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Natural foods are best for healthy diet and nutrition. Before you even consider how much food to eat or what choices to make, it is more important to make sure that all those choices come from the category of foods that are whole, unprocessed, and do not have sodium or artificial ingredients added.
Whole Foods
A wide degree of variation exists in the levels of processing different foods undergo. For some foods, processing can be as simple as cutting it into pieces, such as bagged salad mixes. Some people do not realize that when the lettuce and other vegetables are cut ahead of time, many nutrients are lost through oxidation as it sits in the bag. It is much better to buy the vegetables whole, cut them up yourself, and eat them immediately. Freezing is a similar type of processing that many people do not consider harmful. Freezing does preserve freshness and texture in most cases, but when you eat the food in its whole, fresh form, you get the most good from it.
No Refined Carbohydrates
Just cutting up fruits and vegetables is processing, but some foods are processed on a grander scale. Sugars and flours are often so refined that they do not even resemble the food product they come from in the first place. What is more, the refining and concentrating of sugar makes it more likely that people will overeat. For example, it is much easier to eat one candy bar very quickly without getting full than to eat several apples in their natural state. Yet, it is the apples that have nutrients; the only thing sugar has to offer is empty calories.
Low Sodium
When foods are being processed, sodium is frequently added - sometimes large amounts of it. It is common knowledge that too much sodium can cause many health problems, especially contributing to high blood pressure. Yet, people are often careless about the amount of sodium the take in from processed foods. If you analyze boxed dinners, canned vegetables and soups, and canned sodas, you will find the sodium contents too high for good diet and nutrition.
Natural Ingredients
There is such a push for artificial ingredients in current times that these substances have even become a selling point for the products that contain them. Diet sodas advertise that they have the latest artificial sweetener, for example.
A company might claim that its canned fruit juice tastes just like you picked it that morning and squeezed it yourself, when what they are really saying is that they added artificial flavorings to replace the delicious natural taste that was lost in processing. Natural sweeteners, flavors, and colors do not contribute to good diet and nutrition. In fact, people who eat foods that are free of these chemicals are healthier over the years.
Natural foods that are whole, unprocessed, unrefined, and have no added sodium or artificial ingredients are healthy foods to eat. It is simple enough to say that food should be eaten in its natural state, but a little harder to find food that fits that description. However, if you are committed to getting healthy, it is a small task to accomplish.
Whole Foods
A wide degree of variation exists in the levels of processing different foods undergo. For some foods, processing can be as simple as cutting it into pieces, such as bagged salad mixes. Some people do not realize that when the lettuce and other vegetables are cut ahead of time, many nutrients are lost through oxidation as it sits in the bag. It is much better to buy the vegetables whole, cut them up yourself, and eat them immediately. Freezing is a similar type of processing that many people do not consider harmful. Freezing does preserve freshness and texture in most cases, but when you eat the food in its whole, fresh form, you get the most good from it.
No Refined Carbohydrates
Just cutting up fruits and vegetables is processing, but some foods are processed on a grander scale. Sugars and flours are often so refined that they do not even resemble the food product they come from in the first place. What is more, the refining and concentrating of sugar makes it more likely that people will overeat. For example, it is much easier to eat one candy bar very quickly without getting full than to eat several apples in their natural state. Yet, it is the apples that have nutrients; the only thing sugar has to offer is empty calories.
Low Sodium
When foods are being processed, sodium is frequently added - sometimes large amounts of it. It is common knowledge that too much sodium can cause many health problems, especially contributing to high blood pressure. Yet, people are often careless about the amount of sodium the take in from processed foods. If you analyze boxed dinners, canned vegetables and soups, and canned sodas, you will find the sodium contents too high for good diet and nutrition.
Natural Ingredients
There is such a push for artificial ingredients in current times that these substances have even become a selling point for the products that contain them. Diet sodas advertise that they have the latest artificial sweetener, for example.
A company might claim that its canned fruit juice tastes just like you picked it that morning and squeezed it yourself, when what they are really saying is that they added artificial flavorings to replace the delicious natural taste that was lost in processing. Natural sweeteners, flavors, and colors do not contribute to good diet and nutrition. In fact, people who eat foods that are free of these chemicals are healthier over the years.
Natural foods that are whole, unprocessed, unrefined, and have no added sodium or artificial ingredients are healthy foods to eat. It is simple enough to say that food should be eaten in its natural state, but a little harder to find food that fits that description. However, if you are committed to getting healthy, it is a small task to accomplish.
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