why is processed food so bad?

When I cook I use things like.....
eggs, milk, spices and herbs, along with other real food ingredients.

But when the factory cooks for me it is a different story.

If I was to create a recipe for the commercial market these are some of the changes it would go through in order to even think about putting it on the store shelves.

 

Whole food (fruit and vegetable) supplies are a big challenge first because  of spoilage. Real food is quick to spoil. The second thing is that the food can change in price and quality throughout the year.  For example, strawberries are available year round, during peak season they are reasonably priced they are really yummy, but winter strawberries are very expensive lack that "summer strawberry" experience which brings me to the next part...

Taste.  Each batch of vegetables, fruits, and other whole foods tastes slightly different because of variations in the seeds and growing conditions.  Often food companies do not want to use the real food which can be unpredictable in color and flavor. So what do they do, they substitute with colors and flavors that are very predictable in order to achieve the taste and color they desire.  It is important that they create the same product each and every time with the exact same flavor profile. Spices and fresh herbs are often lost in the process because they also change throughout the season, therefore  dried herbs may be used, but more often "natural flavors" is seen on the label instead so that you will get the same taste each and every time.  Natural flavors is a very deceptive term and is widely used to cover up the unpleasant truth about what is really in your food.  I will include some links at the bottom of the page for those of you who want more reading on that subject.

When I cook I often use milk and eggs. In the commercial food business these are foods that require refrigeration and have many rules and regulations for their use as they are considered "potentially hazardous" They are foods that are easily spoiled, plus there are allergy factors involved.  Many large companies are shying away from the use of eggs and milk and are substituting chemicals that perform the same function in recipes. These chemicals are deemed "safe", but are they really? I would suggest that they may be more hazardous to your health than the milk and eggs themselves.

Cost is also a major factor in food production. The chemicals that imitate the flavors and colors of real food are a lot less expensive than the real thing. They are often used to keep the food cost low. Cutting the cost of food is quite a concern to the leaders of  these companies (how else can they pay for the massive machines that are required for the processing of large quantities of food). Which brings me to the next point; the health cost associated with the machines and processing of foods.


As the food products are pumped through these massive machines, often times there are chemical additives that are used for the sole purpose of making the product run through the machine more smoothly. Not to mention the chemicals that end up in our food from the cleaning of the machines. I once had to throw out an entire gallon of milk, because it tasted so bad of cleaning chemicals (this at a time when money was so short that it really hurt to throw it out). There are a lot of health risks associated with these chemicals, not to mention the heat that is  produced by these machines when they run at such high speeds. The heat and chemicals destroy any goodness that is left in the food and we haven't even got to the stabilizers and preservatives used to keep the product "fresh" and shelf stable so that it can travel to the store and then get to our home and be used, not to mention the chemicals and things added during the packaging process. I am amazed at the amount of chemicals that are used in the processing that do not even end up on the label  they are just overlooked by the FDA as "part of processing".

What may start out as a "good recipe" turns into a chemical cocktail by the time it is done with the food manufacturing process, and yet people still wonder if it is really all that bad for them.
YES! processed foods are bad for your overall health. They are full of toxins that will not kill you right away, but repeated exposure to all of these things can kill.


I choose to cook from scratch and eat real foods.   It helps to keep down the toxins so that I am not in a constant state of toxic overload.  My body is thanking me, after years of overload it is finally finding some relief.

I find that the saying FOOD SHOULD COME FROM A PLANT AND NOT BE MADE IN A PLANT very helpful when I am making food choices.



Additional reading:

Wikipedia on flavorings

Beaver butts as natural flavorings

Wikipedia on pink slime

Is processed food safe?

Thoughts on Vegetable chips.

Vegetable chips, better than regular chips? 

Vegetable chips; given their name they would seem a healthy and yummy alternative offering more nutrition than the lowly potato chip, but do vegetable chips have any  real advantage over potato chips?

It all depends on the processing of the chip. Read the labels. If it were as simple as take the vegetables slice them, and fry them yes, there would be of some benefit to your health. There are some great products out there on the market, but most of the vegetable chips on the market are made from dehydrated vegetable powders added to potato and or other starches then mixed and mashed together and  a variety of flavorings and preservatives until there is nothing left of the vegetable that began this journey.



