Effects of Chemically Processed Foods on Americans
The problem of processed foods has been widely discussed in relation to healthy foods and excessive weight issues. Everybody knows that it is advisable to avoid processed foods. But not everybody is aware of the concrete definition of this notion. Generally processed food is defined as “food that is changed from its natural, raw state. But for the purpose of our discussion, it’s safe to use the following definition: Processed food is food altered chemically by additives such as flavors, flavor enhancers, binders, colors, fillers, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, etc., or which has been manufactured through combining them or using other processing methods.” (Obenauf 2004). In other words, if any kind of food contains not natural components, then this food could be considered processed. Natural foods in their turn consist of natural elements, which were not altered by people in any way. Those foods, which were processed by people, are usually either missing some good elements or have some bad elements added, as a result of processing. Effects of Chemically Processed Foods on Americans
Some people prefer the raw food diet, in order to avoid eating processed food. However, it is also important that this food is absolutely organic, without preservatives, grown without pesticides or genetically modified organisms – GMOs. For them foods, heated at a temperature above 118 degrees, is taboo, as all the natural enzymes are killed there and they are important for normal digestion of food. Also it is often said that lack of enzyme in foods is responsible for aging process. As soon as food is heated, the pH is changed and it is made acidic, this has negative impact upon the state of human health. “Heating food converts easy-to-absorb minerals into inorganic, hard-to-absorb minerals, which can cause calcium stones; whereas organic minerals are easier to digest, creating alkalinity, helping to rid the system of excess acidity. Heating food also destroys most vitamins.” (Kawash 2013). There is a simple example of this, a raw seed is able to sprout and grow, but a processed one is not able to do it any more. All fruits are able to ripen for days, when they are fresh, as soon as they are processed, it is not possible any more. There was another experiment done, two seeds were put into bowls with water, in the first one the water was boiled in a stove and in the second one the water was boiled in a microwave. As time passed the first seed still continued to sprout, whereas the second one didn’t. The similar situation is with garlic, if it is cooked on a stovetop, it still contains allicin, which is important for supporting of human immune system. However, if garlic is processed in microwave, then allicin is destroyed. In other words, it could be proved that processing of food in microwave oven, which is actually rather popular nowadays, destroys all vitamins, minerals, enzymes.Effects of Chemically Processed Foods on Americans
Certainly heating this is not the only process of humans’ activities, which is applied to foods. When an individual is flying by plane and gets his portion of chips, he would hardly think of monosodium glutamate – MSG, but it should be better avoiding in any kind of food. “Processed free glutamic acid”, MSG is one of the most widely applied kind of food additives, but far not the best one. Based on the research conducted, MSG is the reason of migraine headaches, skin rash, irritable bowels, depression, seizures and other problems with human health. Often people suffer from such problems and are not even aware of the real reason of them. “MSG has been identified as a “fifth taste,” sometimes referred to as “umami.” Many MSG-sensitive people claim that there is no taste to MSG. For me, I “taste a tingle” when MSG hits my tongue, and it makes me feel “off.” Enough MSG can put my beloved hubby into a three-day migraine episode. Glutamic acid is a neurotransmitter. It carries nerve impulses to nerve cells called glutamate receptors, and triggers a response or reaction.” (Obenauf 2004). On human mouth and tongue there are special glutamate receptor cells, as soon as MSG is added to the food, it contributes to the effect of the food being with a longer lasting taste and then it is more attractive for the consumers, than the food without MSG.
Generally there are so many ways of processing of food. Taking into consideration the development of the modern technologies, it is evident, that all the new methods and all the original foods would for sure increase the incomes of the company producer. Apart of canning, food could be freezed, it is possible to use dehydration, aseptic processing and so on. However, it is utterly important for people to be aware of the fact that not absolutely all processed foods are dangerous for their health and their organisms. For example such product as milk is bought by a huge number of families in the whole world. Before it gets to the final consumer, it is pasteurized, which is important for killing all the bacteria in it and then it is homogenized, in order not to let fats separate. A lot of people think that raw milk is a perfect product for their organism, in reality it might be even dangerous, as it might lead to food-born illness. Effects of Chemically Processed Foods on Americans
Another good example is related to frozen vegetables. There is nothing wrong about freezing of vegetable, as this process doesn’t hinder preserving of all their vitamins and minerals, in addition it is easy to cook them afterwards and this is an additional possibility to have the access to some of them all year round. “Fruit and vegetable juice is also an example of a healthy processed food, with some being fortified with calcium to make it even more nutritious. Oatmeal, frozen fish, frozen berries and 100% whole-grain bread are also processed foods that are good.” (Obenauf 2004). The conclusion to make here is that not any kind of processing of food is negative or dangerous, in some situations it rather makes the food safer to eat and more convenient to store and to cook. “Because of the miracle of food processing, food can be transported to areas stricken by famine. Scientifically speaking, food processing can even increase the bioavailability of some nutrients, such as lycopene, found in tomatoes.” (Obenauf 2004).
