It’s soon going to be spring-cleaning time. Washing the walls and trim. Washing the doors and doorknobs. Throwing out the things you collected over the winter. Throwing out the food in your pantry…
Wait—what? Throw out my food???
If you think that bottle of ketchup is healthy because it has tomato sauce in it, and that box of whole wheat pasta is healthy because it’s “whole wheat,” spring cleaning should begin in the kitchen.
And if you think those PopTarts are a convenient healthy snack because it has wheat flour, and “real baked fruit” in it—we need to talk.
Actually, let’s start the cleaning right now. Your waistline, along with your heart, brain and immune system will thank you.
Cleanse your pantry, cleanse your body. Gotta love the process! And speaking of process…
“Processed foods.”
It’s a term that has been thrown around a lot. Many people really don’t know the meaning of it. Basically, a processed food is something you can’t make at home with those same ingredients. That’s a good benchmark.
When you think of junk food, you think of potato chips, doughnuts, chocolate, and fast food restaurants. But just about all processed foods are also junk food. Even your beloved box of granola cereal is junk food.
Basically, granola is primarily sugar, but with added vegetable oils and nuts. Typically the nuts are roasted which are very high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids.
Junk food generally refers to foods that contribute lots of calories but little nutritional value. And of the food products that do have nutritional value, the nutrients are corrupted by all the preservatives, additives and the overall processing.
We’ve had an enormous amount of technological innovation in the last 100 years. Technology has merged with food production in a bad way that few people realize. The way our body processes food starts in the Stone Age. Our bodies are not designed to process processed foods.
Now let’s move on from the processed foods to the food items that you will think, without a doubt, is definitely healthy.
Peanuts, for example.
I’m just a real kill joy, aren’t I? But isn’t it better to know the facts about food now, before those two-faced things tell you later in the form of allergies, inflammation, or cancer?
Like milk, peanuts are a common allergen—and allergies set off a whole range of inflammatory problems. In addition to that, peanuts are prone to molds and fungus, which can also result in inflammatory reactions. They are also very high in aflatoxin, which is a carcinogen (a substance capable of causing cancer in tissue).
Pass on the peanuts, and instead go for raw organic almonds or other tree nuts and butters.
This may seem like it is getting complicated and confusing, so let’s DEconfuse it: Read the back of the label.
Know your ingredients.
