5 Reasons Why You Must Avoid Processed Foods and How To Do It

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Eating fresh foods is one of the best thing you can do for your body whether you are “trying” to live healthily or not. At least, that’s what you CAN do about and fight against processed ones you consume on a daily basis.

With that said, if you choose not to eat fresh foods in the majority, you should at least dedicate yourself avoiding overly processed foods or at least the ones that belong in the 5 foods to never eat group as mentioned here. In today’s reading, we will take a look at processed foods and how they affect your lifestyle, present and future health.

In this reading, you’ll be learn about:


What Constitutes Processed Food?

The definition of “processed foods” varies depending upon who you ask but, for the most part, the term refers to any food that comes in cans, boxes or bags.

Those foods are the ones that have to be processed to a greater degree in order to be edible.

A good example of this is to look at the layout of your grocery store, for the most part, all of the items in the central aisles of your grocery store are processed foods.
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Why We Should Be Avoiding Processed Foods?

So what is so bad about them? Those foods are extensively flavored and preserved with an artificial substance that are designed, not with our health in mind, but with the shelf life of the food instead!

Foods that are designed to withstand months after months on the shelf is not entirely the best thing to begin putting into your body.

One of the biggest additives used in processed foods both for flavor and preservation is salt! Salt, while useful for its purpose and great for taste amplification in moderation, is not the healthy person’s friend (1).

Let’s take a look at just one of the biggest effects that salt has on the himan body.
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Blood Pressure and Processed Foods!

Excessive salt consumption (still high in fast and processed foods (2)) has a number of negative effects on the human body (1.1), but one of the most significant and troubling down side is the elevation of blood pressure.

For some groups of people, elevation of blood pressure can be deadly when combined with their already high blood pressure.

As high sodium levels are consumed and drive up blood pressure, these individuals begin to experience throbbing headaches that don’t relent and soon they may also feel faint and dizzy.

Without medical attention, this type of skyrocketing blood pressure can be fatal.

Of course we don’t all suffer from such extreme blood pressure conditions; however, even on a smaller scale, a diet saturated with salt is going to have an effect on the blood pressure and force the heart to work much harder to do its job. One of the best way to fight high blood pressure is by eating healthy foods.

Speaking of the heart, let’s take a look at how processed foods can affect the cardiovascular system.
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Cardiovascular Health and Processed Foods!

Processed foods can not only increase the blood pressure leading to the heart having to work harder, but processed foods also tend to be higher in fats and sugars which also affect cardiovascular health.

As we consume increased levels of “bad fats” we are more prone to obesity, a condition in which we are forcing our heart to do an increased level of work because it weights more.

As we consume increased levels of sugars we are prone to diabetes, a condition in which we are two to four times more likely to develop heart disease (2.1).

Eating a healthy diet, taking part in moderate exercise and living a healthy lifestyle is a good way to get a step up on these conditions even if you still eat processed foods although, of course, the ideal solution is to cut out processed foods altogether.
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Learning to Replace Processed Foods

Replacing processed foods in your diet can be difficult, particularly if you are like most Americans and rely upon them for the majority of your diet.

If you decide to change your diet to a healthier one, however, one great way to start is to take things one step at a time … or one snack at a time!

Begin changing your diet by structuring your daily foods into three main meals and three main snacks. First concentrate on switching your three snacks into healthier choice food options like fresh fruit, small salads, etc.

One you have successfully switched all of your snacks over to healthier choices, you want to begin eating healthier meals.

Again, you want to move to healthier meals one meal at a time until eventually you have a completely healthy diet! The moment you achieve healthy eating, your next healthy living option is, of course, incorporating exercise into your daily routine.

One step at a time and you’ll be on your way to a healthier and happier you!

PS: Till next time about processed foods and why one should avoid them, make sure to share and get people aware.

Cadrian Solaris
Making the choice to live a healthy lifestyle is optional but an important one! And it is equally important to make sure that when making that choice, that you make it properly and take into consideration all aspects of health.

As a contributing author here on NaturalNews.com, I'll cover every aspect of personal journey and healthy living, covering topics from diet to exercise.

It is my hope that these articles will help you on your way to a newer and healthier you as you seek to establish a new routine an a stress-free lifestyle!

~ Cadrian Solaris:
Personal website and Have a Healthy Choices blog!