Processed Foods (Long)

Hannah_Banana

So I was thinking recently about my own person experience with processed food versus 'real.' food. I spent a year on the south island of New Zealand in a small farm community (Waimate/Timaru area for those familiar with it). In their grocery stores, most of the produce came from the farms in the area. That’s right, it wasn't shipped in, it was plucked from the ground, driven a couple miles and placed in produce bins. I found this out when I was sifting through lettuce one time and there was still a tiny live slug on it. :noway:

In New Zealand, their processed foods mainly come from (where else?) America, and you can bet they aren't cheap! A can of Pringles is easily $3.50.

Something else interesting about South Islanders is they eat, a lot, and all the time. Anyone ever seen Lord of the Rings? You know, second breakfast, 11sies, etc... that’s all very real. And we aren't talking about light snacks, they will have a big breakfast, morning tea will be a few scones, fruit, and then so forth throughout the day. They break constantly for eating - but overall they are a very healthy nation in comparison to the US.

While I was there I lost 30lbs without even realizing it (have since regained) and I didn't eat very differently, was no more or less active. What was different was not the food, but what was IN the food. You know that kind of nauseas swirly feeling in your stomach after you eat a bag of cheetos? Think about the following:

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Below is taken from a sixwise newsletter:

Americans get processed food not only from fast-food restaurants but also from their neighborhood grocery stores. As it stands, about 90 percent of the money that Americans spend on food is used to buy--that's right--processed foods.

Think about it ... if it comes in a box, can, bag or carton, it's processed. The fact that these foods are so readily available, and, often, of such poor quality, has led some, like associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard David Ludwig, to say that they're actually discouraging healthy eating and leading to a "toxic environment."

"There's the incessant advertising and marketing of the poorest quality foods imaginable. To address this epidemic, you'd want to make healthful foods widely available, inexpensive, and convenient, and unhealthful foods relatively less so. Instead, we've done the opposite," says Ludwig.

Processed foods have, indeed, been implicated in a host of chronic diseases and health conditions that are currently plaguing the nation. What follows is just a taste of the risks processed foods may present to your health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says processed foods are to blame for the sharp rise in obesity (and chronic disease) seen around the world.

In one study by Ludwig and colleagues, children who ate processed fast foods in a restaurant ate 126 more calories than on days they did not. Over the course of a year, this could translate into 13 pounds of weight gain just from fast food.

"The food industry would love to explain obesity as a problem of personal responsibility, since it takes the onus off them for marketing fast food, soft drinks, and other high-calorie, low-quality products," Ludwig says.

However, "When you have calories that are incredibly cheap, in a culture where 'bigger is better,' that's a dangerous combination," says Walter Willett, M.D., D.P.H., professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Hannah_Banana

So I was thinking recently about my own person experience with processed food versus 'real.' food. I spent a year on the south island of New Zealand in a small farm community (Waimate/Timaru area for those familiar with it). In their grocery stores, most of the produce came from the farms in the area. That’s right, it wasn't shipped in, it was plucked from the ground, driven a couple miles and placed in produce bins. I found this out when I was sifting through lettuce one time and there was still a tiny live slug on it. :noway:

In New Zealand, their processed foods mainly come from (where else?) America, and you can bet they aren't cheap! A can of Pringles is easily $3.50.

Something else interesting about South Islanders is they eat, a lot, and all the time. Anyone ever seen Lord of the Rings? You know, second breakfast, 11sies, etc... that’s all very real. And we aren't talking about light snacks, they will have a big breakfast, morning tea will be a few scones, fruit, and then so forth throughout the day. They break constantly for eating - but overall they are a very healthy nation in comparison to the US.

While I was there I lost 30lbs without even realizing it (have since regained) and I didn't eat very differently, was no more or less active. What was different was not the food, but what was IN the food. You know that kind of nauseas swirly feeling in your stomach after you eat a bag of cheetos? Think about the following:

---

Below is taken from a sixwise newsletter:

Americans get processed food not only from fast-food restaurants but also from their neighborhood grocery stores. As it stands, about 90 percent of the money that Americans spend on food is used to buy--that's right--processed foods.

Think about it ... if it comes in a box, can, bag or carton, it's processed. The fact that these foods are so readily available, and, often, of such poor quality, has led some, like associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard David Ludwig, to say that they're actually discouraging healthy eating and leading to a "toxic environment."

"There's the incessant advertising and marketing of the poorest quality foods imaginable. To address this epidemic, you'd want to make healthful foods widely available, inexpensive, and convenient, and unhealthful foods relatively less so. Instead, we've done the opposite," says Ludwig.

Processed foods have, indeed, been implicated in a host of chronic diseases and health conditions that are currently plaguing the nation. What follows is just a taste of the risks processed foods may present to your health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says processed foods are to blame for the sharp rise in obesity (and chronic disease) seen around the world.

In one study by Ludwig and colleagues, children who ate processed fast foods in a restaurant ate 126 more calories than on days they did not. Over the course of a year, this could translate into 13 pounds of weight gain just from fast food.

"The food industry would love to explain obesity as a problem of personal responsibility, since it takes the onus off them for marketing fast food, soft drinks, and other high-calorie, low-quality products," Ludwig says.

However, "When you have calories that are incredibly cheap, in a culture where 'bigger is better,' that's a dangerous combination," says Walter Willett, M.D., D.P.H., professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Fitness_Chick

allenhm

Very cool you shared this!:flowerforyou: Excellent article and loved hearing about your adventures living in New Zealand.

Yup it's what's IN the foods we eat...and ohh so true, the more processed the more pkg-ing goes into the trash can.:noway:

Better to by whole clean foods knowing you're eating the food and don't have to add to the landfills as much.

Thanks again,
FC