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If you are going to do one thing for your health in 2020, do this.

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Eat less processed foods. There you have it.

Most of you have heard me talk about processed foods before. Their detriment cannot be overstated.

There are so many health problems associated with eating processed food.

One study found that eating processed foods lead to an early death. The following is a list of health issues that have been linked to eating processed foods and foods rich in sugar:

  • Unbalanced microbiome
  • Leaky gut
  • Inflammation
  • Heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Stroke
  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Dementia
  • Hypertension
  • Dyslipidemia
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Aging
  • Brain health
  • ADHD
  • Anxiety
  • Mood swings
  • Cancers
  • Sleep apnea
  • Gallbladder disease
  • Liver disease
  • Gynecological problems such as infertility
  • Kidney disease
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue
  • Cataracts
  • Arthritis
  • Rash/eczema in children
  • Gallstones
  • Hemorrhoids
  • An increase in reactive oxygen species, in turn damaging cells and tissues
  • A reduction in high-density lipoproteins – the good cholesterol!
  • Interference with ability to absorb calcium and magnesium
  • An over-acidic digestive tract
  • A decrease growth hormone in the body – problematic for growing children
  • Increased likelihood of development of food allergies
  • Decreased testosterone production
  • Can cause exacerbation of acne
  • Can cause free radical and oxidative stress
  • Slow function of adrenal glands

The following are the health issues that can be prevented, treated, or improved by eating unprocessed whole foods:

  • Microbiome imbalance
  • All GI disease (IBS, IBD, GERD)
  • Heart disease
  • Obesity
  • Cellulite
  • Waist circumference
  • Abdominal fat
  • Diabetes
  • Mood
  • Cognition and brain function
  • ADHD
  • Autism
  • Dementia
  • Menopause
  • Hiatal hernia
  • Kidney stones
  • Cataracts
  • Arthritis
  • Rash/eczema in children
  • Gallstones
  • Hemorrhoids
  • An increase in reactive oxygen species, in turn damaging cells and tissues
  • A reduction in high-density lipoproteins – the good cholesterol!
  • Interference with ability to absorb calcium and magnesium
  • An over-acidic digestive tract
  • A decrease growth hormone in the body – problematic for growing children
  • Increased likelihood of development of food allergies
  • Decreased testosterone production
  • Can cause exacerbation of acne
  • Can cause free radical and oxidative stress
  • Slow function of adrenal glands
  • Gallstones
  • Inflammation
  • Cancer
  • Cataracts
  • Arthritis
  • Diverticulosis
  • Vaginal infections
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Age-related macular degeneration
  • Body odor
  • Aging
  • Acne
  • Allergies
  • High cholesterol
  • High blood pressure
  • Eczema
  • Menstrual breast pain
  • Oral health

These lists were first published in my eBook.

Why are processed foods so bad? 

Three reasons, and each are associated with the health issues above (in the first list):

  1. Sugar
  2. Processed starches, refined flours
  3. Vegetable oils that are high in pro-inflammatory omega-6s

How to eat more whole foods and less processed foods? 

  • Drink more water and less soda, juice, or coffee “drinks”
  • Eat more potatoes and whole grains (rice, quinoa) and less breads, cereals, and pasta
  • Make your own salad dressing with olive oil and eat less store bought salad dressings (made with vegetable oils)
  • Cook fresh whole foods (chicken, potatoes, broccoli) at home and eat less take out (pizza, chinese, etc)
  • Have fruit handy to avoid going to the vending machine when you need a snack.
  • Find minimally processed foods as options

Would you like more ideas on how to eat whole foods? If so, email me and let me know or write in the comments below!

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How to choose processed food

What Are the Best Choices in Processed Food?

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I talk about eating whole foods (foods in their real or natural unaltered form) a lot, but most of us can’t do that 100% of the time!

I mean let’s face it. It isn’t realistic to expect yourself to never ever eat a processed or packaged food again.

Bread, crackers, pasta, or cookies are processed foods. Anything out of a bag or box or factory (vs the earth) is processed. The goal is to have whole foods as the norm, and processed food more infrequently.

When you do have processed foods, try to make sure that they are made with whole food ingredients.

But, how do you know?

Let’s compare a few common examples!

Below, I have compared two of each of the following: bread, ice cream, crackers. These are true ingredient lists from real products in your grocery store. These are popular successful-selling brands of these products. I have left out the names of the products (don’t want to get in trouble) but I assure you the ingredient lists have not been altered in any way.

Bread:

Whole food ingredients:

Example One:

Whole Grain Spelt flour, water, sea salt.

Example Two:

Organic Sprouted Wheat, Filtered Water, Organic Sprouted Barley, Organic Sprouted Millet, Organic Malted Barley, Organic Sprouted Lentils, Organic Sprouted Soybeans, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Fresh Yeast, Organic Wheat Gluten, Sea Salt.

