21 Day Challenge - Processed Food » Precision Athletics

21 Day Challenge – Processed Food

Craig Boyd

May 12, 2020

21-Day Challenge Tip #8: Processed Food

Here are 10 reasons not to continue eating processed food. Article has been sourced from Lose That Tyre diet blog.

The Concept: Processed food is all about saving time. Millions of dollars are spent every year on the junk that manufacturers pump out. Due to the methods that are used to create this ‘food’, the overall quality of the finished product mostly tends to be of very low nutritional value.

This is one of the reasons why when you are eating processed food you tend to feel far more hungry than you would do if you are eating freshly prepared food.

A lot of companies that sell pre-packaged processed food are now trying to cash in on healthy eating. But this all tends to lead to misleading information on the packaging. Let’s not mess about here-the people that sell this garbage are interested in one thing only: money. Do you really in your wildest dreams think that the people that make this junk are concerned about your health?

Save Money. Processed food tends to be more expensive than the healthy counterpart. When you’re eating food that is full of artificial crap and no nutrition, you’re bound to eat more of it (chips come to mind). If you go out and compare fresh food and processed food prices and see how much difference there is, you might be surprised at what you find. Admittedly some processed food is quite cheap but that’s no reason to eat it!

Also, boxes and bags that contain processed food are bigger than the amount of food inside it. This is another psychological trick. You’re not necessarily getting more for your money-probably less if you look at it carefully.

It’s Synthetic. When food is processed a lot of the nutritional value is lost in the process, so synthetic vitamins and minerals are added in order to make up for it. The problem with this is that they are nowhere near as good as their original counterparts.

When you don’t get the correct vitamins and minerals from your food, you’ll tend to eat more and because of the very nature of the food you’re eating, you’re more likely to gain weight.

Where Did it Go? Everything that should be in processed food isn’t. On a scale of one to 10, I would say that the nutritional value of processed food is about one, and that is being generous. Have you ever noticed on the packaging all the preservatives and numbers, and wondered what on earth they are? Are they good for you or are they harmful? No one knows except the manufacturer.

Is it Alive? Almost definitely not all the living enzymes and/or bacteria that are good for you tend not to be in processed foods. I dare say that phytochemicals probably aren’t there as well, which are important factor-these, like plants, soak up free radicals in your body which prevent disease.

Is it Worth Investing In? When you buy this food you’re encouraging more money being spent on this industry, therefore keeping it ‘alive’. We need to be spending more money on fresh fruit and vegetables, supporting farmers.

The Additives. Processed food tends to have tons of chemical additives which are no use whatsoever to you. Things like artificial colouring helps it look nicer and preservatives make the food last longer, but nutritionally these are of no use to you. And could be causing harm instead..

Mystery Guests. This type of food can have all sorts of strange odds and ends added during processing. Hot dog sausages come to mind-they can contain something called ‘edible offal’, i.e. different parts of the animal, like ears.

Are You a Crack Addict? It’s a well-known fact that fat and sugar are as addictive as heroin and cocaine. They stimulate the same receptors in your brain that make you feel good. This is what’s known as a “dopamine high” and manufacturers know it well too. These substances are highly addictive: that’s why processed food does have a lots of hidden sugar and fat, so to make it addictive and enhance the taste.