However, those easy-to-heat microwave dinners that save of us a few minutes in the evening or in the lunchroom are packed with trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, white sugar, artificial sweeteners, and MSG. In fact, these are found in nearly all of today's processed foods and are the main contributors to America's growing weight issues.
Here's a look at what these five common ingredients are doing to our bodies—young and old.
Trans fats have been linked to heart disease, cancers, digestive disorders, and the degeneration of joints and tendons. In children, skin disorders, learning disabilities, stunted growths, and auto immune diseases have also been linked to trans fatty acids. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 20 calories a day (based on a daily intake of 2,000 calories), or 1% from trans fats.
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a common sweetener and preservative that has been the center of attention lately. The average American consumes 68 pounds of HFCS a year! What researchers are finding is HFCS increases triglyceride levels and LDL (the bad cholesterol) within an hour of digestion. This is being linked to cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypoglycemia, and diabetes.
White sugar is everyone's favorite additive. The average American consumes nearly 175 pounds of sugar a year! However, sugar is linked to the development of many cancers including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer. White sugar is also known to suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.
Artificial sweeteners, to no surprise, are another sweet additive that impairs the body's ability to control weight. As they stimulate your appetite, they also stimulate fat storage. These are often found in diet sodas, and studies show that drinking diet sodas are connected with heart disease and metabolic syndrome.
MSG (monosodium glutamate) is an excito-toxin. That is, it overexcites the cells in your body to a dangerous degree, acting as a poison to your system. What is scary about MSG is that it's often a hidden ingredient in foods being labeled as broth, gelatin, yeast extract, etc. For those allergic to MSG, this is a tricky situation because the FDA allows companies to exclude it from the ingredient list. MSG is linked to nerve damage and MSG symptom complex that includes headaches, flushing, sweating, facial pressure and/or tightness, numbness, rapid heart rates, chest pains, and nausea.
A new TV show aired on ABC last Friday that was geared toward changing the way we view food quality in schools. Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution revealed how processed foods can affect students concentration and learning capabilities, and how a school's budget really affects the quality of food each student receives. The two-hour premiere clearly portrayed the challenges with the cost difference between fresh lunches, and processed, easy-to-prepare meals. But, more than just revealing America's food challenges in schools, it also showed how our diets at home have deteriorated to a disturbing level.
Jamie Oliver, famous English chef and Food Network star, raises the question, "If 30-minutes of healthy cooking a night would vastly improve the way you feel, how productive you were, and your overall health, wouldn't you give that to yourself and your family?"
For more information about Jamie's new show and some simple recipes, click here.
