Processed Foods are foods that underwent a certain process to be preserved and prolonged its life. These processes includes: freezing, canning, refrigeration, dehydration and aseptic processing. Most of us think that processed foods are bad for one’s health but do we actually realize that processed foods are not actually bad at all.
Foods that use freezing methods for example are not bad. Vegetables and fruits use freezing method to prolong its life. Canned fish and meat are also good processed foods. Oatmeal, milk, breads are also good processed foods. Meats like hotdog, ham, sausage, tocino and longganisa are processed foods that are rich in fats thus bad for our health.
There are many ways to know if the processed food that we are buying in the market is good or bad for our health. Usually processed foods that are rich in fiber, less in sodium and have less number of calories are good processed foods. The checking of nutritional labels of the packaging to know the number of nutrients on each serving can help you determine if the food is good or bad. You can also check the level of saturated fats and trans-fats of the food.
On the other hand, foods that are made of trans-fats and saturated fats are not good for us. Foods that have large amount of sodium and sugar should also be avoided. Rich-calorie foods are also bad for one’s health. Packaged cookies, cereals with high level of sugar, canned meats that are rich of fats and processed meats are among the bad processed foods.
If you cannot avoid eating processed foods that are bad or not so good to health, you can balance it by eating these foods together with a healthier type of food. For example, if you want to eat processed meat like hotdog, make sure to cook it well. On the next day, eat cereals that are 100% whole grains to balance out the hotdog that you ate the other day.
Choosing of food is really important in good food decision making. With the fast pace of people’s lifestyle now, many people opt to choose eating processed foods. This is the reason why we have to check the food that we are eating. Always remember, if we are too busy with work, do not sacrifice your health. Give a minute or two in looking at your food choices. You might be investing on money but dying with your health inside.
