In your neighborhood grocery store, there are thousands of food products filling the shelves that brands convince you are real food. These boxes on the shelves are not food at all, they are food-like products.
Food is meant to keep our body and mind healthy. However, processed foods do the opposite. Our bodies use the food we eat to compose cells, bone marrow, hormones and blood in the body. If we eat foods with low nutrient content, our body will not be able to replace the billions of cells our bodies lose every day. With billions of cells constantly needing to be replaced to build ourselves strong and healthy, do we really want to feed it garbage like processed foods? They are empty foods that will leave our bodies fatigued and malnourished.
Processed foods are injected with chemicals, additives and flavorings which trick your body into thinking it wants more, and soon enough you find yourself at the bottom of a bag of Ruffles and an unsettling feeling in your stomach. The flavoring and additives overly stimulates the appetite center in a part of the brain and causes us to eat more than we actually need, resulting in unnecessary caloric intake, skin breakouts and distress in your digestion, says David Katz in his article, "The Case for Natural Foods."
These products contain high amounts of empty calories that do not eliminate hunger, but increase it. Compare one hundred calories worth of chips to one hundred calories of fruit. What do you get from chips? Unhealthy fats and a short energy burst, then fatigue. When you eat an apple, you’re feeding your body healthy sugars, lots of fiber, and lasting energy. Processed food like chips are no longer substantial food.
Small changes in your diet can vastly improve your health. For example, bread is a common food that many of us eat, and often we choose between white or wheat. White bread has been stripped of all its nutrients and minerals, everything that keeps your body functioning. However, wheat bread is full of fiber and nutrients that will supply your body with the materials it needs to create healthy cells, building a healthy body and mind.
Our bodies are not starving from food – they are starving from lack of nutrients. These products have a high ratio of calories to nutrients, thus depriving our bodies of essential vitamins and minerals that we need to be strong and healthy. Choose to eat natural, whole foods that will nourish your body instead of diminishing your health. Hunger is a chance to nourish your body, instead of punishing it with chemically enhanced products.
Instead of chips, grab a banana.
Instead of a Snickers bar, try a Cliff bar.
Even that freezer meal from the grocery store can be substituted with chilled meals from the "grab and go" section.
Stop harming your body with these food-like products, and feed your body with food it needs to start living a healthier and happier life.
