3 Reasons for Saying No to Processed Foods and Yes to Losing Weight
For many people, processed foods have become a basic food group. The reason behind this new reality is that it’s harder and harder to buy groceries that don’t include these products. However, eating healthily and following a diet that’s full of natural food is possible. If you don’t agree, keep reading! Below we will explain the reasons why you should start saying no to processed foods, and yes to losing weight.
1. Processed foods fill the body with too much sugar
Processed foods contain added sugars. In other words, manufacturers add more sugar to the levels that the food product naturally contains. Consequently, the result is much more appetizing, and is addictive for consumers.
Although today we’re focusing more on the relationship between processed foods and weight loss, we’d like to mention that too much sugar can also lead to dangers that go beyond being overweight or suffering from obesity. Some of those dangers include diabetes, high-blood pressure and even kidney failure.
Processed foods that have the highest amounts of sugar are often drinks. Just one can of soda could contain more than half of the daily recommended sugar intake amount. It’s the same case for many juices. The actual fruit content of juices is quite low– sometimes not even amounting to 40 percent of the product– while sugar, on the other hand, is abundant.
Thus, we suggest making your own juices at home. In addition to not containing excessive sugar levels, a homemade juice will retain all of the vitamins because it’s freshly squeezed. Here are some recipes to help you get started today.
As for soft drinks, we recommend cutting them out of your diet in small steps. Substitute them with juices or teas. They’re much healthier options and they also taste great. In addition, they’ll help you lose weight.
2. Processed foods increase your risk of obesity
Why do we consume more and more processed foods? It could be because they don’t require any preparation time, making for a quick meal. Or maybe it’s because we like how they taste. But there’s a third, lesser-known reason: processed foods are highly addictive.
When we eat processed foods, we want more because they don’t keep us feeling full and we become hungry again after a short period of time.
This pattern of eating too many processed foods leads to cases of high body weight or obesity. The problem that this presents is far more serious than aesthetics; it can cause many health problems. Some of these problems include a higher risk of suffering from a heart attack, bone and joint problems or sleep apnea.
As we have mentioned above, the reasons to stop eating processed foods run much deeper than showing off a healthy body. We’re talking about having a better quality of life and a body that’s in shape and able to fight illnesses.
3. Low nutrient content
The third reason to say no to processed foods and yes to losing weight lies in the poor nutrient content that processed foods offer. When the body consumes these kinds of products, it mainly absorbs unhealthy fats and sugars. If this wasn’t bad enough, they don’t contain any kind of vitamins, fiber, protein or minerals.
When we’re hungry and turn to processed foods, the only thing that we end up doing, is filling our bodies with empty nutrients, void of any kind of health benefit. In other words, we’re losing a chance to give our body healthy foods such as a healthy snack or these healthy dinners. Take a look at the links and discover other, much healthier ways to eat, that will also help you to lose weight.
After reading our reasons for saying no to processed foods and yes to losing weight, we have one more piece of advice to share with you. Don’t eliminate them all at once. Cut them out progressively, giving your body time to get used to a healthier diet. Keep on eliminating them until your diet is more or less free from processed foods.