Advances in food science have created hundreds of thousands of food products that are cheap and easy to prepare. Unfortunately, this convenience may come at the cost of health and fitness. That's because processed foods have been linked with obesity, heart disease, diabetes and bone diseases. One way to help begin to combat these problems is to move away from processed foods and toward more healthy, natural foods. While diets high in processed foods increase disease risk, diets high in whole, natural foods like fruits and vegetables help reduce your risk.
Step 1
Replace canned fruits and vegetables with fresh or frozen varieties. Check the label on frozen foods to make sure there are no added salts, sugars or fats. The label should indicate that the package contains only the fruit or vegetable.
Step 2
Eat more whole fruits and vegetables, like an apple instead of packaged applesauce or a baked potato instead of boxed potatoes.
Step 3
Make your own rice and pasta side dishes instead of choosing packaged versions. Packaged versions of foods usually contain high amounts of sodium along with other additives, according to the American Heart Association. Choose brown rice and 100 percent whole wheat pastas.
Step 4
Skip most commercial cookies, cakes, candies and other snack foods, as they're high in processed grains and sugars. Choose snacks with whole grains, fruits, nuts and other healthy, natural ingredients.
Step 5
Look for packaged foods and snacks with as few items as possible on the label's ingredient list, and make sure each ingredient is a food item instead of a chemical additive, processed grain or processed sugar.
Step 6
Sweeten with small amounts of natural sugar sources like maple syrup, honey or molasses. While these foods work similarly to processed sugars in your body, they're more natural and less processed.
Step 7
Cook your meals instead of buying fast foods or convenience foods. Use fresh ingredients from around the outside edge of your grocery store. Most grocery stores keep their produce, meats, dairy and bakery sections on the outside edge and house processed foods in the center aisles.
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