Whole Foods Above All Else
Eating whole, unprocessed foods is one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental health.
While there are a boatload of reasons to favor eating whole foods, these are the 3 biggest:
- Whole foods have not been stripped of their nutrients or fiber so they pack and punch and what you get is as nature intended. Think nutrient-dense foods like animal proteins, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
- Whole foods digest slowly, which helps limit blood sugar spikes throughout the day. Blood sugar spikes, over time, create insulin resistance, inflammation and disease.
- Whole foods tend to be high in fiber. Fiber is important for digestive health, heart health, and weight loss. It also helps to keep you feeling full and satisfied.
On the other side of whole foods are processed foods. Processing changes food from its natural state. Either by stripping important nutrients from the food or by adding ingredients such as sugar, salt, fat, and artificial colors or preservatives. Think frozen pizza, soda, fast food, sweets, salty snacks, canned soup, and most breakfast cereals.
Eating processed foods is associated with obesity, diabetes and greater cardiovascular risk.
When the choice is yours, prioritize eating whole foods. Not only will whole foods crowd out other less healthy options but whole foods are associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes. It can also help you to lose weight, improve your energy levels, and boost your mood.
Knowing the costs and benefits of each is critical in today’s world when we have so much accessibility to processed foods.
