Processed foods have the advantage of saving time and this makes them
tempting to people who have a busy lifestyle and for those who don’t
particularly like to cook. Most processed foods also come with a low
price tag that is hard for many consumers to resist. However, at some
point we really need to look at the hidden costs that processed foods
have on our health.
It is no secret by now that the vast majority of processed foods are
not healthy. In general, they are very low in nutrients, especially
micronutrients like antioxidants and vitamins, while simultaneously
being high on calories. They also contain industrially engineered
ingredients that can be very harmful to the human body.
Eliminating all processed foods from your diet may be quite
difficult. However, you can significantly improve your healthy by
eliminating the worst of the processed foods. Below, you will find a
list of the 7 most unhealthy processed foods.
Chicken Nuggets
Chicken nuggets are
at the pinnacle of industrialized foods. While you may think that
chicken nuggets are mostly protein, the typical chicken nugget,
including the famous chicken McNuggets, are more than 50 percent fat and
they contain more carbs than protein. Keep in mind too, that the carb
portion is made of very unhealthy carbs found in the fillers and
breading.
Most chicken nuggets are deep fried, often in an oil containing trans
fat. Trans fat causes cell membrane deformities that contribute to the
development of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Most chicken
nuggets also contain many unhealthy additives such as MSG and tertiary
butylhydroquinone (TBHQ).
Soda Pop
There is nothing nutritional about sodas;
they are empty calories. Moreover, they contain substances that can
hurt you. As if sugar wasn’t bad enough, almost all sodas today use high
fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as a sweetener and this is even worse than
sugar. HFCS has been shown to be damaging to the liver as well as
causing blood glucose spikes even worse than normal table sugar would.
Soda pop is a primary contributor to the obesity problem in the United
States.
Soda pop is also one of the most powerful acid producing substances
we can put into our bodies. As such, they cause our naturally alkaline
body pH to become acidic. Cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment
and can’t survive in an alkaline environment. An acidic body is also
much more susceptible to viral and bacterial attacks since it weakens
the natural defenses of the body’s immune system.
Hotdogs & Other Processed Meats
Hot dogs have
been a staple of the American diet for decades. The National Hot Dog and
Sausage Council reports that Americans eat about twenty billion hot
dogs a year. They also report that ninety-five percent of all American
homes serve hot dogs. Of course, lunch meats like bologna also have
similar ingredients.
The
vast majority of hot dogs and other highly processed meats on the
market contain loads of salt, MSG, sodium nitrate and other
preservatives, artificial flavors, cheap unhealthy fillers, and
mechanically separated meat and poultry. Most people don’t realize that
mechanically separated meat has been so highly processed under extreme
heat and pressure that whatever nutritional value it had to begin with
is lost in the processing. For example, proteins become denatured under
these extreme industrial conditions. If you have an absolute craving for
a hot dog, look for nitrate free organic hot dogs with no
preservations, artificial flavors, or meat byproducts.
Store Bought Cookies, Cake, Muffins, and Crackers
For the purpose of this article, cookies, cake, muffins, and crackers
have all been lumped into a single category because the health issues
associated with them are similar. Beyond the obvious high levels of
sugar and salt, most of these products also contain trans fat. Trans fat
is added in part because it is much cheaper than healthy fats and this
makes them more profitable. However, trans fat is also added to prolong
shelf life and to improve the texture. In fact, there are whole “food
science” labs devoted to figuring out how to use trans fats and other
industrial foods to achieve the perfect texture in these types of
products.
To determine if a product contains trans fat, you should not go by
what it states on the front of the label. The USFDA actually allows
manufacturers to label their products with “zero trans fat” if each
individual serving contains less than 0.05 grams of trans fat. Many
manufacturers simply reduced the size of a serving to reach this magic
number. So, instead of a serving size being three cookies, they might
say it is one cookie so they could put a “zero trans fat” on the label.
To know for sure if a product actually contains trans fat, you need to
look at the ingredient list and look for the words “hydrogenated” or
“partially hydrogenated.” If these words appear, then the product
contains trans fat.
Many Popular Breakfast Cereals
Do you want to know
why so many breakfast cereals are “fortified” with vitamins and
minerals? The reason is because otherwise they would be so devoid of
nutrition, no one would want to buy them. Fortified means that the
vitamins are artificially added during the processing of the food. It’s
no better than taking a crunchy vitamin, and in fact, usually a low
quality vitamin. For example, these fortified cereals often add a form
of vitamin D that is not easily used by the human body.
Most breakfast cereals are also loaded with sugar, or worse, high
fructose corn syrup. If they contain corn, as many do, then you can bet
it it is genetically modified (GMO) corn because this type of corn is
much cheaper and this increases their profit. GMO corn has been shown to
cause tumors in rodents in a recent study conducted in Europe. Research
studies have been limited in the United States and other countries
because Monsanto and other biotech companies threaten scientists with
lawsuits if they conduct research with their patented seed. However,
there have been many anecdotal cases showing cattle and other farm
animals getting sick and/or dying from eating GMO corn.
Granola Bars
While you may be surprised to see
granola bars on a list of the 7 most unhealthy processed foods, this is
actually one of the reasons they are listed here. The marketing of
granola bars are exceptionally deceptive. They are usually marketed as
an exceptionally healthy food when in fact they are just the opposite.
This means people tend to eat more of them thinking they are actually
eating a super convenient, tasty, healthy food when they really are not.
Parents also tend to feel good about giving granola bars to their kids
but they really aren’t any healthier than a candy bar.
Regardless of what you see on the front of the packaging or hear in
the commercials, almost every brand of granola bar contains high
fructose corn syrup. If you don’t believe this fact, try going into any
supermarket and finding a box of granola bars that don’t contain this
harmful ingredient. You’ll be hard pressed to find one! Even if they say
they are made with honey or maple syrup, read the ingredient label.
Some will put a tiny bit of honey or maple syrup for flavor but most of
the sweetness is still derived from high fructose corn syrup. They are
also sometimes loaded with fat, including trans fat, and lots of sodium
too!
Pre-Made Condiments and Salad Dressings
Most
condiments and salad dressings contain high fructose corn syrup as this
is a really cheap way food manufacturers can add bulk to their product
and improve the flavor with very little cost. Many also contain trans
fats and food additives like MSG. Another factor that makes them so
unhealthy is that we tend to not think about what’s in condiments when
we apply them to our food. Even a healthy fresh vegetable salad can
quickly become an unhealthy meal if an unhealthy dressing is added.
One way to eat healthier is simply to make your own condiments and
salad dressiongs where you can control the ingredients. You can usually
store salad dressings and homemade ketchup for at least a week in the
refrigerator.
In conclusion, one of the healthiest steps you can take to improving
your health is eliminating, or at least significantly reducing, the
processed foods you eat. It is also important for you to carefully read
the ingredient label when shopping and not just depend on what it says
on the front of the package.
SOURCE
