The key to taking care of your health and that of your family when choosing foods lies in learning to differentiate between foods that will nourish you and those that will potentially make you sick in the long term. Know the characteristics of natural foods, processed foods and ultra-processed products so that you can take control of your health and begin to make informed choices.
Natural foods:
Natural foods come directly from nature and are perishable in the short term. They are recognized by their short shelf life and their propensity to spoil after a few days. Next to these foods, there are minimally processed foods, which do not include added ingredients, but have undergone mild processing, such as pasteurization, freezing or packaging without altering their original nature. They are easier to store and keep longer.
Examples of minimally processed foods include yogurt, milk and milk products, frozen or packaged vegetables.
Processed foods:
These foods have undergone alterations through industrial techniques that modify their original state. During the industrial process, fat is added or removed, salt, sugar, additives or other components are added.
This group includes canned fruits and vegetables, pickles, smoked foods, cured meats, cheeses to which flavors are added, alcoholic beverages, etc.
Ultraprocessed products:
Here we no longer speak of food, but of products, since they are highly manipulated by man in laboratories. They have no hint of anything natural, pretending to be food, but at the end of the day they are just something edible with poor nutritional content.
To manufacture ultra-processed products, companies often break down whole foods and chemically modify them to create ingredients not found in nature, such as high-fructose corn syrup and soy protein isolate, derived from soybeans. These foods also often include ingredients that enhance their flavor, color or texture, such as the emulsifier soy lecithin. If a food has one or more of these ingredients, it is generally considered ultra-processed.
You can identify them because they are highly durable, palatable and lucrative products, they are ready to be consumed, they are basically composed of a variety of additives that can become addictive to the product and bring negative health consequences, increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and depression.
In this group we find for example: canned or dehydrated soups, frozen preparations, instant pastas, fried and baked bagged snacks, chocolates, industrial pastries, commercial porridges; sausages and other sausages; chicken nuggets, crab sticks and the like; energy drinks, margarines, jams, jellies, sauces and dressings, breakfast cereals, granola bars, frozen pizzas, hamburger meats and other foods that are ready-to-eat or require minimal cooking in a toaster or microwave.
There is nothing that surpasses the nutritional composition of natural food, no matter how hard the industry tries to create something similar.
The Attractive Label Trap
You've probably noticed the attractive packaging displaying terms like "keto," "low-fat," "sugar-free" or "natural flavor" in supermarket aisles and freezers. Right off the bat, it's crucial to understand that these labels do not guarantee proper nutrition. These terms can disguise processed and even ultra-processed foods that lack nutritional value.
Always check what the product is made of by verifying that you do not have more than 5 ingredients, that they are easy to pronounce and that they do not contain any type of sugar or industrial oils such as corn, sunflower, soybean, peanut.
For a healthy diet, opt most of the time for fresh and natural or minimally processed foods to give your body the proper nutrition for its proper functioning.
By applying this knowledge you will slowly start to notice that your grocery cart will be filled with LESS boxes, bags, cans and bottles and MORE real food!
Are you looking to learn how to nourish your body by eating delicious food? Book a free session with me and let's start this journey together!
Disclaimers:
"The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only, and is made available to you as a self-help tool for your own use; it is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult with a health care professional".