Eating too many processed foods in the diet is one of the leading causes of death and disease in our society. Processed foods contain large amounts of added sugar, salt, and fats. These foods can lead to diseases such as coronary artery disease, strokes, diabetes mellitus, and cancer.Processed foods are usually an illusion, often appearing to be healthy (with claims like low fat, low carb, vitamin fortified, no trans fat, contains omega-3s, etc.) when these foods are in fact the very thing making a lot of Americans unhealthy, sick, and fat. In fact, it is usually best to avoid any food product that is making a health claim on its packaging.
It is critical to read the label of any food product you buy. The first thing to look at is the ingredient list. The best indicator of how highly processed a food is can actually be found in the list of ingredients. If what you are buying contains more than 5 ingredients and includes a lot of unfamiliar, unpronounceable items you may want to reconsider before buying. In fact, the healthiest foods do not even contain an ingredient list. Your goal is too eat as much whole, unprocessed food every day as possible. It is always better to buy fresh foods. Eating fresh whole foods will not only make you healthier and prevent disease; it will also help you to lose those extra-unwanted pounds.
Dr Greenberg, What are your thoughts on this new rage of bringing coconut oils back into your diet?
There are a lot of coconut products on shelves these days and a lot of controversy. I, for one, are very concerned about the high concentration of saturated fats in coconut oil. I would value your opinion.
This is a controversial issue. There is no good data to support the idea that coconuts are unhealthy, including coconut oil. Although, I would recommend using sparingly.
Dr. Greenberg, you’re right. I’m going to keep the 5 ingred. info. in mind. Thx
Thank you Dr. Greenberg for all your information that we have received over the years. Much appreciated and applied thus feeling fantastic!