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THE FIRST STEP IN HEALTHY EATING FOR SENIORS (CONTINUED)
In the first part of this healthy eating article (click to see part 1) we covered cutting out refined vegetable oils as the first step to improve your health through healthy eating.
The next food to cut out on your journey to being the healthiest you can be is.... processed foods!
Now you most probably have heard this message before, that processed food is no good for your health. But, you may be a little confused about it all.
So let’s get started clearing up what processed food is, and why you should be cutting it out of your diet.
ABOUT PROCESSED FOODS
Processed foods are any food that has been altered in some way during preparation, and they vary in processing from minimally processed to heavily processed.
The greater the processing, usually the less nutrient-dense (and therefore unhealthy) a food becomes.
Foods that have not been processed include fruit, raw vegetables, raw dairy, raw meat, nuts and seafood. Minimally processed foods include dried food (e.g. dried fruit), pasteurised food (e.g. milk), cooked food, or chilled food.
Our foods can be further processed to moderately processed foods. Some examples of moderately processed foods include preserved vegetables and fruit, cheese, fresh bread and canned fish.
Minimally to moderately processed foods can be healthy if no other nasties are added (we’ll discuss certain nasties in this article).
Heavily processed food (usually referred to as ultra-processed foods) is manufactured using special machinery making them cheaper to produce, extending their shelf life and make them taste, and even look delicious (and fun).
Sounds great thus far, but all of this comes at the expense of our health!
Since heavily processed foods have entered our diet, our health has suffered dramatically. They have been linked to weight gain and obesity and health issues, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. [1, 2]
These highly processed foods contain little, if any, foods in their natural form and are designed to imitate the qualities of natural foods.
They are usually wrapped in attractive packaging and marketed to get us eating more of them.
Highly processed foods contain little to no nutrients and are usually loaded with many, many unhealthy ingredients. These ingredients include:
REFINED VEGETABLE OILS
As discussed in part 1 of this article.
REFINED FLOUR
Whole grains in their natural form have nutrients our body needs. When grains are refined, these nutrients are depleted. Additionally, harmful additives are usually added, including, benzoyl peroxide (bleach) to give the flour its white colour.
When baking your favourite recipes that use flour, consider these healthier options.
Whole wheat flour — make sure it’s whole wheat flour, not wheat flour.
White whole wheat flour - this flour is made with white wheat berries and is milder tasting than regular whole wheat.
Spelt flour - higher in protein with fewer calories. This flour has different properties to other flours, so will take some getting used to when using in recipes.
REFINED SUGAR AND OTHER SWEETENERS - (Including High Fructose Corn Syrup and Aspartame)
Nowadays, we eat more sugar than we ever have before.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that "Australians consume an average of 105 grams of total sugars per day. Just over half of this is free sugars (60 grams, equivalent to approximately 14 level teaspoons of white sugar), with the balance (45 grams) being the naturally occurring sugars."
This is mostly due to the high presence of refined sugars in a variety of products we eat regularly.
Consuming excessive amounts of refined sugar has been linked to weight gain and obesity, diabetes, heart disease and liver disease. [3]
Some of the foods and beverages that usually contain high doses of refined sugars include:
Breakfast cereal & granola.
Soft drinks (sodas).
Confectionary, biscuits (cookies), pastries, and cakes.
Fruit yoghurt and ice cream.
Syrups and juice concentrates.
Condiments like tomato sauce (ketchup), mustard & BBQ Sauce.
On the other hand, other sweeteners, including artificial sweeteners, are no better, and possibly worse.
Take high-fructose corn syrup. A sweetener that is commonly found in soft drinks and sweetened juices, processed desserts, condiments and salad dressings, prepackaged meals and other everyday indulgences. This sweetener has been linked to obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease. [4, 5, 6]
Aspartame (marketed as NutraSweet or Equal) is another heavily used sweetener. This artificial sweetener is most commonly found in "diet" or "low sugar" food and drinks. Aspartame has been linked to obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and has been shown to cause cancer when administered to rats. [7, 8, 9]
ADDITIVES AND PROCESSING AIDS
If you read a food label on packaged foods, aside from the main ingredients, you'll probably find a lot of funny words and numbers you may not understand. These words and numbers are additives and processing aids.
Not all of them have shown to be harmful to our health, but to be safe, I say avoid them, or limit them as best you can!
Common additives include preservatives, artificial colourings, artificial flavourings, flavour enhancers, carbonating, firming, bulking and anti-bulking, de-foaming, anti-caking and glazing agents, emulsifiers, sequestrants and humectants.
OUT WITH THE JUNK FOOD
The simplest way to stop (or limit) these processed foods is by avoiding food that comes in a package. Foods that definitely don't look like they come from nature.
Obviously, some foods that come packaged aren't so bad for us. And some are actually healthy.
Not all packaged food is unhealthy.
Healthy - but plastic waste at it’s worst!
The next time you're cruising between the aisles of your local supermarket, try to steer clear of some of the following foods:
Boxed cereal, energy bars, energy drinks.
Confectionary & chocolates.
Low cost, packaged bread.
Cakes, donuts & biscuits (cookies) and other desserts.
Soft drinks (soda) & juices (Yes, even most fruit juices!).
Instant noodle meals and instant sauces.
Processed meats (deli meats, hot dogs, salami, cheap sausages etc.)
Frozen, deep-fried foods.
Margarine and certain other spreads.
Foods labelled "Health" and "weight loss" products.
Plant-based (fake) meats, cheeses and spreads - Impossible, Beyond meat etc. - these are NOT a healthy alternative to grass-fed meats, and natural cheeses or butter. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, stick to whole foods!
