A Small Tip of Dangers in Processed Foods
But before we start we must first give you this quote of the day to help aid us through the process of change:
“If you resist change, you will face challenges on a daily basis. If you consciously refocus your attitude to see the benefits of change, your outlook becomes positive and life becomes easier.” Catherine Pulsifier
For the past week a friend of ours, Willie, has been a little under the weather (more like in the middle of a 300 mile/hr super tornado). First started off with strep throat, dislocated left shoulder which ended up with torn ligaments (MRI then surgery doctor says), and at the end of the week finished off with an ear infection!! Not bad of a week huh? Oh did we forget to add that some of those days he had to work? Just wanted to give a little insight of how busy our lives can be on a daily basis with expected and unexpected events. That alone can and will cause a ripple effect on the rest of our lives like for example the choices of foods we consume.
For your information Americans spend a good portion of their food budget on processed foods or like we call them “plastic catch up” foods!! Why you ask? Convenience, convenience, convenience!!
Most of you know these scenarios; rushing out the door in the morning to beat traffic, dropping the kids off at school, stopping by Kinkos to make copies for company presentation, oh yeah can’t forget have to stop by and grab that coffee!! That’s the busy lifestyles that forces our health down this ever seemingly bottomless pit of a path. And we ask ourselves why is obesity at an all time high?
There are several reasons why you should avoid processed foods but for today we wanted to home in on only three. We do want to overload you with too much information.
1. Trans -Fats.
Trans fats are the real fat substitute in our modern diet and are in ALL fast food and processed foods. Trans fat has been linked to heart disease, cancer, digestive disorders and degeneration of joints and tendons. Consumption is also linked to skin issues, learning disabilities, stunted growth in children and auto immune disease.
2. High Fructose Corn Syrup.
This has become a controversial ingredient recently. The corn and processed food industry has begun an aggressive marketing campaign trying to undo the damage that has been done to this prevalent processed food ingredient.
Essentially, High Fructose Corn Syrup increase your triglyceride levels and your LDL (the bad cholesterol) within 60 minutes of ingestion. It’s also the cheapest and most prominent ingredient in the American food chain. The average person in the U.S. consumes 68 pounds of HFCS per year!!! In 2005, if one looks at the actuarial curve on cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypoglycemia and diabetes, they all parallel HFCS increase in the food chain. But the corn and processed food industry will continue to argue that there is no difference in HFCS and natural sugars.
3. Monosodium Glutamate or MSG. MSG is essentially concentrated salt and is an excito-toxin, which means that is overexcites your cells to the point of damage, acting as a poison.
MSG can also be hidden in food labels under names like broth, casein, hydrolyzed, autolyzed, gelatin, hyrdolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), yeast extract, malted barley, rice syrup or brown rice syrup. Monosodium Glutamate has also been linked to vision loss and causing nerve damage.
The next time your running through your busy, crazy, hectic, planned filled day remember to stop and ask yourself “Is this really good for me?” One of the hardest things to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn. Together let’s cross the bridge to a healthy lifestyle
