The Effect of Processed Food in Human Health.

 

The effect of processed food in human health, Frozen pizza, processed cookies and snacks, breakfast bars, yogurt-in-a-tube and canned soups are all convenient, ubiquitous and very bad for your health by almost every measure -- salt, fat, fiber, cholesterol and calories. Moreover, many American eat processed foods at the expense of more nutrient-dense and healthy real foods. It's hard to avoid these "edible food like substances, calls them, but doing so will benefit your health.

Processed Foods

 

 Pollan recommends that you eat real food and avoid as many of the 17,000 new processed products come on the market each year as you can. Specifically, Pollan suggests avoiding "anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food," any food with sugar listed in the top three ingredients, any products with ingredients you can't pronounce and any food that arrives "through the window of your car." Pollan promotes "foods that will eventually rot," foods easy to picture growing or in their raw state, and foods on the outside aisles of the grocery.

 Much Salt

An estimated 80 percent of the salt eaten by Americans comes from processed foods or foods eaten in restaurants according to Mayo Clinic's Dr. Gary Schwartz, M.D., a specialist in hypertension. Schwartz says that the amounts many Americans eat are two to three times the 1,500 mg per day amount recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Excess salt causes heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.

 Much Fiber

Food manufacturers use while, refined flour in their products because it has a longer shelf life, it bakes more easily and consumers prefer its softer texture, according to Marion Nestle, author of "What to Eat." She explains that enrichment replaces some of the nutrients lost in processing, but not all of them. But the more serious consequence of processed flour is a loss of fiber and the health benefits it provides. According to nutritionists at the University of California Davis, fiber helps your bowels function normally, reduces your cholesterol, prevents obesity by keeping you full, controls your blood sugar levels and keeps them from spiking and may reduce your risk for some cancers.

Trans-fats

Trans-fats are those fats formed during food processing that help foods keep a long shelf life. The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 note that studies have found links between increased levels of trans-fats and an increased risk for heart disease. Look for the words "partially hydrogenated" on labels, which indicates that the product contains trans-fats.