Processed Foods in Gluten-Free Diet
Ms H
Foods
prepared with physical or chemical treatments are considered as processed
foods. They are almost always high in salt, which is their main negative
point. While salt in high quantities is
unhealthy, small amounts are actually good for you and crucial for the function
of all of our organs. However, the salt has its antibacterial properties, which
make it ideal for preservation. Humans
have been preserving foods for centuries. Your ancestors used to dry, freeze,
can or pickle foods to extend their shelf life. Now with an increase in
packaged foods also came an increase in different preservation methods.
Chemical preservation is used to delay spoilage, enhance colour and flavour,
and maintain consistency and texture of foods. The common preservative in many
cured or smoked meats, such as bacon, jerky, deli meats and smoked salmon is
sodium nitrate which helps to reduce colour changes.
Sodium nitrate in
processed meat can damage the blood vessels around your heart, which can cause
them to harden and narrow, which makes it more likely that you will develop
heart disease. Eating regularly sodium nitrate with food you also increase the
risk of developing type 2 diabetes in additional to these your chances of
developing certain types of cancer increases too.
Processed
foods include synthetic additives; E numbers are codes for substances that are
permitted to be used as food additives with in EU and Switzerland. They are commonly found on food
labels.
Example cereals are very often
fortified with calcium. Whenever cereals are refined the vitamins and minerals
are removed and the companies must replace them later by law. This process is
called “fortifying”. The nutrients
that have been added to foods afterward they are less effective synthetic substances
and often harder for the body to absorb. For instance, someone who has a
lactose intolerance might use a water fortified with calcium. Temporarily
fortification is the only way that vegetarians can get vitamin B12 in their
diet, which is highly important for brain function and nerve health.
Many of
the processed foods we get from fast food chains have added saturated fats and
trans fats. While these aren't good for us, they do make us feel full for
longer due to their slowest digestion.
Generally
the processed foods are not as healthy as getting fresh foods. Some foods are worse for you than others and
are increasing your risk of many conditions and diseases. While cancer is one
of the worst, regularly eating the
cancer causing foods can also lead to heart disease, diabetes, chronic
inflammation, and so much more.
Here is the evil food list: canned foods, refined sugar, salted,
pickled and smocked foods, grilled red meat, carbonated beverages, gluten-free starches,
farmed fish, hydrogenated oil, microwave popcorn.
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