Nourishing Knowledge Blog Post Seven: Processed Foods

Fiona_BCNA
Fiona_BCNA Member Posts: 75 ✭
edited September 2016 in Health and wellbeing

Image Source: www.naturallifeenergy.com

Processed food has a very bad reputation when it comes to nutrition and health but what many people don’t realise is that processed food is more than just potato chips, drive-through hamburgers and Spam. It may come as a surprise but wholemeal bread, homemade soup and even a chopped banana are processed foods.

While what most people know as processed foods should be eaten in small amounts many other processed foods have a rightful place in a balanced diet.

The Processed Food Spectrum

Processed foods such as milk and yoghurt are sometimes fortified with calcium and vitamin D and muesli can have added fibre or iron. Minimally processed foods such as pre-cut fruit and vegetables or pre-packaged spinach leaves are great convenience and create healthy options that are quick and easy.

As you move along the spectrum, away from the pre-cut and bagged vegetables you need to be aware of the hidden sugar, salt and fat. Foods that are heavily processed have lost their key nutrients in processing, such as white bread. Ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat are added to processed foods to make their flavour more appealing and to prolong their shelf life, or in some cases to contribute to the food's structure, such as salt in bread or sugar in cakes.

This can lead to people eating more than the recommended amounts for these additives, as they may not be aware of how much has been added to the food they are buying and eating. Reading nutrition labels can help you choose between processed products and keep a check on the amount of processed foods you're eating that are high in fat, salt, added sugars and depleted of important nutrients.

Alternatives to highly processed foods:

What’s your trick to avoid highly processed foods?

May you be Mindful message.

Notice 5 things in your day that usually go unappreciated. These things can be objects or people – it’s up to you.

The point of this exercise is to simply give thanks and appreciate the seemingly insignificant things in life; the things that support our existence but rarely get a second thought amidst our desire for bigger and better things.

For example: electricity powers your kettle, the postman delivers your mail, your clothes provide you warmth, your nose lets you smell the flowers in the park, your ears let you hear the birds in the tree by the bus stop, but…

  • Do you know how these things/processes came to exist, or how they really work?
  • Have you ever properly acknowledged how these things benefit your life and the lives of others?
  • Have you ever thought about what life might be like without these things?
  • Have you ever stopped to notice their finer, more intricate details?
  • Have you ever sat down and thought about the relationships between these things and how together they play an interconnected role in the functioning of the earth?
  • Once you have identified your 5 things, make it your goal to find out everything you can about their creation and purpose to truly appreciate the way in which they support your life.

Don’t forget to post your mindfulness stories to be in with a chance to win the May you be Mindful prize pack.

References:

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2016, Processed Foods: What’s OK, What to Avoid, http://www.eatright.org/resource/food/nutrition/nutrition-facts-and-food-labels/avoiding-processed-foods, viewed May 2016

Better Health Channel 2016, Food Processing and Nutrition, https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/food-processing-and-nutrition, viewed May 2016

NHS Choices 2016, Eating processed foods, http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/what-are-processed-foods.aspx, viewed May 2016

Pocket Mindfulness 2016, 6 Mindfulness Exercises You Can Try Today, http://www.pocketmindfulness.com/6-mindfulness-exercises-you-can-try-today/, viewed May 2016

 

 

 

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