April 9, 2017
Processed foods are everywhere!
In fact I’ve had many conversations with clients about the frustrations of trying to eat a whole foods diet. Society is definitely setting us up for failure. It is a conscious decision everyday to weed out the false advertising and find foods that will fuel our bodies naturally.
So that sounds like a whole lot of doom and gloom, LOL, but I CAN be done! Once you are educated and are aware of what you are looking for shopping becomes a heck of a lot easier:)
Here’s a few reasons to stick to your guns and avoid as many processed foods as you can:
Intentional additives. These are items that are intentionally added to our food and become ingredients in order to make the food. Such as, sweeteners, flavorings, and coloring agents. Keep in mind that there are natural and artificial ways to add these to our food. And anything labeled artificial flavorings can be many chemicals combined to make one “strawberry flavor”. Even worse than artificial flavorings are artificial coloring agents.
Artificial coloring agents are synthetically made from coal tar and petroleum….yum??
This is where the frustration comes in. Someone that is trying to eat healthy may pick up instant oatmeal thinking they are making a healthy switch from bagels and coffee. But unless you are careful to read the ingredients it may be naturally and artificially flavored, giving you any great list of chemicals your body now needs to filter.
Beyond the intentional additives, you have chemicals used during processing and in the packaging that seep into our food. Also, silent additives; pesticides, hormones, and industrial chemical pollutants.
Wow, again with the doom and gloom!
Don’t worry all is not lost. This is just a great reminder that even though society may be set up for this way of eating, we don’t have to be. Take the time to read the labels and search out foods that are naturally packaged and minimally processed. If it has a longer shelf life than we do, don’t eat it! Shop locally and seasonally and enjoy eating the way it was meant to be, naturally delicious not “magically delicious”!!
