Keys to Avoiding Processed Foods, and What to Eat Instead

“If your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize it, or you can’t pronounce what’s on the label, don’t eat it.”
​                                                 Michael Pollan 

Processed foods have become very popular because they're easy and portable.  Even organic toaster pastries, yogurt, and individually packaged cheese sticks are heavily processed and contain additives and chemicals to preserve their shelf life.

This convenience comes at a price.  Processed foods can cause a variety of health problems including gut lining damage.  Because they aren't what our body recognizes as food, they confuse the immune system causing chronic inflammation and auto-immune disease.  
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You'll notice that many of the side effects of these ingredients found in processed foods, are the same as the symptoms of leaky gut and chronic inflammation.

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TOP TEN INGREDIENTS TO AVOID (PLUS, ONE)

1.  Emulsifiers

Emulsifiers are a pet peeve of mine, because they are in every type organic non-dairy milk that come in the shelf-stable boxes.  It seems so easy to buy one of those boxes to use for smoothies or in your coffee or tea.

Emulsifiers are "gum-like" additives that keep food ingredients from separating.  They're also added to store bought salad dressings, baked goods, frozen foods, and ice cream.

Emulsifiers have been shown to disrupt the mucous layer that lines the gut, contributing to, you guessed it, leaky gut.  Be sure to read last weeks post for more information on leaky gut.  Emulsifiers also seem to change the microbiome population.

​The good news is that it's very easy to make your own nut milks.  Watch the video below to learn how!  ​(With a special guest appearance by my dogs, Ozzie and Harriet)

Get the Nut Milk Recipe Here

Here are some common emulsifier names to look out for:

• Ammonium salt of phosphorylated glyceride
• Carrageenan
• Carboxymethylcellulose
• CSL or calcium steroyl lactylate
• Calcium carbonate
• Lecithin
• Polysorbate 80
• PG ester
• Ployglycerols
• Sodium potassium tartrate
• Xanthum gum

Two natural emulsifiers are gelatin and egg yolks.  These have even been shown to repair the gut lining!  Choose these instead.

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2.  Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners mimic the taste of high calorie natural or not so natural sugars, such as table sugar or high fructose corn syrup, without the calories that come with them.

However, artificial sweeteners come with a list of related side effects, including headaches, nausea, anxiety, skin rashes, and more.  

3.  Refined Sugar

In the United States, people consume 130 to 160 pounds of sugar per year, which comes out to a half a cup of sugar per day.  Yikes!  Most people aren't even aware of how much sugar they consume because it's hidden in processed foods to make them taste better.

Not only is high sugar consumption linked to weight gain, bloating, fatigue, arthritis, migraine, cavities, and heart disease, but think about what you aren't eating, when you're eating sugary foods.

Try eating sweet vegetables instead.  You still satisfy your sweet craving, but you're getting nutrients, and fiber as well.  

​Also, try eating more sour foods.  Remember, how you can change your microbiome?  Feed the bacteria in your gut that like sauerkraut instead of the bacteria that like sugar.  Your cravings will go away!

4.  Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

MSG is a food additive used to enhance the flavor of foods.  Fast foods, canned and frozen foods, and soups are just a few foods that contain MSG.

Side effects such as headaches, itchy skin, dizziness, also respiratory, digestive, circulatory and coronary issues are associated with MSG.  Also, hyperactivity, especially in kids has been linked to MSG.

5.  Artificial Colors

​Artificial colors can also increase hyperactivity in children, especially if they're prone to it.  They can also cause allergic reactions.

​Many artificial colors are derived from coal tar and can contain up to 10 parts per million of lead and arsenic.

Versus

6. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)

BHA and BHT are used to keep oils in processed foods from going rancid.  Studies have shown that BHA has caused stomach focused cancers in mice, hamsters, and rats.  Reference

Interestingly, manufacturers can put BHT in the packaging of foods, so that it leaches into the food (preserving it), but they don't have to put it on the ingredients list.  I learned this while my son was on the Feingold diet.  They published a very thin book of processed foods, body care products, vitamins, etc. that he was allowed to have on the diet.  The organic O's that I used to buy didn't make the cut!

7.  Sodium Nitrate and Nitrite

These are preservatives added to processed meat products to enhance the red color and flavor.

These chemicals transform into cancer-causing agents in the stomach called nitrosamines.  

This is why lunch meats are usually on the "don't eat" list for pregnant women.  Side effects include headaches, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness.

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8.  Olestra

Olestra is a synthetic fat created by Procter & Gamble that doesn't get absorbed in the digestive tract, thereby being low calorie.  

Olestra inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and minerals and commonly causes diarrhea, abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea, and vomiting.

9.  Partially Hydrogenated Oils

Partially hydrogenated oils are made by reacting different varieties of oils with hydrogen, creating trans fats.  These oils are added to products to enhance appearance and prevent spoiling.  

Partially hydrogenated oils are associated with heart disease, breast and colon cancer, atherosclerosis, and elevated cholesterol.

10.  Pesticides

Every year, more than two billion pounds of pesticides are added to our food supply.  

Pesticides are toxic by design, and many of the are carcinogenic.  Pesticide consumption has been linked to nerve damage, cancer, and other long term effects.  

​When thinking about buying conventional versus organic produce, think not only about your own personal exposure, but the exposure of the farm workers.  For more information on how to avoid the worst offenders, click here.

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11.  Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's)

GMO's are plants or animals that have had their DNA modified.  In the United States, the majority of the corn, soybean, cotton and canola crops are now genetically modified, and one or more of these can be found in most non-organic processed foods.    

GMO's may decrease immunity to diseases in plants as well as humans.  They may also cause a resistance to antibiotics and could have a negative impact on genetic function.  Click here for more info.

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FIVE KEYS TO EATING CLEANLY

1. Look at the back of the package.  The package can claim a lot on the front, but look at the back to see what's really in it. 
2. Limit foods with more than five ingredients on the label.  If there are more than five ingredients on the label, chances are it's highly processed.
3. Limit foods with ingredients you can't pronounce.
4. Limit foods with sugar in the ingredients:  words ending in -ose, such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose; and syrups, such as corn syrup, brown rice syrup, malt syrup, and high fructose corn syrup.
5. Ask yourself if you can make it at home.  If you can't it probably isn't a healthy food.

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A little planning goes a long way.  I find that if I have a plan for breakfast and a plan for snacks during the day, I've practically won the battle to avoid processed foods.  I put together some of my favorite breakfast and snack recipes and ideas.
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Click Below to Download My
Free GREAT START BREAKFAST AND SNACK RECIPES
​(including the nut milk recipe from the video above)

What are your favorite go-to breakfast and snacks?  Share in the comments below!
...and please share this article with your friends!