I used to love eating junk foods. They were convenient and easy to prepare. But after I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, I had to make the tough call of eliminating processed foods from my diet and eating healthy. It was tough choosing fruits over chips as my lunch snacks, but I had to do it if I wanted to improve my health and restore balance in my nutrition. What made me abandon processed foods for good was the fact that I noticed my Fibromyalgia flaring up anytime I ate junk.
Processed foods are usually depleted of their necessary nutrients; and because of this, they tend to make us sick (even if it’s not immediately). Most times they are loaded with extra calories, fats, sugars, genetically modified ingredients, and harmful additives and chemicals. The choices you make today regarding what you eat would most likely affect your health tomorrow. So the best way to dodge the bullet is by making drastic changes and improving your eating habits.
Why We Need to Avoid Processed Foods
They are produced in the labs
These kinds of food items were designed to sit on the shelves of supermarkets for an indefinite period. They’re able to stay long without going bad because they’ve been infused with different types of chemicals; some of which might be hurtful to the body when consumed all the time. Natural food stuff cannot last that long without going bad.
Some of them contain pesticides
Research shows that some cereals have been noticed to contain remnants of pesticide residue in them even after they’ve been cleaned. In times like this organic produce is the best way to go.
It’s harder to burn calories while eating them
The body tends to burn more calories when you eat real food than when you consume the processed ones. Aptly put, the more natural your food is when eaten, the more work it takes for the body to break it down.
They contain more sugar and less fiber
Consuming a sugar-filled diet increases your chances of developing diabetes early in life. And most processed foods have higher glycemic index rates which usually results in the accelerated increase of the blood sugar levels. The constant up and down of the blood sugar most times leads to energy/crash syndrome. In order words, processed foods have the ability to affect our moods.
How to Avoid Them
The best way to escape the damages that accompany processed foods is to evade them. You can do this by following the steps below:
Cook your food at home with fresh ingredients.
Incorporate more vegetables and fruits in your daily diet.
Learn how to read the labels of any item you purchase from the store to know whether it is healthy or not.
Pick whole grain products since they are less refined and more natural. They also help to reduce the risk of developing any chronic disease. Purchase 100% whole grain products.
Avoid items with low-fat or fat-free contents because they usually contain tons of processed sugar.