Processed and full of chemicals from the beginning, these things are far from healthy. Start with the vegetable powders used.  Many of the dried fruits and vegetables  that are produced  today are not done the old fashioned way. There are too many things added to aid in the process of drying fruits and vegetables. Chemicals are added to improve the texture, color, and flavor, as well as additives to avoid spoilage and aid in quicker drying times. All this chemical stuff just to dry out the vegetables, and we are just beginning to make the vegetable chips.

Once this vegetable infused powder is obtained then it is mixed with large amounts of chemicals, fillers, starches, flavorings etc. to create a mass of "dough" that will be pressed through a machine and will ultimately end up in the deep fryer. Now you take this mass of chemicals with a hint of what used to be vegetable and let it swim in the oil bath, which is more chemicals.  (don't believe me check out how vegetable oils are made). After this process, the chips are usually off to a shower of salt and flavorings (read another chemical bath).  Then off to packaging, which includes more chemicals to preserve them while in the bag.

We eat this stuff thinking that we have done something good for our body. Thinking that somehow because it began as a vegetable it is good for us. Vegetables are good for us because they are living full vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are living and if eaten in this form they give life to us, take away that and mutilate the vegetables in the manner described above and it has no life or energy left to give to you and I.

THE VERDICT:  

I think I will stick to real vegetable chips made with thin sliced vegetables, oil, and salt.

I think that they are a hoax offering you very little. It is like the package of vegetable pasta I picked up the other day and looked at the label. On the front it boasted that a 6 oz. serving provided half a vegetable serving. It had a little star by it. I turned the package over to see the real story. On the back of the package it showed that a the serving size was 2 oz. This meant that you needed to eat three servings of pasta to equal half a serving of vegetables. I will stick to real fruits and vegetables.



If you want to check out how vegetable oils are made here are some places to start.

Answerbag, how is vegetable oil produced   The short sweet version
Healthy eating politics how vegetable oil is produced The long version with all the nitty gritty details.

 

This post shared as part of real food wednesdays

 

Junk out, good food in part 3 The emotional/social eater

In case you missed it,
Junk out part 1
Junk out part 2


Last week we talked about cravings.  Physical/internal cravings for food can be overwhelming, but they can seem "over the top" when mixed with emotional cravings and social situations. Getting those primal cravings under control can help you to begin to manage the emotional and social overeating to help you win the war on food cravings.   

 

The younger version of me was a real mess!  I was on a wild rollercoaster ride of cravings. It was so hard. I tried to get the cravings under control but there were so many voices and so many factors controlling my cravings pulling me every which way. People would give suggestions, but it would usually only address one part of the craving battle. I would work on my willpower to overcome the cravings caused in a social setting. For example, not eating cake at a birthday party. I would feel empowered for a moment, but a few hours later I would have such a sugar/carb craving and start thinking about the cake that I missed out on, I would devour half a dozen doughnuts. There was so much going on, it seemed hopeless.  There were days that I just wanted to eat myself to death just so it would all stop.  It seemed easier to be overweight and to deal with the effects of being fat then to control the cravings. Why bother trying to control cravings when they control me. The cravings would come in from all angles and in such a flurry. I felt so helpless and hopeless.  I was a social/ emotional eater out of control and seemed that there was not hope.  I did find hope, and I started to get it under control.  

There was a point in time when I worked extra hard at getting my emotional cravings and my weight under control.  I used to have certain foods that related to my emotions.  I would eat greasy fried food when feeling one emotion, and sugary sweets for another, Then I would turn to salty potato chips to soothe other emotions and so it went. I wanted to change that. I knew it was not healthy. It took a lot of hard work.  It was a process. I learned some great techniques for dealing with the emotions.  I was feeling good.  I had lost nearly a hundred pounds and was doing  and feeling well.  I was getting it all under control. I was managing it all, and then I became pregnant

Having three children very close together was a real challenge, yet a blessing. I would not trade it, but it has been one of the wildest parts of the ride so far. With the first child I craved carbs.  If I did not eat every hour or so and keep a constant supply of carbs running through I would get so sick. After nine months of pregnancy the habit was set. After about a year of continuing these habits, I decided that I needed to quit eating carbs every couple hours. I started doing better I was feeling better and, surprise; I was pregnant again.  This was followed by a quick third pregnancy.


A pattern had been set.  Eat carbs all day long to feel better.  It was habit, and one that was becoming to easy to maintain. Then it became so easy to get back into the emotional eating habits that had so easily taken over my adolescence.  Dealing with three little ones, and the effects of motherhood was a challenge. I knew it needed to stop the emotional eating once again. I had done it in the past and I knew that I could do it all over again.  I tried, yet it seemed as though the harder I worked the harder it was. I was not getting my emotional eating under control.  The tricks from the past were not working so well.

