Food is our life. We all live for tasty foods to satisfy our cravings. This is one of the reasons why we have started eating junk or processed food a lot. These foods are added in our routine diet and make up to 60% diet of youth, without knowing about the lack in its nutritional values and presence of chemicals that we should completely avoid!
All these chemicals are used as taste or color enhancers, as a preservatives, stabilizers, artificial sweeteners or similar food quality enhancing purpose. These added ingredients are synthetic and badly harmful for our body. Some of these common chemicals found in our daily foods are trans fats, refined grains, refined vegetable oil, mono sodium glutamate and the list goes on and on.
But knowing why these chemicals should be avoided help a person to switch to a healthier one.
Trans fats are hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats that solidify at room temperature. These unsaturated fats are found to cause heart disease and increase bad cholesterol.
Consider watching this video to know more about toxic chemicals found in food….
These are found highly in vegetable shortening which is a cheap substitute of butter and, baked products made from it, in popcorns and, almost every fried fast food we can’t resist ourselves from eating! One should switch to healthier mono saturated fats like peanut, olive or canola oil.
Next are the artificial sweeteners which are added to give taste that of sugar but are completely zero calories ingredient with higher risk of affecting blood sugar levels and a cause of cancer too! They are used in weight loss diet due to its low calorie content but truth is they are worse than the normal sugar we eat. It causes the brain restricted release of satiety hormone and as a consequence the person over eats, gaining more calories.
Artificial colors added to make the food catchy and mouthwatering appearance are involved in causing serious health problems affecting thyroid, bladder or brain cells. These includes
Yellow #6: causing kidney tumors, found in beverages and baked products
Yellow #5: this is also a carcinogenic agent found in desert and candies.
Green, Blue #1 and 2, Red #2, 3 and 40 all these are found to be carcinogenic and cause hyperactivity in children. It is crucial to read the ingredients list before you consume any mouthwatering food product and better to nip it in the bud.
MSG or monosaturated glutamate is used in processed food as a flavor enhancer in different soups, sauces seafood and meat products, which are usually high in glutamate content. MSG is known to cause after dinner headaches and allergic reactions. It is found to increase weight and cause obesity. It is causing serious health issues to the community especially by nerve damage and affecting brain functioning.
White or enriched flour, used in various bakery products and is widely edible in different forms. However, it is just the leftover after removal of germ and bran both and, have zero nutritional value and no fiber. It gets into the blood and affect blood sugar levels as, it have high glycemic profile. It is also involved in gaining additional unhealthy weight, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol or fatty liver.
One should consumed whole grain instead of it in order to stay healthy and strong.
These were only few examples which prove why one should avoid eating chemically processed and junk foods. Sadly, there is a huge list of such chemicals that reaches our digestive tract and affect different organs slowly but badly. Thus, more the natural food, better it is!
Until Next Time,
Team Doctor ASKY!