Eating unprocessed foods such as whole grains and raw fruits and vegetables can help you lose weight. These foods are high in fiber, which makes you feel full longer. When you feel full, you don't eat as often, so you consume fewer calories. Eating more unprocessed foods and fewer refined carbohydrates also helps you lose fat more quickly.
Nutritional Value
Processed and refined sugars and grains raise blood sugar levels. This causes a spike in insulin production, which is conducive to fat storage. Fat is stored more easily when the body doesn't use blood glucose efficiently. Whole grains are more nutritious than refined grains, as they provide a better source of fiber and nutrients, such as potassium, magnesium and selenium. Including high-fiber whole grains, fruits and vegetables in your daily diet can lower LDL cholesterol and reduce your risk of obesity.
Whole-Grain Foods
Processing preserves food and extends a product's shelf life. Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of losing nutritional value. If you want to eat a healthy diet and lose weight, eat more whole grains. At least half of the servings of grains you eat should come from whole grain foods. Consuming fiber-rich whole grains satisfies your hunger longer, so that you crave fewer refined grains, which are higher in fat and calories, and usually lower in nutrients. Processed foods also tend to be starchier. Excess starch you don't burn is stored in the body as fat.
Calories
Despite the many healthful benefits, eating too many unprocessed foods can add on the calories and pounds. No matter how healthfully you eat, the total number of calories you consume counts when you are trying to lose weight, reminds Andrea Giancoli, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Whole grain foods are more likely to contain a few more calories per serving, as they contain more grams of fiber and protein than foods made with refined grains.
Packaged Foods
Fresh fruits and vegetables, raw nuts and seeds are other whole, unprocessed foods. If a food comes packaged, chances are it is highly processed and likely contains chemical additives. Even packaged foods that contain healthy ingredients are not as high in nutritional value as fresh or whole, unprocessed foods that contain less sodium, fat and calories. Eating more whole and fresh foods and fewer processed foods will give you more energy, help you maintain a healthy weight and aid in preventing chronic health problems later in life.
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