Convenient now, trouble later
Processed (convenience) food has been around since the early 1900’s. What makes them so unhealthy? They’re full of sugar and artificial ingredients and low in healthful nutrients. A few common side effects include constant hunger, sugar addiction, weight gain, lack of energy, and acne.
In order to make better food choices and product comparisons, you MUST learn how to read a nutrition label. If you have a poor diet and nutrition knowledge, the rest of your family most likely does as well.
Better late than never.
Nutrition labels generally state the following:
Serving size
Number of servings
Calories
Total fat
Cholesterol
Sodium
Carbohydrates
Fiber
Sugar
Protein
Vitamins and minerals
Ingredients
This may seem like an overload of information until you become familiar with what they all mean and how they affect your body. I suggest starting with limiting your consumption of food with low fiber, high salt & sugar, and multiple ingredients, aka, most items found in the middle aisles of grocery stores. Ever look at the ingredient list for 100 calorie Chewy Granola Bars? They basically have a calorie for every ingredient. This brings us back to REAL, unprocessed foods, found around the perimeter. Opt for foods with more protein, fiber and few, quality ingredients. The more ingredients, the less likely you are to know them.
Common ingredients found in processed food that you should avoid:
High fructose corn syrup - one of the most common sweeteners
MSG - flavor enhancer
Palm oil - use olive or coconut
Shortening/Partially hydrogenated oil
Artificial sweeteners
ROYGBIV (Blue, Green, Red, Yellow) aka artificial colors
Anything else you can’t pronounce or that looks like it belongs in a chemistry book rather than in your food.
Marketing plays a huge role in nutrition misconceptions. Fat-free, sugar-free, light, and natural are all terms used on food packaging to get you to make a purchase and believe you’re making a healthy choice. Read the label and decide for yourself. Jif’s Natural Peanut Butter has added sugar and palm oil whereas other jars labeled as natural contain only peanuts and salt, as they should. Also, Keep in mind that different flavors of the same thing can have varying ingredient lists and nutritional content. When buying rice cakes the other day, I noticed that the original flavor has 2 ingredients, rice and salt, whereas the chocolate has multiple. Decision made. Another issue I have with marketing is the advertisement of candy bars as snacks. No, you should not eat a Snickers when you’re hungry.
Then there’s the issues with packaging, such as non-resealable packages with 2 or more servings, challenging your self control. I'm looking at you, Pop Tarts. Let’s face it, we’re set up for failure and in order to win, we need to think back to what people ate before convenience foods were available (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, meat) and make this the new, old norm.
When eating enough of the right things, you’ll realize you have more energy, feel fuller for longer, and have no need to go on a restricting diet.
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-Mallory