IN WITH THE HEALTH FOOD
If you’re thinking “so what's left for me to eat?”.
There's plenty!! Plenty of REAL whole food. Food that nature provides for us!
Your body needs nutrient-dense foods high in vitamins and minerals to not only sustain bodily processes but to also thrive!
And there are so many delicious natural, nutrient-dense foods out there!
Fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat, seafood, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains.
And don't just stick to the typical foods, why not try some nutritious foods you may have never tried before, or haven’t in a while.
Some examples (Which include some of mother nature's most nutrient-dense foods):
Tropical and other fruits (e.g. papaya, mangos, dragon fruits, guava, different berries).
Vegetables (e.g. yams, squash, potatoes, bamboo shoots).
Delicious cheeses (e.g. hard cheeses are less processed and very nutrient-dense) and other dairy (e.g. yoghurt, kefir).
Seafood (e.g. prawns, oysters, fish, crayfish, crab).
Meat (e.g. organ meats, bone broth, different cuts of meat. Organ meats are more nutrient-dense than the muscle meat. More on this at a later date).
Opt for grass-fed and organic meats (or wild meat), fruit or vegetables and local grass-fed dairy over other options when you can.
If you enjoy cooking - try new dishes, experiment with new, healthy recipes with fresh and locally grown produce. And, why not pass on your skills to your children and grandchildren? This will ensure their health flourishes for generations to come!
THE FUTURE NEEDS YOUR WISDOM!
CUTTING BACK ON SUGAR
We all know that most of us are getting too much sugar in our diet, but does this mean that you need to ditch sweet food altogether?
Absolutely not!
There are plenty of sugar alternatives to choose from that'll satisfy your sweet tooth and won't do any damage to your overall health.
Raw honey (not regular, processed honey) is the number #1 sweetener AND a health food.
It contains vitamins and minerals and other elements which offer antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Rather than using sugar in your tea or coffee, why not substitute it for a teaspoon of raw honey? (Remember to make sure it’s specifically labelled “raw” honey).
Other healthier sweeteners include maple syrup, coconut sugar and monk fruit.
When having to choose between "diet" and other drink or food options, unless there's a reason why you have to cut out the sugar, choose plain sugar over any harmful sweetener and minimise the amount you consume.
Also keep in mind, that just because something is going to have less of an effect on your waistline, does NOT mean it is healthy.
SHOPPING FOR HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES (READING FOOD LABELS)
Making your own alternatives to supermarket food is one way to make the foods you love healthier.
However, there are many healthier alternatives in your supermarkets, even for foods like ice cream. When you have an idea of what you’re looking for, you can choose the healthier options.
Here are just two examples of healthier alternatives I found in the supermarket:
HEALTHY SUPERMARKET ALTERNATIVE EXAMPLE # 1:
ICE CREAM
If you’re someone that loves ice cream, or maybe it’s something you like to give to your grandkids, there are healthier alternatives in supermarkets.
(If you’re extra keen, you can buy an ice cream maker and make your own. Plenty of healthy recipes online).
Here are two different supermarket vanilla ice creams.
Vanilla Ice Cream Ingredients: “Water, Sugar Syrup, Cream and/or butter (Milk), Skim Milk Concentrate, Glucose Syrup (from Wheat), Maltodextrin (from Maize), Whey Powder, Emulsifier (471-from Palm, 433), Vegetable Gum (410), Natural Flavour, Natural Colour (Caramelised Sugar, 160a).”
Better Option Vanilla Ice Cream Ingredients: “Fresh cream (39%), condensed skim milk, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla extract.” (5 simple ingredients).
When I am looking at these food ingredients, I am looking for less of the nasty ingredients (discussed above), ingredients closer to their natural form and fewer ingredients in total.
As you can see, one is filled with many unwanted ingredients, the other uses 5 simple ingredients close to natural form.
Nowadays, there are many ice creams marketed as “healthy” alternatives. They may be lower in calories, and sugar and higher in protein, however, most are still filled with unhealthy ingredients, so keep an eye out for this.
HEALTHY SUPERMARKET ALTERNATIVE EXAMPLE # 2:
ORANGE JUICE
Here are two different orange “juices” - one is actually labelled a fruit “drink”, because it isn’t just juice.
Orange Fruit Drink Ingredients - “Water, Reconstituted Orange Juice (25%), Food Acid (330), Natural Flavours, Preservatives (202, 211), Natural Colour (160a), Thickener (415).”
Better Option Orange Juice Ingredients - “Orange juice (100%)…. and nothing else!”
As you can see again, one is filled with unwanted ingredients, the other is 100% orange juice from local produce.
Choose the healthier options!
Yes, these healthier options might be a little more expensive, but your health is worth it. You are what you eat!
I could do this for many supermarket foods from chocolate, potato chips and even chocolate chip cookies. Although eating a piece of fruit or a plate of vegetables is better than these foods, there are always healthier alternatives.
If you would like to see more examples of healthy alternatives, let me know in the More Life Health Facebook Support Group.
Now you have an idea of what foods you should be cutting out, you can start eliminating them from your pantries and choose healthier alternatives.
Aim to do this gradually over time, little by little.
A significant change in your diet from what you have done for so long can be difficult and overwhelming. There is a lot to learn, and it takes discipline. These unhealthy foods are everywhere!
When you make the change, and you find yourself eating some junk foods again, don't beat yourself up. Don't dwell on it once it's done!
Just get back to eating real, whole foods and try and do this for the majority of the time!
Do your best!
Once you start making a conscious choice to cut out unhealthy foods, and you start getting familiar with food ingredients and reading the food labels, this all becomes much easier.
With these changes, after a while, you'll notice a significant difference in your health - both inside and out.