by Anna Hunt, Awareness Junkie
To many people, news and research about the positive effects of superfoods are sufficient motivation to eat healthy. Yet, sometimes we need a stark reminder of the dangers of processed foods to stay on track with our diet goals.
When you go into the grocery story, an overwhelming majority of the foods sold have been altered form their natural state. Typically, this is done to make things more convenient for the consumer.
One can categorize processed foods into groups. First, there are minimally and semi-processed foods. These include frozen vegetables, fruit juice, roasted nuts, white rice, etc. These are typically very similar to natural foods and are most-often an acceptable part of a healthy diet.
The second category are ultra-processed foods. In this category, producers use chemicals, food additives, nitrates, salts, food dyes, etc. in the production of food products. Five of the most-commonly eaten foods in the U.S. are all ultra-processed: sugary soft drinks, cakes and pastries, burgers, pizza, and chips.
Below are three pieces of recent research that emphasize what might happen when your diet consists of too many of these ultra-processed and chemical-ridden foods.
