There’s a good reason experts advise you to shop the outside of the grocery store, where most of the fresh foods can be found. Packaged and processed foods have a tendency to be higher in salt and sugar. They also can have “hidden” trans fats.

These extra ingredients may make food taste better, but they also contribute to three good reasons for avoiding processed foods:

1. They can elevate blood pressure
2. They can increase blood sugar levels
3. They can contribute to system-wide inflammation

In this video, discover ingredients to watch for on your food labels as well as healthy suggestions to replace fast and processed food choices.

Also, consider these further tips for a healthy approach to eating.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Thanks to HFCS, food tastes better, entices us to consume more of it, and becomes much cheaper to manufacture. But HFCS is not kind to our health. The extra fructose in HFCS cannot be processed by the body, so it’s stored in the liver in the form of triglyceride fat. So, besides contributing to higher blood sugar levels, HFCS also encourages higher cholesterol numbers.

Trans fats

Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats are unhealthy. On a nutrition facts label, the amount of these oils in a product are indicated as trans fats. But are they?

Actually, a product can have up to .5 mg of trans fats per serving and still show 0 trans fats on the label! Manufacturers can use tricks like smaller serving sizes to stay within this parameter, too.

So, it is really important to read the ingredients list in full when you buy packaged and processed foods. If you see hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, then you know you will be consuming trans fats.

Bad Food Is Everywhere

Even when we think we are eating healthy, processed foods can sneak up on us. Dressings on salads, condiments, the way meats or vegetables are prepared, all these areas are places where trans fats, sugars, extra salt and HCFS can be hiding.

Our family-owned health food store is always striving to help your family meet its healthy goals. Betsy’s Health Foods is always taking your health and your budget to heart, since 1993.

In health,
Ramona