What Does the Food Industry Know About the Fountain of Youth?
While the beauty industry is still forging a quest for its fountain of youth, the food industry has discovered a way to keep food “looking” forever young. But looks can be deceiving – leaving you wondering – what does the processing of this eternal food do to your body and your chance of staying forever young?
Food holds the most vitality and nutrients when it’s harvested, but in every minute that follows, it begins to decrease in nutritional value. So with the clock ticking and massive amounts of food harvested at once, the food industry discovered that they could process – or alter the natural state of – food so it can reach your plate before spoiling.
Why is processed food bad for you?
With fewer nutrients and added artificial preservatives, processed food doesn’t offer your body the key ingredients it needs to run properly – disrupting digestion, assimilation (absorption in the body) and elimination – leaving you feeling anything but youthful.
The good news is that there are ways to eat healthfully to keep you looking and feeling young. Here are my top three tips:
Eat whole: Eating food the way in which nature created it ensures maximum amount of nutrients in the right portions. Whole foods include fruits, vegetables, whole grains (millet, brown rice, oats, rye, whole wheat, buckwheat, quinoa, and cornmeal), seeds, nuts and beans. If you can whole at least 50% of the time, you may just add some time onto your life.
Eat local: Eating locally grown food naturally shortens the time in which a food is picked to when it reaches your plate. This ensures more nutrient-dense and flavorful food. The environment will also benefit from not having the exhaust of trucks transporting food cross-country.
DIY preserving: There are many ways to naturally preserve your food that will retain the flavor and nutrients better than commercially processed food. The simplest idea of cooking once and eating twice works really well. Try cooking a large pot of soup or chili and freeze containers for a night you need a quick meal. This better than buying a can of soup with an expiration date that’s years away.