What is processed food?

Processed food refers to food items altered from their natural state through various methods, such as cooking, curing, smoking, fermentation, or the addition of preservatives and other ingredients.

The degree of processing can vary widely, from minimally processed foods like bagged spinach or roasted nuts to heavily processed foods such as frozen meals, sugary snacks, and ready-to-eat meals.

The evidence against processed food and the damage it does is starting to pile up.  The problems processed food can help to create can be anything from anxiety to cancer.

A study published in the British Medical Journal found that people who consume high amounts of processed foods have an increased risk of anxiety, depression, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and certain cancers. Including colorectal cancer and premature death. This data came from more than 9 million people. Who participated in a vast amount of studies.

Melissa Lane, of Deakin University in Australia quoted –

“Taking the body of literature as a whole, there was consistent evidence that regularly eating higher,  compared to lower,  amounts of ultra, processed foods was linked to these adverse health outcomes,” 

The NCBI’s analysis of ultra-processed food (UPF) results revealed that the United States and the United Kingdom were the countries with the highest per cent energy intake from UPF (generally >50%), whereas Italy had the lowest levels (about 10%).

Americans consume more than half their daily calories from processed foods. We understand why the cost of the food is cheaper. But what about the cost of the health care after?

When we eat food that is processed and full of toxins. Our bodies eventually will say to us. That is it, forget I am not making any new cells. If you cannot be bothered to look after me I won’t be bothered to look after you.

Ok, not really but it gets tired and it stops working properly. That’s why you will hear some people say

“My body is a temple.”

Our bodies

These beautiful bodies of ours work every single second of the day using billions of cells. This is how you think, talk, walk and move.

If you put processed rubbish/ trash in your body you cannot expect it to work properly. You might as well fill your body up with poo and say go on move around.

Our bodies are intelligent though and they can find a way to make some nice new cells even though we put in bad food.

But this does not last. Our bodies can only do it for a short while before it runs out of ways to keep making new cells.

Think about it if you keep eating processed food your cells will become processed rubbish.

As you are what you eat.

Genetically modified food

Ultra-processed foods

Genetically modified food makes you become a genetically modified you.

If you eat McDonald’s every day, every week or even every month do you think you are eating healthy food?

• Real potato?

• Real meat with no additives?

Do you think this food could be genetically modified and ultra-processed?

Ultra-processed foods are abundant in our food supply. Among the most common are highly refined breads, fast food, sugary drinks, cereals, cookies, and other packaged snacks. They are often high in salt, sugar, fat and calories and low in fibre and micro-nutrients such as vitamins.

Guidelines

The Eatwell Guide from the NHS in the UK shows how much of what we should eat. Overall where your requirements should come from thus to achieve a healthy, balanced diet.

But you do not need to achieve this balance with every meal but try to get the balance right over a day or even a week.

I recommend filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables, eating plenty of whole grains, and not too much of the refined grains found in ultra-processed foods.

One telltale sign that a food is ultra-processed is if its ingredient label includes substances you would not find in your kitchen. 

Items with high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, hydrolysed protein, or additives such as artificial colours, flavour enhancers, emulsifiers, anti-caking agents and thickeners.

Also, look out for the different names they give sugar. You will be shocked at how they try to hide sugar.

They can be simple names like brown sugar, cane sugar or just sugar. They can also hide names like inverted sugar, corn sweetener, dextrin and molasses.

If you would like to see a list please look at this link. Different names for sugar.

The sad truth is the food industry does not care about you eating all the wrong food.  Otherwise, they would not change the names of sugar to fool you.

Remember sugar triggers appetite so you want to consume more. The downside is you can also get a very bad low after eating too much sugar. Which again makes you want to eat more sugar.

Learn how to read food labels

When you look at the labels you will see the list of ingredients. These ingredients have to be labelled in quantity from the highest amount of ingredients to the lowest. So be careful when you see a long list of ingredients.

Be very careful If the first ingredients on the list include any of these –

• refined grains

• any type of sugar

• hydrogenated oils

If the first ingredients are any of these then you can assume that the product is very unhealthy.

Should you ignore Health Claims On Packaging?

As soon as you see words like multigrain, light and natural. Be careful sadly even the word organic does not always mean its fully organic.

Words like

• Light

• Multigrain- “Multigrain” can sound healthy but it usually has two or more grains and they are usually refined (not whole) grains.

• Natural

Healthy words do not always mean they are healthy. That’s where your research will have to come into it.

All these words are just ways for you to believe the product is good for you and for them to make more money.

Takeaway

When it comes to mood and mental health conditions, there is evidence to show that adults who maintain a healthy diet have fewer depressive symptoms.

Numerous studies indicate a correlation between diet quality and mental health. Adults who consume a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats tend to experience fewer depressive symptoms.

On the other hand, diets high in processed foods, typically laden with added sugars, unhealthy fats, and artificial additives, may contribute to mood swings, anxiety, and depression.

A French study found sticking to a Mediterranean diet in mid-life is linked to a lower risk of depression, particularly in men.

Choosing whole foods over processed options not only supports physical health but also nurtures mental well-being. By prioritizing nutritious meals and minimizing processed food intake, you can foster a positive impact on your mood and overall mental health.

I hope my tips will help you. So why not change now?

As you are what you eat