Step Out of the Box

When talking with a friend that recently slimmed up, I inquired about what she was doing differently. She replied, “Trying not to eat anything that comes in a box.” All week I pondered this strategy thinking it a simple way to lose weight and more importantly eliminate processed foods from your diet.

If the majority of your diet consists of foods that are boxed, bagged, canned or jarred and have a long list of ingredients, they are processed. In addition, if you are eating these foods regularly you are polluting your body with chemicals that can potentially cause cancer, obesity, heart disease, diabetes and liver disease.

Before you open another can of Vienna sausages, prepare dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets or purchase a box of Little Debbie’s, read this:

1. Processed foods often have carcinogenic properties. One seven-year study I read about revealed that people who ate mostly processed meats had a 67 percent higher risk of having pancreatic cancer.

2. Processed foods have trans-fatty acids. These are the dangerous types of fats that cause your LDL—the bad cholesterol—to rise, and the good cholesterol, or HDL, to decrease. Avoiding these high-carb processed foods can cut a woman’s risk of heart disease by 30 percent, according to one study conducted at Harvard.

3. Most heavily processed foods are higher in sugar, fat and salt. Packaged foods have virtually no nutritional value and cause unhealthy weight gain that can lead to obesity, diabetes and liver disease.

4. The strong flavors in processed foods make you want to add more salt and sugar to whole foods. Your taste buds are essentially desensitized to natural flavors.

5. Some processed foods are filled with parts and pieces of an animal like snouts, ears and esophagi. DISGUSTING!

My friend is a walking testimony that stepping out of the box is a simple and healthy way to lose weight and feel great.

For questions or comments email: suzannemcginnis@me.com