From Mrs. Cog's Corner

Every day more evidence comes to light that most aspects of "processed" food are unhealthy. From toxic packaging to manufactured ingredients that our bodies reject, there is no way to fully understand the potentially harmful effects of consuming artificial chemicals with and in our food. But it is not looking "good".

This article elaborates on 9 ways processed foods are slowly killing people. The citations for clinical studies within the piece are quite thorough. In addition, another recent publication on the worst ingredients in processed foods can be found here.

In my opinion the most alarming piece of information that relates to processed foods is that many people are starving themselves into obesity. It turns out that when you eat processed foods lacking in nutritional value, your body actually requires even more nutrition to metabolize what you just ate. The more you give it, the more it needs. (Sounds rather like quantitative easing, no?)

The solution, of course, is to eat real foods. There is a clever adage that advises us to stay away from the center isles of the grocery store. Along the edges you will find fresh produce, meats and dairy. Here is a handy guide to avoid eating processed foods.

Further reading:

A recently published list of foods banned in countries outside the U.S. has riled the plates of many in the food industry. http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/Food/11-foods-banned-us/story?id=19457237

Processed foods are an illusion, often appearing to be healthy (with claims like low fat, low carb, vitamin fortified, no trans fat, contains omega-3s, etc.) when these foods are in fact the very thing making a lot of Americans unhealthy, sick, and fat.  http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/10-reasons-to-cut-out-processed-food/

Junk foods at fast food restaurants as well as processed foods at grocery retailers represent the largest sources of sodium intake from refined salts. The Canadian Medical Association Journal sent out an international team of researchers to compare the salt content of 2,124 items from fast food establishments such as Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Subway. http://www.trueactivist.com/scientists-officially-link-processed-foods-to-autoimmune-disease/

Resisting the urge to drink that soda pop or eat those chips can be tough, especially if you have grown accustomed to eating these highly addictive foods as part of your normal diet. But once you understand a little bit more about how these and other processed foods affect your mind, body, and even your soul, it becomes easier to make healthier food choices that enrich your being rather than sap it. Here are nine motivating reasons why you should cut processed foods from your diet for good. http://www.naturalnews.com/039743_processed_foods_eating_reasons.html

Overweight people more often than not suffer from gross malnutrition because the nutritional values of the basic foods available to us have been steadily dropping for the last 50 years even as toxic exposures increase. Obese people tend to eat too many processed white foods with the fiber removed along with many of the vitamins and minerals. Not enough fiber is another common problem with the obese. http://www.naturalnews.com/033376_starvation_obesity.html

While there's no single definition of clean eating, the general principle behind the movement is to eat the purest, most natural foods possible. In other words, it's about eating unprocessed foods, which helps your body run more efficiently. http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/fitness/getmovingblog/2014/01/tips_to_clean_eating_in_an_over-processed_world_1.html

Processed food NOT fat is the real cause of heart disease, claims heart surgeon who says a diet of natural food can even reverse the illness. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2548066/Heart-surgeon-confesses-processed-food-slowly-killing-natural-food-answer.html

Eating too many processed foods with high sodium levels contributed to 2.3 million deaths from heart attacks, strokes and other heart-related diseases throughout the world in 2010, representing 15 percent of all deaths due to these causes, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions. http://www.trueactivist.com/processed-foods-cause-2-million-heart-related-deaths-worldwide/