As the U.S. experiences record rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, the ramifications of a diet composed largely of processed foods have become clear. These disorders, which cause more American deaths than any other factor, are directly related to poor eating habits.
Processed Foods and Obesity
The trend toward convenience foods, which are often highly processed, has led Americans away from farm-fresh produce, free-range livestock and unadulterated dairy products that characterized the nation's agricultural heritage. As a result, Americans have become fatter and sicker.
To illustrate the effect of processed vs. whole foods on digestion, researchers at Pomona College fed study subjects two different versions of a cheese sandwich. The healthy version contained whole grain bread and real cheese. The processed version contained white bread and processed cheese. Even though both sandwiches had the same amount of calories, the healthy version needed 50 percent more calories to digest. Processed foods are refined to the point where your body doesn't need to expend as much energy to digest them, so you often end up consuming more calories.
Processed Foods and Heart Disease
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The ingredients in processed foods can increase your risk of heart disease. Processed foods are the largest source of sodium in the American diet, contributing up to 75 percent of your total intake, according to MayoClinic.com. High sodium levels are linked to hypertension, or high blood pressure -- a prime risk factor for heart disease.
Processed foods are also a source of trans fats, a substance derived from vegetable oils. Trans fats lengthen shelf life, but they could very well shorten your life by increasing your risk of heart disease.
Processed Foods and Nutritional Impoverishment
Food manufacturers are always seeking out new chemicals that will make your food look prettier, taste better and last longer on the shelf. Not only can these additives be bad for you, but the nutrients that processing removes are good for you.
Nutrients such as fiber, plant sterols and vitamins are stripped from many processed products, leaving you with weirdly colored, artificially flavored "food" that will stay "fresh" far longer than nature ever intended.
Jumping Off the Bad Food Bandwagon
If you've spent far too long eating junk food, don't beat yourself up. You had powerful forces egging you on. Turn on the TV, and you're greeted by happy, dancing bags of potato chips, artificial rainbows of sugary junk and various offshoots of the cheese-glob-related snack genre. A relentless barrage of marketing tactics encourages the consumption of processed foods.
The good news is that now that you understand what eating processed junk is doing to you, you can avoid this unhealthy food in favor of healthy choices.
It's true that unprocessed food takes more effort to prepare and might cost more, but you'll reap the dividends in better health.
References
- ReadersDigest.ca: Pitfalls of Processed Foods
- MayoClinic.com: Fat -- Avoid This Cholesterol Double Whammy
- MayoClinic.com: Low-sodium Diet -- Why is Processed Food so Salty?
- "Food and Nutrition Research"; "Postprandial Energy Expenditure in Whole-Food and Processed-Food Meals: Implication for Daily Energy Expenditure"; Sadie Barr et al; July 2010
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: February is American Heart Month
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