10 THINGS THE PROCESSED FOOD INDUSTRY

 Doesn't Want You to Know.

Posted January 21, 2009. 

Source: Body Ecology

Okay they taste good … and they are easy. In fact they are everywhere you look. Processed foods seem like the answer to today’s busy lives. New fads and fancy advertisements make promises that keep us coming back for more.

But before you hit the vending machine or the fast food window, find out what the processed food industry doesn’t want you to know:

1.      Processed foods are addictive and can cause you to overeat. Whole foods are made up of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fiber and water. When foods are processed the components of these foods are modified (for example, fiber, water and nutrients are removed) and in other cases, components are concentrated. In each case, processing changes the way they are digested and assimilated in your body.

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. You crave that pleasurable feeling again and again and viola…this is what starts a food addiction.

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. Dr. Mercola recently reported about a new study that showed childhood obesity could be reduced by 18 percent, simply by cutting out fast food advertisements during children’s programming. The Australian government is clearly more concerned about their children’s health as television advertisements to children were banned several years ago.

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 protein) 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 micro flora cannot survive in your digestive tract when you are poisoning them. Like us they thrive on foods that are made by nature not by 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.

6.      Processed foods often go hand in hand with “eating on the run” or multitasking. Most people will choose convenience if they are on the run and in today’s busy lives, who of us isn’t? 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 many processed foods can lead to infertility and malnutrition. Processed foods, like cereal, are stripped of important vitamins and nutrients that your body truly needs. You could be eating a large amount of calories and still be malnourished if your diet is high in processed foods.

Animal studies have shown that over three generations, a deficient diet causes reproduction to cease. Today, infertility is on the rise, affecting 7.3 million people in America.

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. 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 or create lasting health.

Sources:

1.       Goldhammer, Alan, D.C., Dietary Addictions: Why eating healthfully is so difficult. National Health Association.
http://www.healthscience.org/index.php?view=article&catid=75%3Ahealthy-eating&id=398%3Adietary-addictions-why-eating-healthfully-is-so-difficult&option=com_content&Itemid=123

2.       Tsang, Gloria, R.D. and Girdler, Lauren. MSG and Your Weight. September 2008. Health Castle.
http://www.healthcastle.com/msg.shtml

3.       Mercola, Joe, O.D. Simple Change Could Reduce Obesity in U.S. by 20 Percent. Mercola.com.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/12/13/simple-change-could-reduce-obesity-in-u-s-by-20-percent.aspx

4.       Krebs, Al. New Poll - 94% of Americans Want Labels on GE Foods. Organic Consumers.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/newpoll102303.cfm

5.       Tsang, Gloria, R.D., Processed Meat and Cancer. August 2006. Health Castle.
http://www.healthcastle.com/processed_meat_cancer.shtml

6.       Fallon, Sally. Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry. Weston A. Price Foundation.
http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/dirty-secrets.html

7.       Davis, Jordan K., M.D. Shelf Life is Not Your Life. Total Health Communications. Feb/Mar 2005.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/147070/shelf_life_is_not_your_life/index.html

The next time you ride by or up to a McDonald’s, Burger King, or any other fast food restaurant understand what they contribute to our community. The facts are clear despite all of the fancy advertising the only thing they contribute is disease and despair. 

When they benefit we lose. It is simple and as plain as that. Yes they provide jobs for the young, contributions to charities, but the insidious damage they do overwhelms any positive contribution they may provide. Money cannot fix our health.

In our lifetime we have seen the cigarette industry sued for poisoning people with the deadly chemicals in cigarettes and now their products are clearly labeled as unhealthy. There needs to be the same grassroots effort to stop the food industry from making so many false claims about the poor quality fuel they are hoisting on our communities. They advertise their products as healthy and each day there is clear evidence exposing the debilitating outcomes their products produce when ingested.

If we want better fuel we need to demand better products and it starts with each of us. Stop purchasing the garbage they are serving up and I guarantee they will change. More evidence that the change we want starts with us. I will begin to reach out to grass root organizations and present the information I have gathered. I will also begin to talk with some of the producers and the legislators that allow them to thrive, and encourage them to change. It is time to organize and demand better fuel. I am betting if a company continued to provide bad fuel for our cars and they did not run correctly we would demand better fuel.

3 Easy Steps to Reduce the use of Processed Food.

1.      Since most food is processed, it takes effort to avoid. My first recommendation is to cook additional meals on the weekend. This way you will not be as tempted to resort to fast or pre prepared food.

2.      Get rid of the canned goods. In order to make them last as long as they do, preservatives must be used. The leading culprit is salt and as we know this can cause negative health outcomes.

3.      Get rid of the bottled beverages. In addition to the chemicals from the plastic there are chemicals used to create the flavor and the fizz. There is also the issue of the sugar content causing the body additional harm.

So let’s Get Up Get Moving and use our purchasing power to demand better and Get Well.

“CHIT CHAT WON’T BURN FAT”

Jay Henry