I did not understand that I had physical cravings from being vitamin and mineral deficient.  Pregnancy had taken  so much from my body making it more vitamin and mineral deficient. Understanding this had happened and getting those physical/ primal cravings under control has now given me the power to sort out and control my emotional and social eating patterns and cravings once again.  It is not easy especially when the social and emotional habits are such a part of me.


Family and social cravings are still hard for me.  They are deep rooted.  I still struggle when the family gets together because it is just so easy to grab handfuls of food and snacks when we are around each other. It is what we do, we get together and eat.  My sister struggles too. We often help each other. She brings better snacks, and encourages us to go for a walk together or other activities  that are not center around food. It is a long  journey but one that is a lot easier having taken the physical/ primal cravings from the mix.  I can focus on those external  things that trigger my desires to eat.

Social food cravings can be overcome by being aware of the triggers. There is usually something that triggers you to eat in a particular situation. For me staying out of the kitchen at my Mom's house is key for me. It is too easy to associate it with eating and to get into that habit.  If I am in the kitchen, I am focused on cooking and then getting out. Other examples could be something like... Hanging about that desk at work (you know, the one  that has the candy bowl) can trigger a social craving. If there is not candy there, you start to salivate and you want to go out and find some candy to fill that need.  Social cravings are not really cravings; they are  really just habits tied to, or triggered by certain actions or situations.  Often these habits and patterns can be changed by eliminating the things that trigger the overeating.  For example taking a different path to work if you are tempted by a bakery or fast food establishment on your route.  Being aware is a beginning place.


Emotional eating can also be overcome. I know, I have experienced it. It also begins by being aware. Asking yourself a few questions and being honest about the answers can really help you asses the situation. One key question is, "Why am I eating this?" The second key question is "How am I feeling?".  Asking these questions and being honest about it can be very enlightening to what is going on in your world.

Food journaling can be very helpful. Journaling your food intake is a good place to start. It makes you aware of patterns that you never may have seen. It makes you aware of problem areas. It makes you accountable for your food choices too. It was key to me getting in shape the first time, and is encouraging to me this time around as I work towards finding better health.

Tune in next week as we go into more details about a food journal and how to use it to your advantage. 



P.S.
Below is a link to a post I wrote a while back about my emotional eating habits.   As I  looked back at it, I was amazed at where I was and where I am now. You can read and hear the confusion within me as I tried to sort out the physical cravings and the emotional/ social associations  that I had developed with food.
Confessions of an emotional eater


This is shared as part of real food wednesdays

Junk out, good food in. Part 2 Cravings

In case you missed it I have included a link to  Junk out, good food in part 1

Junk out, good food in part 1

I last left you wondering if you were going to continue on your journey to good health or go back to those old habits. It is a hard question, and one that so many people have to answer.  There are many reasons to get healthy and change your habits. There are also many reasons to go back to your old ways. Often the old habits win. In the next few posts we will talk about some of our habits and how we can change them.



One of the bad habits we have is giving into those junk food cravings.  Often we feel such shame in giving into them. They can evoke such overwhelming feelings. Junk food cravings can cause you to be so overcome. They can be a major downfall in the quest to obtain better health. Working with the cravings as opposed to fighting them is key.  

One of the troubles is that the fast food and junk food companies spend billions of dollars creating a craveable product. They usually do this by relying on the three most craved items out there, fat, sugar, and salt. They rely on us having these cravings, giving into them, and not being able to kick the habit; bringing us back to the junk food over and over. Many are stuck in this vicious cycle of junk food. We do not seem to have power over it. I am here to help you get that power back. Cravings can be overcome and the process is quite simple. Work with the cravings, do not fight them.  Here is a place to begin to understand that process.





What are your cravings telling you?  To understand our food cravings we have to understand our primal body and brain. Your brain and body are really amazing. Your body and brain can heal itself if given the proper building materials and tools. Our bodies take bits and pieces from the food we eat to build and repair itself. When our body needs more fuel and supplies it calls out for them. The trouble is that the lines of communication are sometimes blocked, but more than that, we have forgotten how to speak that language that our body speaks. It is like our brain and body are speaking in Morse code and we just ignore the banging and tapping because we do not use that form of communication anymore.  So what do we do? We learn to listen to our bodies and hear what it is calling out for. Essentially we learn to hear our body signals, we learn to speak Morse code.

