Dangers of Processed food
Processed Food is becoming very much of our daily lives.
How many of us here in Singapore love canned products such as Luncheon Meat?
How can we not add Fried Luncheon meat to our breakfast Bee Hoon? How about Luncheon Meat in your Fried Rice….Sounds heavenly right! Luncheon Meat always seems brings a different “Yummy” dimension to any meal.
Although Luncheon Meat is supposedly made up of Pork or a Pig, it contains at least 70% fat. However, even the fattest pork chop has only 10% fat! That means that we are eating something that does not exist, which is why Luncheon meat is one of the unhealthiest canned products, that you can add to your diet. If you love luncheon meat or spam, it’s time to take this processed food out of your diet!
If processed food is unhealthy, why are there food products which are processed?
It boils down to the question of dollars and cents! In the name of profits, the shelf life of a product must be increased. To increase shelf life, preservatives must be added to products! Ever wondered why your food products like crisps and pasta sauce can last for a long period of time? The answer lies in Preservatives!!
But in comparison, a freshly baked loaf of bread can only last 2-3 days at room temperature. A quick way to evaluate what foods are unprocessed, is just to evaluate how fast they spoil. The faster they decompose, the better.
What foods to avoid?
Unfortunately, Daddy’s favourite fast food should be avoided! As the oils that they are cooked with, such as Canola oil and hydrogenated soybean oil produces Trans fats.
What exactly are Trans fats! They are fats infused with hydrogen, and you find them very often in cookies from the Supermarket and in sweet stuff like doughnuts. Companies keep them there, as the make processed food taste good! Yes! Fat tastes good! 
And what are the consequences of Trans fats?
They raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol. Trans Fats are like plastic, and they cannot be broken down by the body. Not only will it result in weight gain, but it increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke in infertility.
Trans fats are commonly found in commercially fried food and packaged foods, especially baked goods. But you won’t see the phrase, “trans fat” in the list of ingredients. Instead, look for the word, “hydrogenated.”
And beware of labels claiming NO trans fats. They’re often still in there, because the Food and Drug Administation allows food with up to a half-gram of trans fat per serving to be labelled “Trans fat free.”
The problem is, those servings can be small so we eat many servings, and those half-grams add-up.
It’s definitely not easy being a parent, as we have got to watch our diet, if we want our kids to do the same! Which is the reason why, I have recently started eating rolled oats for breakfast. Never thought that I would try it, but I must say that I am getting used to eating a healthier breakfast, and starting the day right, with more healthy foods!