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A Running Guide for the Overweight Runner

There is a man that runs around my town all of the time carrying himself with no evidence of being tired. You may see him out at the park r...

1.26.2010

January 25th and Processed Vs. Fresh 2

We talked on the benefits of Fresh foods in another post and we are revisiting that today to get get a clearer viewpoint of processed foods. In comparison to fresh foods - processed foods can not hold their weight and will lose the health battle every time. There are many problems that are associated with processed foods when it deals with overall health. Will the one processed meal kill you? No. Will the one processed meal after another slowly build up and gradually take you to poor health in which increases your chances of life-threatening sickness and disease? Yes! Maybe that sounds too hard and I'm not giving it a chance but this is reality and the reality is that America is fat. That fatness is coming from somewhere and it's out of control.

What are processed foods? Processed foods are any food that has been changed in any way from the state that they were naturally. The linked site on processed foods says, " Processed foods have been altered from their natural state for safety reasons and for convenience." There are many foods that will be considered as processed foods with this definition. My opinion is that if you do not grow it or buy it in its natural form it has undergone some type of processing. This does not have to be a negative thing if you know what you are buying. There are some processing techniques that can preserve the life of the natural food; for example, freezing and dehydrating. This does not change the genetic make-up of the food. If you do not know where it came from and it does not look like the natural form -- consider it processed (this does not make it processed - just a guide to go by). Another way to consider if it is processed is to look at the Sodium. Click here to learn more about how much Sodium a healthy adult should take in.

Processed foods use high levels of salts, refined flours, and sugars among other things. This processing leads to an array of health problems like elevated blood sugar levels, digestion problems, obesity (which leads to fatigue, heart problems, gut problems, breathing problems), skin issues, and many others.

Food Intake: approx. 1,745 Calories



Workout:

- Treadmill ......4.35 miles.......

Miles til Goal: 972.56

1 comment:

-J.D. Humenay said...

Great research and info! And did you know that apparently our generation (the processed and preservative generation) takes LONGER to decompose when added back to the "circle of life"? Ew!

You're right on by pointing out that some processing (say, pasturization) isn't "negative" necessarily. I've been trying to eat more foods grown on plants, not made in them. ;)