Processed foods are
bad. They are a major contributor to obesity and illness around the world.
How do we know? Every
time a population adopts a Western diet high in processed foods, they get sick.
It happens within a few years. Their genes don't change, their food does.
Thus the difference between real food and processed food
The word
"processed" often causes some confusion, so let me clarify what I
mean.
Obviously, most foods
we eat are processed in some way. Apples are cut from trees, ground beef has
been ground in a machine and butter is cream that has been separated from the
milk and churned. But there is a difference between mechanical processing and chemical processing.
If it's a single
ingredient food with no added chemicals, then it doesn't matter if it's been
ground or put into a jar. It's still real food. However, foods that have been chemically processed
and made solely from refined ingredients and artificial substances, are what is
generally known as processed food.
So here are 9 ways
that processed foods are bad for your health.
High
in sugar and high-fructose corn syrup
Processed foods are
usually loaded with added sugar... or its evil twin, High Fructose Corn Syrup. It
is well known that sugar, when consumed in excess, is seriously harmful.
As we all know, sugar
is "empty" calories - it has no essential nutrients, but a
large amount of energy. But empty calories are really just the tip of the
iceberg when it comes to the harmful effects of sugar... Many studies show that
sugar can have devastating effects on metabolism that go way beyond its calorie
content.
It can lead to insulin
resistance, high triglycerides, increased levels of the harmful cholesterol and
increased fat accumulation in the liver and abdominal cavity.
Not surprisingly,
sugar consumption is strongly associated with some of the world's leading
killers... including heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer. Most people
aren't putting massive amounts of sugar in their coffee or on top of
their cereal, they're getting it from processed foods and sugar-sweetened
beverages.
Bottom Line: Processed foods and beverages are the biggest sources
of added sugar (and HFCS) in the diet. Sugar is very unhealthy and can have
serious adverse effects on metabolism when consumed in excess.
Specifically
engineered for overconsumption
We all want to eat
good food. That's just human nature. Evolution provided us with taste buds that
are supposed to help us navigate the natural food environment. Our appetite
gravitates towards foods that are sweet, salty and fatty, because we know such
foods contain energy and nutrients that we need for survival. Obviously, if a
food manufacturer wants to succeed and get people to buy their product, it has
to taste good. But today, the competition is fierce. There are many different
food manufacturers, all competing with each other. For this reason, massive
resources are spent on making foods as desirable as possible. Many processed
foods have been engineered to be so incredibly "rewarding" to the
brain, that they overpower anything we might have come across in nature.
We have complicated
mechanisms in our bodies and brains that are supposed to regulate energy
balance (how much we eat and how much we burn) which, until very recently in
evolutionary history, worked to keep us at a healthy weight. There is quite a
lot of evidence that the reward value of foods can bypass the innate defense
mechanism and make us start eating much more than we need, so much that it
starts to compromise our health. This is also known as the "food reward
hypothesis of obesity." The truth is, processed foods are so incredibly
rewarding to our brains that they affect our thoughts and behavior, making us
eat more and more until eventually we become sick. Good food is good, but foods
that are engineered to be hyper rewarding, effectively short
circuiting our innate brakes against overconsumption, are NOT good.
Bottom Line: Food manufacturers spend massive amounts of resources
on making their foods as "rewarding" as possible to the brain, which
leads to overconsumption.
Contain
artificial ingredients
If you look at the
ingredients label for a processed, packaged food, chances are that you won't
have a clue what some of the ingredients are.
That's because many of the ingredients in there aren't actual food...
they are artificial chemicals that are added for various purposes.
This is an example of
a processed food, an Atkins Advantage bar, which is actually marketed
as a low-carb friendly health food.
Highly processed
foods very often contain:
·
Preservatives: Chemicals that prevent the food from rotting.
·
Colorants: Chemicals that are used to give the food a specific
color.
·
Flavor: Chemicals that give the food a particular flavor.
·
Texturants: Chemicals that give a particular texture.
Keep in mind that
processed foods can contain dozens of additional chemicals that aren't even
listed on the packaging label. For example, "artificial flavor" is a
proprietary blend. Manufacturers don't have to disclose exactly what it means
and it is usually a combination of chemicals. For this reason, if you see
"artificial flavor" on an ingredients list, it could mean that there
are 10 or more additional chemicals that
are blended in to give a specific flavor.
Of course, most of
these chemicals have allegedly been tested for safety. But given that the
regulatory authorities still think that sugar and vegetable oils are
safe, I personally take their "stamp of approval" with a grain of
salt.
Bottom Line: Most highly processed foods are loaded with artificial
chemicals, including flavorants, texturants, colorants and preservatives.
People
can become addicted to junk food
The
"hyper-rewarding" nature of processed foods can have serious
consequences for some people. Some people can literally become addicted to this
stuff and completely lose control over their consumption. Although food addiction is
something that most people don't know about, I am personally convinced that it
is a huge problem in society today.
It is the main reason
why some people just can't stop eating these foods, no matter
how hard they try. They've had their brain biochemistry hijacked by
the intense dopamine release that occurs in the brain when they eat these foods.
This is actually supported by many studies. Sugar and highly rewarding junk
foods activate the same areas in the brain as drugs of abuse like cocaine.