Versus:

Processed and unrecognizable ingredients:

Example 1:

Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, contains 2% or less of each of the following: calcium carbonate, soybean oil, wheat gluten, salt, dough conditioners (contains one or more of the following: sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium stearoyl lactylate, monoglycerides, mono- and diglycerides, azodicarbonamide, enzymes, ascorbic acid), vinegar, monocalcium phosphate, yeast extract, modified corn starch, sucrose, sugar, soy lecithin, cholecalciferol (vitamin d3), soy flour, ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate, calcium propionate (to retard spoilage).

Example 2:

Enriched wheat flour [flour, malted barley flour, reduced iron, niacin, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin b1), riboflavin (vitamin b2), folic acid], water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, soybean oil, salt, wheat gluten, calcium propionate (preservative), monoglycerides, datem, calcium sulfate, soy lecithin, citric acid, potassium iodate, monocalcium phosphate, cornstarch, calcium phosphate.

Ice cream:

Whole food ingredient example:

Cream, skim milk, cane sugar, egg yolks, vanilla extract.

Processed example:

Milk, Cream, Corn Syrup, Skim Milk, Sugar, Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey, Buttermilk, Vanilla Extract, Guar Gum, Mono And Diglycerides, Xanthan Gum, Carrageenan, Annatto Extract And Turmeric (For Color).

Crackers:

Whole food example:

Whole wheat, oil, and salt

Processed example:

Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), soybean oil, sugar, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, salt, leavening, high fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, malted barley flour, natural flavor.

In conclusion, with a bit of research and label reading you can ensure you are getting the most whole foods, and a minimal amount of processed foods in your diet as possible!

What happens to the body in times of stress?

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Cortisol and adrenaline are released by the adrenal gland in times of stress. These hormones perform a variety of functions to prepare the body to cope with perceived threats. These hormones have a vital role to serve, but you don’t want them in your system long term. The problem is that we experience a trauma, the “threats” and therefore stress response tend to be constant and ongoing. This causes the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your system to be chronically elevated.

When cortisol and adrenaline are elevated, all hell breaks loose in the body.

  • Digestion is inhibited. All the important digestive juices like stomach acid and enzymes are prevented from being released. When that happens, you can’t digest your food. The undigested food continues down the tract, where it feeds the microbes instead of you, causing an imbalance of gut bacteria (more below). As a result, you get bloated and you have indigestion.
  • Cortisol creates an unhealthy environment in the gut. Besides the digestion inhibition, stress actually feeds the bad bacteria in your gut, injures the lining of the intestinal wall, and increases inflammation. These three things are the root cause of all gut issues as well as most other health diagnoses in the entire body.
  • Cortisol suppresses the immune system, so your body has more difficulty fighting off germs. You will get sick more.
  • Cortisol also interferes with sleep.
  • Cortisol is made from the same building blocks in the body as other hormones. If the adrenal gland needs to keep producing more and more cortisol, it will steal the building blocks from other hormones. So, your thyroid hormones and sex hormones will be low. This can lead to fatigue, weight gain, digestive problems, hair loss, loss of sex drive, disruption of menses, and more.
  • High stress, imbalanced hormones, and gut issues all affect the brain. Mood and cognition will suffer.
  • High stress hormones disrupt your blood sugar leading to cycles of sugar craving and crashes, fatigue, and weight gain or loss.
  • After a period of heightened stress, the adrenals are fatigued, and can’t produce sufficient cortisol. Low cortisol levels lead to a (now familiar) host of problems, such as gut troubles and fatigue. This is sometimes termed “adrenal fatigue” but the more scientific name is HPA Axis dysfunction.

 

What can be done?

There are many treatments and things to combat all this harm to the body. A few are described below:

  • Eat a whole foods diet. Cut the sugar and processed foods. Processed foods come from a factory, box, or bag. Eat nutrient dense real foods that come from an animal or the earth. A sweet potato, an apple, or a piece of chicken are all whole foods.
  • Eat regularly. Do not skip meals which puts stress on the body.
  • Take a high-quality multivitamin. Other supplements can help too. Examples would be a B complex, fish oil, Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Phosphatiylserine, Magnesium Glycinate, Passionflower, or Probiotics. It is always recommended to be under the care of a supplement expert to know what is right for you.
  • Prioritize sleep.
  • Deep breathing or meditation.
  • Get sunlight and fresh air every day.

For more on this topic and others like it, check out my eBook.

Why all the confusion?

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Why is there so much confusion over nutrition?

Here is a comprehensive article about the various factors that interplay to cause this confusion. The ‘health industry’ (trying to sell you something you ‘need’), the government, the media, and our own psychology.

“At the end of the day, the reason why there’s so much confusion is because there’s too much to be gained by keeping us all confused and looking for guidance. Similarly, the fact that nutrition and health science is difficult and slow doesn’t engender much faith from a quick-fix addicted public.”

“Natural foods are what’s healthy, nutrients and the controversies they cause are what keeps research dollars flowing and flip-flops popping up every couple weeks. It’s important to get nutrients, but it’s wise to get them mostly through food, and only after that supplement what you need in a very targeted manner.”

http://lifehacker.com/why-theres-so-much-confusion-over-nutrition-and-fitness-1572870867/all