetite gravitates towards foods that are sweet, salty and fatty, because we know such foods contain energy and nutrients that we need for survival.
Obviously, if a food manufacturer wants to succeed and get people to buy their product, it has to taste good.
But today, the competition is fierce. There are many different food manufacturers, all competing with each other.
For this reason, massive resources are spent on making foods as desirable as possible.
Many processed foods have been engineered to be so incredibly “rewarding” to the brain, that they overpower anything we might have come across in nature.
We have complicated mechanisms in our bodies and brains that are supposed to regulate energy balance (how much we eat and how much we burn) – which, until very recently in evolutionary history, worked to keep us at a healthy weight.
There is quite a lot of evidence that the reward value of foods can bypass the innate defense mechanism and make us start eating much more than we need, so much that it starts to compromise our health.
This is also known as the “food reward hypothesis of obesity.”
The truth is, processed foods are so incredibly rewarding to our brains that they affect our thoughts and behavior, making us eat more and more until eventually we become sick.
Good food is good, but foods that are engineered to be hyper rewarding, effectively short circuiting our innate brakes against over-consumption, are NOT good.
Bottom Line: Food manufacturers spend massive amounts of resources on making their foods as “rewarding” as possible to the brain, which leads to over-consumption.
3. Processed Foods Contain All Sorts of Artificial Ingredients
If you look at the ingredients label for a processed, packaged food, chances are that you won’t have a clue what some of the ingredients are.
That’s because many of the ingredients in there aren’t actual food… they are artificial chemicals that are added for various purposes.
This is an example of a processed food, an Atkins Advantage bar, which is actually marketed as a low-carb friendly health food.
Atkins Advantage, Ingredients List
I don’t know what this is, but it most certainly isn’t food.
Highly processed foods often contain:
Preservatives: Chemicals that prevent the food from rotting.
Colorants: Chemicals that are used to give the food a specific color.
Flavor: Chemicals that give the food a particular flavor.
Texturants: Chemicals that give a particular texture.
Keep in mind that processed foods can contain dozens of additional chemicals that aren’t even listed on the label.
For example, “artificial flavor” is a proprietary blend. Manufacturers don’t have to disclose exactly what it means and it is usually a combination of chemicals.
For this reason, if you see “artificial flavor” on an ingredients list, it could mean that there are 10 or more additional chemicals that are blended in to give a specific flavor.
Of course, most of these chemicals have allegedly been tested for safety. But given that the regulatory authorities still think that sugar and vegetable oils are safe, I personally take their “stamp of approval” with a grain of salt.
Bottom Line: Most highly processed foods are loaded with artificial chemicals, including flavorants, texturants, colorants and preservatives.
4. Many People Can Literally Become Addicted to Processed Junk Foods
The “hyper rewarding” nature of processed foods can have serious consequences for some people.
Some people can literally become addicted to this stuff and completely lose control over their consumption.
Although food addiction is something that most people don’t know about, I am personally convinced that it is a huge problem in society today.
It is the main reason why some people just can’t stop eating these foods, no matter how hard they try.
They’ve had their brain biochemistry hijacked by the intense dopamine release that occurs in the brain when they eat these foods.
This is actually supported by many studies. Sugar and highly rewarding junk foods activate the same areas in the brain as drugs of abuse like cocaine.
Bottom Line: For many people, junk foods can hijack the biochemistry of the brain, leading to downright addiction and cause them to lose control over their consumption.
5. Processed Foods Are Often High in Refined Carbohydrates
Bread
There is a lot of controversy regarding carbohydrates in the diet.
Some people think that the majority of our energy intake should be from carbs, while others think they should be avoided like the plague.
But one thing that almost everyone agrees on, is that carbohydrates from whole foods are much better than refined carbohydrates.
Processed foods are often high in carbs, but it is usually the refined variety.
One of the main problems is that refined, “simple” carbohydrates are quickly broken down in the digestive tract, leading to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels.
This can lead to carb cravings a few hours later when blood sugar levels go down again. This phenomenon is also called the “blood sugar roller coaster” – which many people who have been on a high-carb diet can relate to
Not surprisingly, eating a lot of refined carbohydrates is associated with negative health effects and many chronic diseases.
Do NOT be fooled by labels like “whole grains” that are often plastered on processed food packages, including breakfast cereals.
