Factor Two: Processed Food

Yes, Americans eat too much. But the quality of what we eat is even more alarming than the volume. Our bodies are like finely honed machines which are meant to run off of very specific types of fuel. Use diesel fuel in an unleaded engine, and what happens? The engine breaks down. Our bodies are built to run on natural “whole foods”(see Simple Enjoyable Healthy Eating and Choosing Healthy Food for more). When foods are processed (like frozen meals, fast food, snack chips, cakes and sweets) they lose critical nutrients and become toxic to our bodies. They clog up our bowels, alter our blood and brain chemistry, and interfere with metabolism in our cells. In addition, many processed foods are actually designed to short circuit the appetite control mechanisms in our brains so that we end up overeating (check out Controlling Appetite and Cravings for more detail). As if processed foods weren’t bad enough already, food maufacturers also add toxic chemicals to them to make them last longer on the shelves. These chemicals further burden our bodies, and contribute to obesity, depression, and disease.

So how do you identify processed foods so that you can avoid them? We’re a big fan of something called the “Cave Man Rule”. If you can imagine a cave man eating a given food, it's probably a natural, whole food that will nourish your body and help build a fitter, healthier you. If you can't really picture a cave man eating a food, it's probably a nutrient-poor processed food that will slow you down and, over time, undermine your health.  It's easy to picture a cave man eating berries, or a piece of meat, or some nuts, or vegetables. But can you picture a cave man eating french fries, or gummy candy?

What about beans, whole grains, and all natural dairy products? (yogurt and cheese are best). It’s a little hard to picture cave men eating these things because they're products of agriculture, but these foods are good for us, right? For the most part, the answer is yes. Our ancestors have been eating these foods for around 10,000 years – even during so called “cave man” times, so our bodies are adapted to eating them.  

In the end, things like candy and snack chips aren’t actually food. Food is meant to nourish your body. Processed food products take more out of you than they put in. Of course, they’re OK in moderation, but it’s important to view them as treats – things consumed for pleasure, and not for nutrition. How would you feel about a friend who said “Hey, I’m thirsty – do you have a bottle of vodka around?” – We hope you’d be worried. Vodka, after all, is a drink – meaning it’s liquid and you drink it -  but it’s not hydration. And the proper response to being thirsty is to find something hydrating. Similarly, processed foods are food in the sense that we eat them, but they're not in any way shape or form noursihment. Reaching for fast food or a microwave pizza for dinner is just like pouring a martini when you’re thirsty. It’s substituting something that should only be consumed for fun for the real nutrition that forms the backbone of health.