Last week I spent four days in Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL with my 29 year-old daughter Danielle (as well as King Louie and Baloo and other characters).

She’s a chip off the old block so I wasn’t surprised to hear her disgust when she discovered what was really in a bottle of lemonade she bought.  She thought she would be getting something along the lines of water, lemon juice and sugar.

But instead what she got was water, high fructose corn syrup, lemon juice from concentrate, “natural flavors,” citric acid, modified cornstarch, glycerol ester of rosin, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, calcium disodium, EDTA and yellow #5.

She was seething as she read the label to me and subsequently threw the drink away.  I just responded with my best sarcasm: “How silly of you!  You know food isn’t food anymore.  Why would lemonade be any different?”

From real food to “processed stuff”

Real foods are things that you can actually find in Nature—meats, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables. 

Also acceptable as real foods are things that have had very few alterations—like bagged salads, quick frozen vegetables, dried beans, milk, butter or yogurt.  The fewer steps away from their natural state, the better.

But sadly, more and more of what we’re eating is NOT real food at all—it’s “stuff.”  Highly processed, loaded with chemicals, with lists of ingredients you can’t even pronounce and a far cry from anything that has ever appeared in Nature.

And besides the obvious consequence of eating “stuff” instead of food—not getting any nutrients to speak of other than the few that are sprinkled in to make the products appear healthy, plus no appreciable fiber—here are the other damages caused by a diet high in “stuff”:

1- Refined carbohydrate risks

The refined carbohydrates (especially high fructose corn syrup) in processed stuff are a leading contributing factor in heart disease, insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, poor immune function, leaky gut, dementia and of course obesity. 

Plus high fructose corn syrup is typically made from GMO corn and has been found to contain mercury—a documented neurotoxin.

2- Salt sadness

The salt in processed stuff can stir up hypertension in two ways.  First of all, too much sodium can increase your blood volume and drive up blood pressure. 

In addition, when you have too much sodium which is not counterbalanced by the proper amount of potassium (and a processed stuff diet is abysmal in terms of potassium), it leads to elevated calcium levels, which in turn makes the smooth muscle cells in your arteries contract, raising your blood pressure.

3- Trans-fat terror

The trans-fats in processed stuff are linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, immune dysfunction, mood swings, obesity and accelerated aging.

4- Chemical calamity

Your body was not designed to metabolize chemicals (such as artificial flavors, colors and preservatives) day in and day out.

Instead they have to be processed by your system as a “poison”—this taxes your liver (your primary organ of detoxification) as well as your kidneys (when secreting the toxins through your urine).

Eventually your body may have trouble effectively eliminating the excess wastes from chemical detoxification, and instead they may be reabsorbed into circulation. 

From there they can then accumulate in the blood (robbing it of oxygen), invade your organs and tissues (and affect their functioning) and create a bodily environment in you that favors disease.

5- Digestive disaster

Since processed stuff is not actually food that is meant to be in your body, it requires a tremendous amount of digestive enzymes to be broken down, and is a primary trigger of heartburn, gas, bloating and constipation.

Your body knows best—not the companies that make “stuff”

Your body was designed to consume REAL foods.  They are what your body depends on for nourishment, sound digestion and proper elimination of wastes.

There’s no getting around it—if you want to help your body to remain disease-free, be at a healthy body weight and live a long life, you MUST eat real foods—NOT stuff! 

If you need some guidance on creating delicious meals featuring scrumptious, nutritious real foods, my Great Taste No Pain system can help.

Help your body recover too!

If you've been a processed stuff lover for a while (be honest) chances are excellent you may have some serious gut flora imbalance going on.

That’s because processed stuff (especially refined carbs) become nourishment for the harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract, so they can thrive and overcome your beneficial bacteria. 

Not only can this worsen gas, bloating and constipation, but your immune system may be greatly hampered too (since 70 percent of your immune cells reside in your gut).

In addition to a healthy diet of real foods which nourishes your friendly flora, probiotic supplementation with a top shelf formula like Super Shield can help you achieve this important goal.

 

When you eat food—not stuff—and help keep your gut healthy, a whole new world of feeling great can open up for you!

Start now.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia