Processed foods are cheap, quick and often tasty. But what you are saving on the purchase price of the “food” you will be paying 100 times, if not more, that amount later on in the form of doctor’s visits, testing, prescription drugs and poor quality of life.
The bottom line is processed foods cause disease. Period.
Processed “Food” = Chronic Disease
Your body functions on the food that you give it. If you put junk in, your body will try to run on it, will ultimately deplete its reserves and lead to junk out in the form of chronic disease.
And just because you eat processed food and are “skinny”, workout or feel “good” doesn’t make you immune to the ill effects of processed junk.
When you consume processed foods they trigger a variety of unwanted metabolic, hormonal and other chemical reactions in the body that lead to chronic disease.
A recent study conducted by a group of researchers from Israel and Germany revealed “that processed foods weaken the intestine’s resistance to bacteria, toxins and other hostile nutritional elements, which in turn increases the likelihood of developing autoimmune diseases.”
This is HUGE and I’ve been saying this for years. Every autoimmune patient that I work with gets it drilled into their head that they need to drop processed foods (especially GLUTEN) and eat whole foods.
There has been a drastic increase in the consumption of processed foods and as a result we have also seen a dramatic increase in autoimmune diseases.
Processed foods are foods that are packaged in boxes, cans or bags. These foods need to be processed extensively to be edible and are not found as is in nature. Some examples include: cakes, cookies, crackers, bread, cereals, soda, lunch meat, microwave meals, etc. They are foods that contain plenty of preservatives, additives, artificial colors/flavor/sweeteners, salt, emulsifiers, refined grains, factory meats and plenty of other unhealthy ingredients.
An autoimmune disease develops when your immune system, which defends your body against disease, decides your healthy cells are foreign and begins to attack them. Depending on the type, an autoimmune disease can affect one or many different types of body tissue. Some examples of autoimmune diseases include: rheumatoid arthritis, Chron’s disease, Celiac disease, Hashimoto’s (thyroid disease), multiple sclerosis, lupus, psoriasis, pernicious anemia, and type I diabetes to name a few.
The research article, Autoimmunity Reviews, June 2015, then goes on to share the linkage between processed foods and how they cause autoimmune diseases and which processed food ingredients are most commonly linked to autoimmune diseases.
“Many autoimmune diseases stem from damage to the functioning of the tight-junctions that protect the intestinal mucosa. When functioning normally, tight-junctions serve as a barrier against bacteria, toxins, allergens and carcinogens, protecting the immune system from them. Damage to the tight-junctions (also known as “leaky gut”) leads to the development of autoimmune diseases.
The researchers found that at least seven common food additives weaken the tight-junctions: glucose (sugars), sodium (salt), fat solvents (emulsifiers), organic acids, gluten, microbial transglutaminase (a special enzyme that serves as food protein “glue”) and nanometric particles.” [Added by me: plus food scientists, employed by the giant food companies, know that these additives are highly addictive making us want more of their disease promoting “foods” which is why we are seeing a rise in autoimmune conditions. It’s a vicious cycle]
To translate the above passage: certain food additives commonly found in processed foods, such as sugar, salt, emulsifiers, gluten (protein found in wheat, rye, oats and spelt) and meat glue when consumed cause irritation to your intestinal tract (which contains upward of 80% of your immune system and acts as a selective barrier to what gets into circulation) that results in a “leaky” gut allowing these foreign proteins to get into circulation, activating your immune system which then launches an attack on the additives as well as healthy tissues in the body resulting in an autoimmune disease.
Phew…..that was a mouthful.
Please do not underestimate the power of the “foods” that you consume. The foods that you consume act like chemical messengers that result in your body reacting in a way that either takes it toward better health or toward chronic disease. It’s that simple.
Processed foods lead to autoimmune and other chronic diseases while whole foods like lean protein, veggies, fruits, nuts/seeds, eggs etc. lead to optimal health.
A whole food is a food that has been processed or refined as little as possible and is free from additives or other artificial substances.
Whole food = good health
What you choose to eat is ultimately up to you and your goals.
If your goal is to lose weight and improve your health in 2016 then ditch the processed junk foods and focus in on eating healthy whole foods.
And if you or a family member have already been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease then it is imperative that you change the way that you eat and drop the processed foods. Continually eating processed junk and taking medications to combat the symptoms of your disease will only lead to more chronic disease, more suffering, and a shorter lifespan. Changing the way you eat and live will have a drastic improvement on your condition. You will not “cure” your autoimmune disease but will significantly diminish its negative impact.
I’ve worked with many individuals combating autoimmune diseases and those willing to make the necessary lifestyle changes do amazing and you can too.
Here’s to you and a Healthy 2016!! Be well my friends!
As always, I hope this information has served you and will take you one step closer to your desired health goals.
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Until we chat again remember: Eat Well, Move Often and Stay Healthy!