Table of contents:
- What are processed foods?
- Why is processed food bad for health?
- Usually contains high sugar
- Contains high salt
- Contains high fat
- Many are low in nutrition
- Tends to be low in fiber
- Contains artificial ingredients
- How is it a healthier way to eat processed food?
Nowadays, you can easily find processed foods. When walking to a supermarket or minimarket, you will find a lot of processed food in packs. You also often buy them. But, actually consuming too much processed food is not good for your health. What is the reason?
What are processed foods?
Processed food is food that has gone through certain processes, such as heating, drying, canning, freezing, packaging, and so on. This process is deliberately carried out on food with a specific purpose. For example, so that more nutrients in food, tastier food, longer lasting food, and so on.
With these various purposes, it means that not all processed foods are bad choices. Some foods do need to be processed to make them safer to eat. For example, heating the milk to kill the harmful bacteria in it.
Why is processed food bad for health?
Food that is processed and goes through a long process is actually not harmful, but it can also be said to be detrimental to health if it is eaten too much or too often. Why? The content in processed food can usually be detrimental to health if too much of it enters the body.
The following are the reasons why most processed foods are said to be bad for health:
Sugar levels that are too high in the body, of course, can be detrimental to your health. Sugar can increase the calories that enter the body, causing weight gain. High sugar levels in the blood can also lead to diabetes.
Any preserved food must contain high salt (sodium). Whether to add flavor, for preservation purposes, or other purposes. This is certainly not good for health, considering the need for salt we (adults) every day is only 6 grams (1 teaspoon). Too much salt that enters our body can cause hypertension.
Apart from high sugar and salt, processed foods usually also contain high levels of bad fats. Too much bad fat in the body can increase the risk of oxidation and inflammation in the body. In addition, it is also at risk of developing heart disease.
In some cases, foods that are long processed have low nutrient content so synthetic vitamins and minerals are added to replace the lost nutrients. However, these synthetic vitamins and minerals are certainly no better than the nutrients naturally contained in unprocessed foods. So, the nutrients you get from processed foods can be less than what you get from natural, unprocessed foods.
In fact, fiber is needed by our bodies. Fiber can smooth your digestive system, so you avoid digestive problems, such as constipation. Fiber is also used as food for the good bacteria in the intestine. By eating fiber, you also feel fuller, so you don't have too many calories to enter your body every day.
Have you ever read the ingredients in processed food? Do you understand what is meant there? Most people may not understand this because these ingredients are artificial chemicals that are added to food for a specific purpose.
How is it a healthier way to eat processed food?
Indeed, to get rid of dependence on processed foods is very difficult in this day and age. These foods make our lives much more practical. However, that doesn't mean you can go around eating processed foods. If you want a healthier life, you should do the following tips for eating processed foods.
- Not eating processed foods in packaging too often
- Read the nutritional value information labels before eating processed foods, pay close attention to their sugar, salt (sodium) and fat content
- Pay attention to the expiration date before buying processed food
- Don't forget to eat vegetables, you can combine them with processed foods
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