I have a confession to make. 

I am a people watcher. 

Not in a weird, stalking way, but instead I take every opportunity I can get to observe people’s behaviors, especially as they relate to food. 

So, as you can guess, when I am at the grocery store, I’m looking in everyone’s carts and observing obvious signs of illness in the shopper. 

I have got to tell you, with very few exceptions, when I see a bunch of ultraprocessed garbage in someone’s cart, it is almost a guarantee that they will be overweight, have trouble walking, laboring to breathe, or showing other signs of poor health. 

How did we get here? 

How did we go from a traditional meat/vegetable/whole grain/natural fat diet to “stuff in a package” that destroys our health and kills us? 

Let’s take a look… 

Ultraprocessed foods—the answer to many prayers 

Ultraprocessed foods are wildly popular for three major reasons: 

• Convenience.  Most ultraprocessed foods require very little preparation and are usually quick and easy to put together for a meal.  This makes them an attractive option, especially for busy working parents, college students and the elderly. 
• Taste.  Ultraprocessed foods are inundated with sugar, salt and various artificial flavors and chemicals that are carefully designed to make them taste extraordinarily good.  In fact, many of these foods are even downright addictive. 
• Price.  As incredulous as it sounds, ultraprocessed foods are cheap and frequently cheaper than healthier foods!  With current increased food prices and other economic challenges, a sizable number of people have trouble affording healthy foods and are compelled to rely on ultraprocessed options. 

So, it should be no wonder that the number of ultraprocessed food items on the store shelves has continued to grow exponentially over the last several decades. 

The price we pay 

Sadly, the health price we pay for our heavy reliance on ultraprocessed foods is very dear indeed. 

Since they are basically empty calories and are prone to overconsumption, they can lead to excess weight and obesity.  Plus, the high concentration of sugar and refined carbs in these foods opens the door for Type 2 diabetes.  

But that is not all.  A recent study by UK’s Imperial College London School of Public Health found that these cheap convenience foods are linked to an increased risk of developing and dying from cancer. 

While ultraprocessed foods are linked to a greater risk of developing ANY cancer, there is a strong association to ovarian and brain cancers.  Research has also shown a 29 percent increased risk of colorectal cancers with these foods too. 

Plus, they are linked to an increased risk of dying from cancer, especially ovarian and breast cancers. 

The cheap vegetable oils, refined carbs and chemicals used in ultraprocessed foods stoke fires of inflammation in the body, and inflammation is a major contributing factor to sickness and disease.  Plus, they are associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, since your brain is not getting the essential fats, it needs (especially EPA and DHA). 

And let us not forget the other sneaky health risk posed by these garbage foods—since they provide no appreciable nutrients, people who eat a lot of ultraprocessed foods are prone to deficiencies.  Since most diseases have their roots in one or more nutrient deficiencies, that rolls out the red carpet for virtually any illness!  

Watch out for the wolf in sheep’s clothing 

Food manufacturers are becoming increasingly creative with the development and marketing of ultraprocessed foods and are now daring to claim that at least one of them is a HEALTHY option! 

I am talking about fake meats and dairy. 

Plant-based or lab-grown meat and dairy alternatives are the very epitome of ultraprocessed foods, containing no healthy animal fats but rather, heavily processed inflammatory fats from seed oils like soy and canola, plus a plethora of other garbage. 

For example, the Impossible Burger is heralded as a plant-based alternative to traditional beef burgers that allegedly replicates the flavor, texture and aroma of beef.  

According to the package label, the ingredients in this fake meat include: Water, Soy Protein Concentrate, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavors, Methylcellulose, Cultured Dextrose, Food Starch Modified, Yeast Extract, Soy Leghemoglobin, Salt, Mixed Tocopherols, L-tryptophan, and Soy Protein Isolate. 

Does that sound healthy to you? 

Also, note that the soy leghemoglobin used in Impossible Burgers is manufactured from genetically engineered yeast—that’s what provides the fake blood-like ooze when you cut into one of these things.     

Although we are assured that this “Franken-blood” is safe to eat, there are no long-term data proving its safety in humans. 

Tests performed on rats that were fed this trash for a month showed alterations in the animals’ blood chemistry, but the manufacturer ignored those findings.   

Turn it around and get back to Nature! 

Your body was designed to eat REAL foods--fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, eggs, good fats (like real butter, coconut oil and olive oil) and meats, poultry, and fish. That is what your body depends on for nourishment, sound digestion and elimination of waste. 

The easiest way to accomplish this life-saving goal is to do much of your grocery shopping in the outer perimeter of the store—where the real foods are located. 

Even if you cannot do a complete 180 all at once, take small steps and slowly incorporate more healthy real foods into your diet.  

Also, patronize local farmers, regional markets and Community Supported Agriculture programs which are great ways to get delicious real foods at more reasonable prices than a typical grocery store.   

And if you do buy the occasional ultraprocessed food (such as chips, crackers, or cereal), strive to buy organic to help minimize the harmful ingredients. 

Help reduce inflammation too! 

If you have been a processed food lover for a while, chances are excellent your body may be in a state of inflammation from the seed oils, sugar and chemicals. 

In addition to making healthier food choices and avoiding ultraprocessed foods, it’s vital to ensure your body has enough Omega-3 fats. 

Omega-3 essential fatty acids are Nature’s perfect anti-inflammatory, but unfortunately most of us are grossly deficient in these healthful fats. 

And on the flip side, many people are inundated with inflammatory Omega-6 fats from ultraprocessed foods! 

To make sure your body achieves and maintains a health-supporting level of Omega-3 EFAs, supplementation with a pure pharmaceutical-grade fish oil formula like VitalMega-3 is crucial. 

VitalMega-3 provides a soothing 1,200 mg of anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fats in every 2-capsule dose, including the Superstars EPA and DHA—that are critical for your brain and cardiovascular health. 

And now is the perfect time to put VitalMega-3 to work for you, because it’s $10 off per bottle! 

 

Stay away from ultraprocessed “fake foods,” feed your body the delicious REAL foods it is meant to have, and help it recover from ultraprocessed food inflammation and I am sure it will thank you handsomely for years to come! 

To your health, 

Sherry Brescia