Some people are perplexed, when they get all the information about unhealthy processed foods and don’t want to purchase and eat them and still have no idea, how to make the correct choice. One of the simplest ways is to study the labels and avoid the foods, which were made with preservatives, artificial sweeteners and colors, with flavor enhancers, saturated fats, trans-fats, simply with huge amount of sugar or sodium.
An example of the list of processed foods, which are not good for human health includes: “Canned foods high in sodium or fat (remember: enzymes destroyed also)
Breads and pastas made with refined white flour instead of whole grains
Packaged, high-calorie snack foods like chips and candies (remember: MSG…)
Frozen fish sticks and frozen dinners, often high in sodium
Packaged lunch meats, often super high in calories, fat, sodium and preservatives
Packaged cakes and cookies” (Obenauf 2004).Effects of Chemically Processed Foods on Americans
There is a logical question, if most of people are aware of the fact that processed foods are dangerous and not good for their health, why would they still purchase and eat them? The answer is rather simple, because they are more convenient to cook and to eat. Especially nowadays, when people feel constant lack of time, they tend to save their time with the help of such foods. They seem to have forgotten that cooking normal healthy foods is not that time consuming, as it is often presented to them in advertisements of some new foods, presented by manufacturers and sellers. Still they never say a word about the reasons, which might make people, consuming processed foods, sick and fat. First of all most of the processed foods have rather high dose of sugar or fructose corn syrup. People are used to hear the phrase “empty calories”, which are able to make individuals gain extra weight. However, this is not the only danger about it, sugar excess is able to cause heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. “Refined fructose, typically in some form of corn syrup, is now found in virtually every processed food you can think of, and fructose actually “programs” your body to consume more calories and store fat.” (Kawash 2013). Fructose, as well as alcohol, is metabolized directly into fat, as it is stored in fat cells, which certainly leads to various malfunctions of the human organism, including obesity for example.
Usually the body of an individual is able to regulate the amount of the food, it needs to consume, based on the quantity of the burnt energy during the day. Certainly this is not convenient for food manufacturers and they prefer to offer such foods, which would make people overeat. The processed foods are made in such a way that they stimulate the reward response, which is so strong in human brains that an individual is not able to control the amount of food consumed. “Investigative reporter Michael Moss describes this as “the tendency for big, distinct flavors to overwhelm your brain.” The greatest successes, whether beverages or foods, owe their “craveability” to complex formulas that pique your taste buds just enough, without overwhelming them, thereby overriding your brain’s inclination to say “enough.” (Kawash 2013).
There are a lot of artificial ingredients in processed foods, which have nothing to do with natural components. The most widely-used ones are: preservatives, artificial colors, artificial flavors, texturants. In most advertisements of food manufacturers it is officially claimed that all additives applied are safe, however it is not correct. Preservatives are the first elements, which might cause such serious health problems as cancer, allergies and so on. “Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydrozyttoluene (BHT) are preservatives that affect the neurological system of your brain, alter behavior, and have the potential to cause cancer. Tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) is a chemical preservative so deadly that just five grams can kill you.” (Kawash 2013).Effects of Chemically Processed Foods on Americans
There are a lot of debates about addiction to processed foods, there is till the moment no agreement as to the fact, whether junk food is able to cause any kind of addiction or not. At any rate there is artificial dopamine stimulation in processed foods, which is able to theoretically influence food addictions. There was a huge scandal for example with famous Oreo cookies, which are nowadays said to contain such components, which are as addictive as cocaine. One the basis of the experiments, done on rats, these components activate the neurons in pleasure centers in brains.
Overall, processed foods are generally considered to be damaging for human health, in reality, however, everything depends on the kind of processing, which was applied to any kind of food. In some cases, it is harmless and just makes the cooking process easier, in other cases, when artificial components and elements are added, such food could be extremely dangerous to grown–up people and to children especially. Thus there is a need to properly control the type of the food, which each individual consumes, pay attention to the labels and not to the advertisements.Effects of Chemically Processed Foods on Americans