Avoid processed foods.<\/i>\u00a0It\u2019s one of the most unchallenged dietary recommendations for anyone trying to lose weight or gain health.<\/p>\n
The advice is not without good reason, of course. Numerous highly palatable, packaged foods line our supermarket shelves and now account for over 70 percent of calories eaten in the United States.<\/p>\n
Most of those calories come in the form of refined sugars and solid fats (not to mention copious quantities of salt). At the same time, these foods are negligent in nutrient density having little protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals \u2013 that serve to satisfy, yet can fail on flavor.<\/p>\n
Sometimes these kinds of foods come in layered varieties in what a few establishments dare to refer to as \u201cmeals\u201d \u2013 pizza, potato chips, dips, hamburgers, french fries, and cookies, to be washed down with sodas, Frappuccinos, or smoothies.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s the formula for an obesity epidemic. It could be said that these products are\u00a0obesity-designed<\/i>foods,\u00a0<\/i>having been created to be craved, eaten often, and overeaten because, just as they\u2019re advertised, \u201cyou can\u2019t eat just one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dirty Word?<\/b><\/p>\n
These are the reasons why \u201cprocessed\u201d has become the dirty word that it is today. But it wasn\u2019t always a dirty word, and some processed foods can be particularly helpful for gaining nutrition.<\/p>\n
Over the history of food processing, it\u2019s been associated with delivering greater nutrition to all, according to Wayne Bidlack, Ph.D., a professor at California State Polytechnic University.<\/p>\n
In some cases processing (such as when exposed to high temperatures) can decrease or damage some nutrients that are heat sensitive. However, processing can often enhance nutrient availability such as when lycopene from tomatoes is made more available in the form of tomato sauce, or when phytate (an anti-nutrient that binds to minerals) is removed from grains improving availability of iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have to be nutritionally wise in their selection of processed foods,\u201d Bidlack said. \u201cWe can change our diet and influence nutrition patterns by influencing food processing methods. The food industry only sells products people want to buy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Convenient & Nutritious<\/b><\/p>\n
One of the ways is to purchase products that are\u00a0nutritionally designed,<\/i>\u00a0rather than\u00a0obesity designed<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The focus of these products is to nourish and satisfy, with quality protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, as well as other health-promoting compounds from fruits, vegetables, and herbs.<\/p>\n
For example, Fire Shaper recommends supplements that are formulated with the intent to nourish and satisfy. They also offer something that non-processed \u201cwhole foods\u201d can\u2019t provide: convenience.<\/p>\n