Sounds hard? No, not really. Just a few simple things will get you well on your way. There are usually three main cravings; salt, sugar, and fat. Just think about your favorite go to foods, the ones that you think you cannot live without. Which craving category does it fall into? For some people it will be just one but for many it is a combination of the three.  Now before you run off to satisfy those cravings, stick with. Let me tell you what your brain and body may be signaling to you.



Sweet cravings.

 

Sweet cravings are often the body saying "I need more vitamins, please send me vitamins"  Fruits are full of vitamins. We learn this before kindergarten.  The body knows this, and when it needs vitamins for building it calls out with a sweet craving signaling us to find fruit.  But what do we reach for, candy, soda, fruit flavored snacks, pie, cake, etc. (The list could be endless).  This satisfies us for a moment, the body takes whatever it can from that but is still in need of vitamins. It sends the signal even stronger. Calling out even louder for fruit by telling us we need something sweet. We heed the call with more sugar foods, and the cycle has begun.  Some of us are so much into the cycle that it is no longer cravings, it is habit. We try to eliminate the habit, and then the craving kicks in. Back and forth until we can't tell habit from craving meanwhile our body is starving for nutrition.

Eat fruit, and the body says oh thank you I have what I need for a while. For some people it can be that simple, feed the body fruit and the cravings go away.  For me it was not quite that simple, Fruit helped a lot, the cravings lessened, but my digestive system was so out of sorts that my body could not extract all the nutrition from the fruit, not to mention that I still had cravings for Salt and fat too.



Salty cravings

Salty cravings often can be your body saying I need more minerals to continue on my work. Please send minerals.  Our body needs  minerals the most common being potassium, magnesium, calcium, chromium and iodine.  We get our minerals from salt, water, bone broth, some fruits, also from the dark green vegetables to name a few places. These are being destroyed to the point that we are not getting the minerals from them.  For example, Softened/filtered water, bullion instead of bone broth, and soil so devoid of nutrients that vegetables grown in this soil is no longer a good source of minerals.

To overcome the  salty cravings, Switch out table salt for sea salt or other less processed salt. Eat more leafy green vegetables making sure they are grown in nutrient rich soil if possible. Drink more pure water. Real bone broth instead of bullion. But the fact is you may need to supplement.  There is good scientific evidence to show that a large percentage of the United States population is mineral deficient and could benefit from mineral supplementation.



Fat cravings

Fat cravings mean the brain has run out of fuel.

Our brains are mostly made of fat. Our brain needs fat. Fat is the main source of fuel that the brain uses to function.  The worst thing you can do for your brain is to feed it a low-fat diet. The second worst thing you can do is to try to fill the void with trans fats or hydrogenated fats. These so called "funny fats"  do not supply the body with the fuel it needs, The body has a real hard time breaking these down into fuel that it can use. It is like filling your car with diesel fuel when it is designed to run off of unleaded.

To overcome fat cravings make your fats natural ones.  Avoid cheap processed foods and get plenty of  fat to fuel your brain. fats like olive oil, coconut oil, real butter, seeds, nuts, and avocado. This may be hard because we have had our brains wired to believe that all fat is bad for us. It took me a while to come around.

The truth is junk food will only fuel the cravings for more junk food. In order to get the physical cravings to stop you need to give your body what it needs.  Vitamins, minerals and fats from sources that it recognizes as food.



I have come a long way in my journey toward good health. It is not always easy and it is hard to make the right choices when you are so confused by the media, and not sure where to turn. I am grateful that I am breaking the cycle of dependency upon junk food. My body feels so much better, and my brain is healing. I still struggle daily. I no longer crave the junk food from a physical standpoint, but I struggle with being addicted to food on an psychological level. I was in that very vicious cycle where I could not tell cravings from habits. Now I am in a place that I can tell the difference.

The cravings are less, but those old habits are hard.  I am working on it. Being a rather large person people often look at me and make judgments about me and my willpower to make good choices. They did not understand that for me  it was not so simple. I had some serious troubles brewing inside of me. Cravings which were real because my body was so broken, became bad habits, which in turn became a real addiction that nearly destroyed me. Getting the cravings under control has given me back the power to change some of those other things. Getting rid of the physical cravings gives me the power to begin the change on a psychological level. I feel that I have a bit more power to heal and get rid of those habits and break this addiction for good. 

