The effects of processed food on our health will be covered here with some Swiss Sciences nutrition advice.
The diet of an organism is what it eats, and dietitians are health professionals who specialize in human nutrition, meal planning, economics, and preparation. These people are trained to provide dietary advice and management. This dietary advice concerning the subject of processed and unprocessed foods is provided here by Swiss Sciences Nutrition.
Eat Unprocessed Foods
It has been determined that our health can be improved by eating fresh, whole foods.
A National Geographic Magazine article from November, 2005, looks into why some people seem to have high life spans. In this article it mentions 3 distinct groups of people who live very long life spans while suffering just a fraction of the diseases that kill people throughout most of the world. Their health and long life can be attributed to 3 things they tend to eat. Low calorie diets that consist mainly of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are the three things these 3 groups of people tend to eat.
For a better absorption of your body’s nutrients, and a better balance of essential nutrients, eat whole plant foods, which will also slow the digestive processes. This will result in better cell growth management, maintenance, and cell division. In addition, it will cause a better regulation of your appetite and of your body’s blood sugar levels. It has also been shown that it is better to eat regularly scheduled meals as opposed to infrequent meals. Swiss Sciences nutrition advocates such an approach to nutrition.
Avoid Processed Foods
Humans evolved as omnivorous hunter-gatherers for the past 250,000 years. For early humans, diet depended on their location and its climate. The diet for people in the tropical regions tended to be based more heavily on plant foods. The diet of people living in higher latitudes tended to include more animal products.
Agricultural development began about 10,000 years ago. This development provided humans with grains such as wheat, rice, potatoes, corn, and staples such as bread and pasta. The birth of farming allowed humans to now have milk and other dairy products, as well as a greater abundance of meats and vegetables.
The Industrial Revolution changed the diet of humans around 200 years ago. The food processing industry has come up with quite a few technologies that can keep food fresher for longer allowing it to last longer without being spoiled. Some of these technologies also alter the state of the food as it appears in nature.
Pasteurization is one of the main processes used to allow food to last longer, but it also alters the original nutritional content of the food. The safety of many foods has been increased as a result of pasteurization and the possibility of bacterial infection has decreased, however, there are some bad consequences to this process.
Diseases related to obesity have been increasing throughout the world. The increasing application of these food processing technologies has been a great contributor to this development. Processed foods are usually cheaper to produce and easier to store and last for long periods of time. As a result of greater amount of consumption around the world of these cheaper and longer lasting foods, the amount of nutrition related health problems has also increased.
