What is wrong with processed food?

Mainstream opinion has given us the impression that processed foods in ‘moderation’ are an acceptable part of one’s diet and that no real harm will come of it.  However, to perform its huge array of internal functions, the body requires certain high-quality nutrients which it only gets from whole, unprocessed foods.

In an ideal world (without the overt influence of mainstream media and various social pressures), people would be far more intuitive about their food choices.  They would lean toward foods that provide the nutrients their bodies need in that particular moment, instead of those that simply taste nice.

The fact of the matter is that we are – in the modern world – a far cry from living and eating healthily, in the true sense of the world.

Dead food

Processed food is effectively ‘dead’ food because it delivers little of value to the body.  You may notice that many of these foods have ‘added vitamins and minerals’ advertised on the packaging.  These ‘nutrients’ are usually synthetic (created in a laboratory) and are added after the (now nutrient-devoid) food is processed.

As long as we continue to put into our bodies foods that are molecularly altered (processed), we’ll never achieve the great bodies and long-term health objectives we desire.

What are your options?

Instead of bread, choose wholegrain brown rice to create great packed lunches, together with chopped boiled eggs/chicken/lamb/beef/beans, olive oil, salt and pepper.

As an alternative to box cereals choose rolled oats, leftovers or a homemade smoothie (blend banana, a little flax seed oil, cinnamon, plain yoghurt, nuts and seeds).

Healthy snacks could be avocado, raw vegetables and humus, a few boiled eggs, a leftover chicken leg or some nuts and a small amount of fruit.

Include as much raw food as you comfortably can – particularly before eating anything cooked, as this will supply your body with the much-needed enzymes it requires for digestion.

Eating more healthfully does not mean a world without chocolate, coffee and alcohol! It simply means less of it.

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Tanya Wyatt

Owner at The Happy Body

Tanya started out as a professional ballet dancer. Swopping her pointe shoes for takkies, she decided being a hip hop dancer was way cooler, so chopped off her bun and joined a street dance company. For many years, she also taught dance and fitness classes in Cape Town before deciding that nutrition and lifestyle coaching was the way to help people change their state of health for the better. So, while writing two health and fitness books, she moved to London to study and began her ‘real life’ – that as a health and lifestyle coach. She’s been in private practice for 10 years now, is a mom of a 7-year old pig-tailed ball of energy, writes for various national and local health publications and is a health presenter when the occasion arises. Oh – and once a dancer, always a dancer – she’s also taken up ballet pole dancing 🙂 Click here to contact Tanya.

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