“Eat lots of fruits and vegetable while you can.”
These words are from my sister before cancer took her away from us.
Eat all of those healthy food when you can still eat them, because when you get sick you can’t eat them anymore. You will try to shove all of the healthy foods to your stomach but your body can’t accept it anymore when your sick.
I think people now are getting more sick because we don’t think mostly of the food we eat. We are eating more and more processed foods. And I think also because of the stress of our busy lives.
I am sure all of us had eaten processed food. You can buy it anywhere, fast, easy and convenient. The instant food packed in jars, cans, plastics and boxes. They usually contain added chemicals.
I once heard of a doctor saying that in our present day it is almost impossible to find food without chemicals.
What is Processed food?
By definition, a processed food is a food item that has had a series of mechanical or chemical operations performed on it to change or preserve it. Processed foods are those that typically come in a box or bag and contain more than one item on the list of ingredients.
But not all package food that have been process are bad for you. Examples are simple bread, cheese, tofu, and canned tuna or beans. These foods have been altered, but not in a way that’s detrimental to health. They are convenient and help you build nutritious meals.
Processed foods are bad. They are a major contributor to obesity and illness around the world.
Processed foods are:
a. High in sugar and high-fructose corn syrup
b. Contains artificial ingredients
c. High in refined carbohydrates
d. Low in nutrients
e. Low in fiber
f. High in Trans fat
This foods are highly addictive too and are really not healthy for everyone of us.
Replacing real foods like fish, meat, fruit and vegetables with processed junk foods, increase our risk of illness and poor health.
I am guilty of buying and consuming those processed foods. Even feeding it to my family.
We often don’t think that it will harm our body. But in the long run, it really increase our risk to get sick. Those are the kind food that is killing as slowly, bit by bit.
What are ultra-processed foods?
These foods go through multiple processes (extrusion, molding, milling, etc.), contain many added ingredients and are highly manipulated. Examples are soft drinks, chips, chocolate, candy, ice-cream, sweetened breakfast cereals, packaged soups, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, fries and more.
A study revealed that the more ultra-processed foods people ate, the higher their risk of cancer.
The study classified ultra-processed foods as:
- Mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- Sweet or savory packaged snacks including chips
- Chocolate bars and sweets
- Sodas and sweetened drinks
- Meatballs, poultry and fish nuggets
- Instant noodles and soups
- Frozen or shelf-life ready meals
- Foods made mostly or entirely from sugar, oils and fats
As much as possible eat fresh, unprocessed, whole food. It will do a lot of good for your body – including reducing your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke. Buy and cook real food into delicious meal ideas.
We have to be careful on what we always eat. If we want to live longer, we need to give serious attention to our diet.
YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR GREATEST WEALTH!