These are usually whole grains that have been pulverized into very fine flour and are just as harmful as their refined counterparts.
If you’re going to eat carbs, get them from whole, single ingredient foods, not processed junk foods.
Bottom Line: The carbohydrates you find in processed foods are usually refined, “simple” carbohydrates. These lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels and cause negative health effects.
6. Most Processed Foods Are Low in Nutrients
Processed foods are extremely low in essential nutrients compared to whole, unprocessed foods.
Junk Food With Yellow Caution Tape
In some cases, synthetic vitamins and minerals are added to the foods to compensate for what was lost during processing.
However, synthetic nutrients are NOT a good replacement for the nutrients found in whole foods.
Also, let’s not forget that real foods contain much more than just the standard vitamins and minerals that we’re all familiar with.
Real foods… like plants and animals, contain thousands of other trace nutrients that science is just beginning to grasp.
Maybe one day we will invent a chemical blend that can replace all these nutrients, but until that happens… the only way to get them in your diet is to eat whole, unprocessed foods.
The more you eat of processed foods, the less you will get of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and various trace nutrients.
Bottom Line: There are many nutrients found in whole foods that are not found in processed foods. The more processed foods you eat, the less you will get of these nutrients.
7. Processed Foods Tend to be Low in Fiber
Fiber, especially soluble, fermentable fiber, has various benefits.
One of the main ones is that it functions as a prebiotic, feeding the friendly bacteria in the intestine.
There is also evidence that fiber can slow down the absorption of carbohydrates and help us feel more satisfied with fewer calories.
Soluble fiber can also help treat many cases of constipation, which is a very common problem today.
The fiber that is found naturally in foods is often lost during processing, or intentionally removed. Therefore, most processed foods are very low in fiber.
Bottom Line: Soluble, fermentable fiber has various important health benefits, but most processed foods are very low in fiber because it is lost or intentionally removed during processing.
8. It Requires Less Energy and Time to Digest Processed Foods
Toast With Margarine
Food manufacturers want their processed food products to have a long shelf life.
They also want each batch of the product to have a similar consistency and they want their foods to be easily consumed.
Given the way foods are processed, they are often very easy to chew and swallow. Sometimes, it’s almost as if they melt in your mouth.
Most of the fiber has been taken out and the ingredients are refined, isolated nutrients that don’t resemble the whole foods they came from.
One consequence of this is that it takes less energy to eat and digest processed foods.
We can eat more of them in a shorter amount of time (more calories in) and we also burn less energy (fewer calories out) digesting them than we would if they were unprocessed, whole foods.
One study in 17 healthy men and women compared the difference in energy expenditure after consuming a processed vs a whole foods-based meal.
They ate a sandwich, either with multi-grain bread and cheddar cheese (whole foods) or with white bread and processed cheese (processed foods).
It turned out that they burned twice as many calories digesting the unprocessed meal.
The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) is a measure of how much different foods stimulate energy expenditure after eating. It totals about 10% of total energy expenditure (metabolic rate) in the average person.
According to this study, people who eat processed food will cut their TEF in half, effectively reducing the amount of calories they burn throughout the day.
Bottom Line: We only burn half as many calories digesting and metabolizing processed foods compared to whole foods.
9. Processed Foods Are Often High in Trans Fats or Processed Vegetable Oils
Vegetable Oils
Processed foods are often high in unhealthy fats.
They usually contain cheap fats, refined seed- and vegetable oils (like soybean oil) that are often hydrogenated… which turns them into trans fats.
Vegetable oils are extremely unhealthy and most people are eating way too much of them already.
These fats contain excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids, which can drive oxidation and inflammation in the body.
Several studies show that when people eat more of these oils, they have a significantly increased risk of heart disease, which is the most common cause of death in Western countries today..
If the fats are hydrogenated, that makes them even worse. Hydrogenated (trans) fats are among the nastiest, unhealthiest substances you can put into your body.
The best way to avoid seed oils and trans fats is to avoid processed foods. Eat real fats like butter, coconut oil and olive oil instead.
Just Eat Real Food!
When we replace real, traditional foods like butter, meat and vegetables with crappy, processed junk foods, we get fat and sick.
Real food is the key to good health, processed food is not.
Source Authority Nutrition
Attached Images