When you see the words “fat free” and “sugar free” on a food label this doesn’t always equate to “healthy” because the ingredients in the food are usually heavily processed with chemicals to make it taste good. Let’s be honest, fat and sugar taste good and that’s why most of us enjoy chips and cookies. So if the fat and sugar are removed from chips and cookies then they have to get their taste from somewhere, and thats where the chemicals play their part to make up for the lack of fat or sugar.
When we eat foods that are highly processed (high in chemicals) then our bodies never get the nutrients that we need to function physiologically and that leads to health problems in the long run. More importantly the chemicals we ingest interact with our bodies metabolic processes and can disrupt normal function. Then this makes it hard to lose weight, no matter how hard we try, we find ourselves always getting sick, and blaming it on allergies, and we can’t figure out why we never get a good night of sleep. It’s because the food we eat is composed mostly of chemicals that are foreign to our body and the immune system doesn’t know how to process these chemicals and it’s always in a state of stress.
If we go to the opposite end of the spectrum and eat a diet that is composed of primarily whole foods in their natural state they supply our body with the nutrients it needs to maintain normal metabolic functions and preserve health. If our immune system is in a state of equilibrium with the rest of our body then we are able to function better, we find ourselves not getting sick all of the time, getting a better night’s rest, and having energy throughout the day and not having to depend so much on caffeine to make it through work or school.
I get it, our society makes it hard to eat whole foods 100% of time, most of the food at parties or restaurants are highly processed and don’t supply the body with many of the necessary nutrients. I’m not suggesting that you boycott these parties or restaurants but the next time you go out be mindful of what you’re putting on your plate and limiting how much you choose to eat. If you decide to eat a plate of chips and dips then skip the cake, or if you’re a cake lover then have some cake but skip the beer. It’s all about finding balance between the foods we fuel our body with, other than the parties and restaurants we should be aiming to eat mostly whole foods that are natural or very minimally processed. That way when we do enjoy life, a little, we have established a strong nutritional foundation from our body to operate from and when we do indulge our body can handle the stuff that’s not so good for us, every now and then.