Bottom Line: For many people, junk foods can hijack the
biochemistry of the brain, leading to downright addiction and cause them to
lose control over their consumption.
Very
often high in refined carbohydrates
There is a lot of
controversy regarding carbohydrates in the diet. Some people think that the majority of our
energy intake should be from carbs, while others think they should be avoided
like the plague. But one thing that almost everyone agrees on, is that
carbohydrates from whole foods are much better than refined carbohydrates. Processed
foods are often high in carbs, but it is usually the refined variety. One of the
main problems is that refined, "simple" carbohydrates are quickly
broken down in the digestive tract, leading to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels.
This can lead to carb cravings a few hours later when blood sugar levels go
down again. This phenomenon is also called the "blood sugar roller
coaster," which many people who have been on a high-carb diet can relate
to. Not surprisingly, eating a lot of refined carbohydrates is associated with
negative health effects and many chronic diseases. Do NOT be fooled by
labels like "whole grains" that are often plastered on processed food
packages, including breakfast cereals. These are usually whole grains that have
been pulverized into very fine flour and are just as harmful as their refined
counterparts. If you're going to eat carbs, get them from whole, single
ingredient foods, not processed junk foods.
Bottom Line: The carbohydrates you find in processed foods are
usually refined, "simple" carbohydrates. These lead to rapid spikes
in blood sugar and insulin levels and cause negative health effects.
Low
in nutrients
Processed foods are
extremely low in essential nutrients compared to whole, unprocessed foods.
In some cases,
synthetic vitamins and minerals are added to the foods to compensate
for what was lost during processing. However, synthetic nutrients are NOT a
good replacement for the nutrients found in whole foods. Also, let's not forget
that real foods contain much more than just the standard vitamins and minerals
that we're all familiar with. Real foods... like plants and animals, contain
thousands of other trace nutrients that science is just beginning to grasp.
Maybe one day we will
invent a chemical blend that can replace all these nutrients, but until that
happens... the only way to get them in your diet is to eat whole, unprocessed
foods. The more you eat of processed foods, the less you will get of vitamins,
minerals, antioxidants and various trace nutrients.
Bottom Line: There are many nutrients found in whole foods that are
not found in processed foods. The more processed foods you eat, the less you will
get of these nutrients.
Low
in fiber
Fiber, especially
soluble, fermentable fiber, has various benefits. Processed foods may have less fiber than
unprocessed fruits, oats, and bran. One of the main ones is that it functions
as a prebiotic, feeding the friendly bacteria in the intestine. There is also
evidence that fiber can slow down the absorption of carbohydrates and help us
feel more satisfied with fewer calories.
Soluble fiber can
also help treat many cases of constipation, which is a very common problem
today. The fiber that is found naturally in foods is often lost during
processing, or intentionally removed. Therefore, most processed foods are very
low in fiber.
Bottom Line: Soluble, fermentable fiber has various important
health benefits, but most processed foods are very low in fiber because it is
lost or intentionally removed during processing.
Require
less time and energy to digest
Food manufacturers
want their processed food products to have a long shelf life. They also want
each batch of the product to have a similar consistency and they want their
foods to be easily consumed. Given the way foods are processed, they are often
very easy to chew and swallow. Sometimes, it's almost as if they melt in your
mouth. Most of the fiber has been taken out and the ingredients are refined,
isolated nutrients that don't resemble the whole foods they came from.
One consequence of
this is that it takes less energy to eat and digest processed foods. We can eat
more of them in a shorter amount of time (more calories in) and we also burn
less energy (fewer calories out) digesting them than we would if they were
unprocessed, whole foods. One study in 17 healthy men and women compared the
difference in energy expenditure after consuming a processed vs a whole
foods-based meal. They ate a sandwich, either with multi-grain bread and
cheddar cheese (whole foods) or with white bread and processed cheese
(processed foods).
It turned out that
they burned twice as many calories digesting the unprocessed meal. The Thermic
Effect of Food (TEF) is a measure of how much different foods stimulate energy
expenditure after eating. It totals about 10% of total energy expenditure
(metabolic rate) in the average person. According to this study, people who eat
processed food will cut their TEF in half, effectively reducing the amount of
calories they burn throughout the day.
Bottom Line: We only burn half as many calories digesting and
metabolizing processed foods compared to whole foods.
Again
very often high in trans fats
Processed foods are
often high in unhealthy fats. They usually contain cheap fats, refined seed-
and vegetable oils (like soybean oil) that are often hydrogenated... which
turns them into trans fats. Vegetable oils are extremely unhealthy and most
people are eating way too much of them already. These fats contain excessive
amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids, which can drive oxidation and inflammation in
the body. Several studies show that when people eat more of these oils, they
have a significantly increased risk of heart disease, which is the most common
cause of death in Western countries today. If the fats are hydrogenated, that
makes them even worse. Hydrogenated (trans) fats are among the nastiest,
unhealthiest substances you can put into your body. The best way to avoid seed
oils and trans fats is to avoid processed foods. Eat real fats like coconut
oil and olive oil instead.
And
the conclusion: When we replace real foods like fish, meat, fruit and
vegetables with processed junk foods, we increase our risk of illness and poor
health. Real food is the key to good health, processed food is not. Period.
As
always, stay safe !
-Bird
***
