Everywhere you go you hear about processed foods and the difference between them and non processed foods. It seems that all this discussion is creating a great deal of confusion as to what processed food is and why you should avoid it as much as possible.

 

Processed foods are items which have been artificially altered through freezing, canning, dehydration, chilling, and any other way, mostly to make them have a longer shelf life so they can be stored, and sold for longer periods of time. More common uses of processed foods is in ready made meals which are sold to busy people to cook on the microwave.

 

Here is some of the forms processed foods often take:

 

Canned foods with high sodium levels

Packaged high-calorie snack foods, like chips and cheese snacks

High-fat convenience foods, like TV dinners of all sorts, ready made pasta, mashed potatoes and so on.

Frozen fish sticks and frozen dinners

Chilled dinners

Packaged cakes and cookies

Boxed meal mixes which usually come in microwave trays

Packaged fruit salad

Sugary breakfast cereals

Processed meats

Frozen pizzas

White flour bread, pasta, and rice

All of these types of foods are full of chemicals and additives which help them remain longer on the supermarket shelves, and though they are sold in our markets, they are considered unhealthy. The reasons are that all the chemicals which are added to them carry potential healthy hazards. The other reasons are that these foods are often very salty, which may cause high blood pressure, and are rich in saturated fats, which raise the risk of heart conditions and other healthy hazards.

 

Processed foods also lose a great deal of the nutritional value of their ingredients in the process in which they are made. For instance, frozen vegetables and fruits lose a great deal of their vitamins and so are much less healthy than most people suppose.

 

You should avoid processed foods because of all these health hazards and also due to the fact that most of them are more expensive than fresh foods, and they also taste worse. Stick to fresh foods. You will look and feel better.

 

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