How well do you know your food?

When someone doesn’t know where to start with their health journey, I tell them to start with their diet. One of the best things you can do for your health is make it a habit to check the ingredients in your food. While ultra processed food is now linked to many diseases (finally being confirmed by multiple studies), it’s more important than ever to understand what is in your food and how it affects your body and your health. The best course of action would be to eliminate all processed food, but in being realistic it’s understandable that sometimes we reach for that quick option. So, it’s best to understand what to look for. Ultra processed food defined by Harvard Medical School: “They most likely have many added ingredients such as sugar, salt, fat, and artificial colors or preservatives. Ultra processed foods are made mostly from substances extracted from foods, such as fats, starches, added sugars, and hydrogenated fats. They may also contain additives like artificial colors and flavors or stabilizers.” Unfortunately these types of “foods” are hardly food anymore and the regulations are quite loose in the U.S. compared to other countries. Processed food does vary- for example, a more natural form of food would be corn; minimally processed would be canned corn; the ultra processed form would be a bag of corn chips. Minimally processed is always a much better option than ultra processed. The way most people check a nutrition label is to scan the number of calories, sugar, sodium, etc.. This is slightly outdated because not all calories are considered equal. While it’s still good to check these numbers when you’re trying to reach health goals, it’s equally important to check the ingredients. Now, it’s much easier to just eat an apple because it has one ingredient.. apple. However, if you are instead eating applesauce then you need to pay attention to the ingredients list since it’s a processed food vs the food item in whole form. Food companies didn’t used to be required to post ingredient lists so we have come a long way now that they are required, but we still have to look at why certain ingredients are even allowed in food now that more studies are done to determine they are harmful such as artificial dyes. You hold the power in your choice. Get in the habit of checking the ingredients list and if there are too many words you can’t pronounce or don’t know what it is, it’s probably a good idea to stay away from it. Look for hidden sugars and inflammatory oils added into processed food because these are “secret” causes of weight gain and inflammation. Cooking at home using whole foods is always going to be the best for you. When you eat at a restaurant you lose that control of knowing exactly what’s in your food. Food can be medicine. If it’s not benefiting you (and is in fact harming you) don’t put it in your body. Our bodies work hard for us, keeping us alive and we owe it to ourselves to show some love by how we fuel it! The food we eat speaks to the cells in our body, giving them instructions and telling them how to behave. Make sure you are giving your cells the best instructions because your future and the way you look, feel and act depend on it.  -CS