Eating For Health

Who doesn’t eat processed foods?   Almost all the foods we eat undergo some processing.   Bread is processed, crackers are processed.   Real cow’s milk is pasteurized to kill some bacteria and is fortified with vitamin D.   But highly processed foods have many nutrients and fiber removed.   Now many health professionals are talking about ultra-processed foods.   Is some processing of foods needed? Yes.   As noted, cow’s milk is pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria.   They also add vitamin D to milk which is a good thing.   Some foods are frozen, like frozen vegetables and frozen fruit to prolong shelf life.   Grains are processed to make bread, crackers, cereal.   What type of food processing is not good for our health? You may have heard of refined grains.   All grains start out healthy as whole grains.   Then many grains are refined, which removes one or more parts of the grain.   White flour and white rice...

So many myths about carbs.    Are carbs good or bad for your health?   A student in my class, Nicole Hamby, has been asked to be a guest author on this blog site.   Her paper on Good vs Bad Carbs is below.        Carbohydrates have been given a very bad reputation. However, it is not the actual carbohydrate that is bad, but what we have created them into with all of our processing. Instead of eating brown rice or whole wheat bread, Americans have chosen to consume the refined processed versions. Not only do these processed foods now lack essential nutrients but some of them can contribute to obesity and type II diabetes. Perhaps instead of grabbing a handful of jelly beans, which contains refined simple sugars, a piece of fruit would be much more beneficial to help prevent some of these diseases. While fruit may contain some simple sugars, it is natural, unrefined, and packed with vitamins your body needs. Whole grains, which are comp...