I have a long journey ahead of me, but I have the strength to take on that journey now. I am healing. I am making better choices. I am better able to navigate it now that I do not have overbearing strong physical cravings overcoming my judgment. I am free to make the choice of what I eat, not what my body is demanding.

Tune in next time as we continue the discussion  in Junk out, good food in part 3


shared as part of real food Wednesdays

Junk out, good food in. Part 1 the begining

So you want to eat healthy!  Congrats. Now where to go?  Navigating the world of healthy can be such a challenge. You are just getting started and you get bombarded with information. It can be so overwhelming.  The messages go something like this.  "Eat more fruits and veg, but not just any fruits and veg; make sure they are whole, organic, certified, blessed by the chief of______"   "No GMO foods" and you don't even know what a GMO is. Then there are Soy foods.  Some say they are the devil, and some swear they are made in heaven.  There is a an entire list of ingredients to avoid (which varies from person to person).  And this is just the beginning!

You meet up with people doing all these special diets that they swear by, but they don't seem to include foods you recognize.  It seems like everyone has a different opinion about the subject. Eat this, avoid that.  Everyone is willing to give you advice. Everyone is saying something different. It is so overwhelming, but you know you have to do something because what you have been doing is not working. You take it all in. You pump yourself up.  You can do this. You think you have formulated a plan. You have a list of the Do's and Don'ts. You are ready.

You have done it; you have thrown out all you junk food and you are ready to make a big change. You venture out to the grocery store and try to navigate a healthier you, starting with the big banners across some of the packages claiming health benefits. You turn over the package and find it full of those things you are supposed to avoid.  But you are so confused, it says healthy things across the front.  You try your best, but your eyes are beginning to blur, and your brain is boggled by the long list of ingredients you can't pronounce  in some of the "healthy"  products. You end up throwing a few packages of overpriced stuff into your cart (because it might be healthier). Then you stop by the produce section. Upon looking at the price of organic produce you leave without anything because it seems that $5 for an organic apple is too much.

You get home and try to eat that healthy stuff you just bought (which is somewhat tolerable), but not like what you are used to. You tell yourself "but I am getting healthier so it is worth it right?"  A few hours later you are craving your favorite food, but it is not in the house because you threw it out. You end up on a midnight run to the store because you can't stand it anymore. Maybe tomorrow you can try again. You realize that it is tomorrow already and there is nothing in the house that you want eat.  Maybe this healthy thing is not for me.

Your first attempts at getting healthy have been a failure.  It is so confusing to know which way to go. There is so much information out there and everyone seems to disagree as to what is healthy and what is not. Your trip to the grocery store have not been helpful. It seems that everything there entices you to put the wrong things in your cart. You are grumpy and unfulfilled because you have tossed out all your comfort/go to foods. What are you going to do?

Maybe, the answer is in the health food store. It is full of good things.  It will be easy to make good choices there. As soon as you walk in the door you know you have made a mistake. Everyone  is still enticing you to buy their product. Some of these packages have even more health claims on the labels than the grocery store. The trouble is; you don't even know what half the products are. You look around trying to find something familiar to grasp too. All your favorite brands are not here, they are replaced with products heralding healthy sounding names. You find a few things that sound good, toss them in your basket and move on to the produce isle.  You find a bit of organic fruit that looks pretty good plus it is on sale, so it is a bit more of a tolerable price.

Now, if only you can remember the name of that "stuff " the Doctor on TV or your friend told you about. You find it, but now you are thinking, "What am I supposed to do with this?"  You toss it into your basket and head to the checkout. At the checkout you chat briefly with the cashier asking them what to do with that "stuff" you just bought. They give you some suggestions (most of which you understand), you nod your head and out the door you go.

Now you are home and staring at the stuff you bought.  You decide to enjoy the fruit you purchased. It tastes just like the other fruit that you have bought on occasion. You think to yourself, "What is the big deal, I can't tell a difference."  Later that evening you decide to cook that "stuff" that you hear is so healthy.  You remember what the cashier said and attempt to cook it.  When it is done, you timidly try it. Maybe its not so bad, but I miss my ________. (fill in your own blank). You begin thinking about it and your mouth starts to water.  Now your heart is racing and you think that you have to get it.  It is looking like another late night run to the store for that favorite food. You have a choice to make.  Do you go on trying to get healthy, or do you give into your cravings and go back to what you know?

Tune in next week as we explore the world of Junk out, good food in part 2