DEATH BY PROCESSED FOODS………

The Processed Food Industry has been commended for creating foods that have made it easy for us to consume in our busy and hectic lives – but are these foods good for us?  Here is what the processed food industry doesn’t want the basic consumer to know:

1. Processed foods are addictive and can cause you to overeat.  Eating highly processed or highly concentrated foods can artificially stimulate dopamine (the pleasure neurotransmitter), which plays a role in addiction.  In this way, you are eating foods that lack nutrients and fiber, but create a pleasurable feeling.  A food addiction starts because you feel good when you are eating these foods and they make you think they taste better – also known as ‘comfort food’.
2. Processed foods are linked to obesity.  Additives in processed foods, like high fructose corn syrup, sugar and MSG have been linked to weight gain and obesity.
3. Processed foods often contain ingredients that do not follow the principle of food combining, which can lead to low energy, poor digestion, illness, acidic blood and weight gain.  An example would be a frozen meat and cheese pizza.  Cheese (a dairy product), meat (an animal product) and pizza crust (a grain product) make a terrible food combination that can wreak havoc on your digestive health.
4. Processed foods contribute to an imbalanced inner ecosystem, which can lead to digestive problems, cravings, illness and disease.  Beneficial microflora cannot survive in your digestive tract when you are poisoning them.  Like us, they thrive on foods that are made by nature not man.
5. A diet high in processed foods can lead to depression, memory issues and mood swings.  Ingredients in processed foods are often the lowest cost and sub-par, nutritionally.  For example, the fats and oils used in processed foods are refined, which means they are stripped of the essential fatty acids necessary for healthy blood sugar levels, moods and memory.  Your heart, hormones and brain suffer when you choose to eat these fats and oils.  Instead, choose the organic, unrefined or “virgin” fats and oils that are recommended on The Body Ecology Diet.
6. Processed foods often go hand n hand with “eating on the run” or multitasking.  Most people will choose convenience if they are on the run.  Unfortunately, multitasking while eating causes people to lose touch with their natural appetite often leading to weight gain.  Additionally, multitasking sends the wrong signals to your digestive system, which needs to be in a restful mode to digest properly.
7. Nutrition labels on processed foods are often misleading and have harmful health effects.  Many labels say “sugar-free”, but contain other sweeteners like agave, which is like high fructose corn syrup.  Additionally, product labeling may hide ingredients like GM (genetically modified) foods and harmful additives like MSG.  (These are hidden behind words on the label like “natural flavorings” or “approved spices”).
8. Diets high in processed meats (like hot dogs and deli meats) have been linked to various forms of cancer, such as pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer and stomach cancer.
9. Eating too much processed foods can lead to infertility and malnutrition. 
10. Processed foods are made for long shelf-life, not long human life.  Chemicals, additives and preservatives are added to processed foods so that they will last for a long time without going rancid or affecting the taste of the food.  (Imagine what they do to the human body).  Food manufacturers spend time, money and research on beautiful packaging and strategies to lengthen shelf-life, with little attention on how the foods will lengthen your life.  

***sources for the above information can be found at http://bodyecology.com ***

How can we make better food choices?

Consider the following questions when you are grocery shopping: 

Has the food been:  heated, cooked, reduced, pulverized, smoked, tenderized, cured, spray dried, freeze-dried, irradiated, dipped in or sprayed with chemicals, physically or chemically transformed, or genetically modified?

Does the food have any added:  soy fillers, colors, flavors, binders, emulsifiers, anti-caking agents, conditioners, preservatives, texture enhancing agents, or other additives?  Are the individual food units (ie; cookie or chip in a bag) uniform in shape and size, indicating some sore of manufacturing extrusion?  Have the ingredients of the food been processed?

***above information was made available from the following link:  http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/healthy-food-choices.html ***

Consider the following:

Why are we so much more susceptible to food allergies – As a child it was very rare to find someone who was allergic to peanut butter, nuts and strawberries but today this is a common phenomena.  How about the rise in obesity and illnesses such as; heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol?  How about the rise of various cancers?  I believe that they are all related to the processed and genetically modified foods we eat.  Animals are pumped with hormones and antibiotics.  Our produce is sprayed with pesticides that seep into our soil and eventually water supply – this is all making us sick.  Are processed foods responsible for making us immobile, lazy and unfocused?  Absolutely – just look around and witness it for yourself. 

An organic and a more plant-based diet is the answer to remove ‘the haze’ and to become healthier both physically and mentally.

A great resource to take back your health is Brendan Brazier’s book entitled ‘The Thrive Diet’.  This book talks about the links between food and stress and staying healthy for life.  Please visit Brendan’s website via the following link:

http://myvega.com/team-vega/brendan-brazier/biography

Together, we can make the world a more positive one.