Snow Farms Holistic Wellness

Clients often ask me where to start in order to eat more healthy. This is one of the simplest questions to answer, but one of the more difficult things to implement at first because over 70% of the food products in a grocery store contain these “foods!” What are these worst 3 foods you ask?

Let’s head back in time about 60-70 years ago when the shift to more readily available foods started. World War 2 changed lots of things, including our food system. Prior to this, whole foods- 1 ingredient foods- and healthy saturated fats were consumed regularly. During World War 2, salt and sugar became too expensive to ship overseas so nitrites were added to foods as preservatives and marketed as better food when in reality this was just the opposite! Nitrites turn to poison when in the digestive system and may cause cancer. So the food industry quickly started adding antioxidants (vitamins C & E) to prevent cancer. The sulfites (another added preservative) destroyed the B vitamins and caused the foods to lose their color and taste. The food industry then started adding artificial colors and flavors- both natural and artificial- to make the food look and taste better. One of the biggest additives is MSG which contributes to asthma issues and several others- but dang does it ever make things taste good! Other flavors added were the assorted sugar alternatives such as saccharin and aspartame which give our “food” a sweeter flavor but may cause cancer and memory issues. Because all of these things were introduced, the food ended up with weird textures so emulsifiers and gums were added along with other nutrients so the foods were then labeled as “fortified” and “enhanced vitamins.” A vicious circle, right?

Now, let’s learn more about the Worst 3 “Foods: ultra processed grains, ultra processed sugars, and ultra processed and manufactured seed oils. All 3 of these should be eaten sporadically maybe at a wedding or a birthday- not everyday!

Let’s start with ultra processed and manufactured seed oils. Most of the fats found in today’s diet are polyunsaturated ones that come from sources such as soy, corn, safflower, and canola. One of the biggest misconceptions about these fats are that they are better for us than saturated fats such as butter, olive oil, ghee, lard, and tallow. However, the reason that these seed oils are so bad for us is because when they are cooked at too high of a temperature, they become rancid and contain free radicals. Free radicals do a great deal of harm to our bodies: damage our skin, attack cell membranes, damage our blood vessels which lead to plaque build up. These fruit, seed and nut oils have to go to a rigorous process in order to land in those plastic bottles on your grocery store shelves. The oils must first be extracted by being crushed and heated while the pulp is is treated with toxic solvents to get the last 10% of the oil out. Yum! Hydrogenation- which is turning liquids into solids like margarine or shortening is another process that soy, corn, cottonseed or canola oils go through. These rancid oils are mixed with nickel oxide heated, bleached, then dyes and flavors are added to come up with something that vaguely reminds people of butter! None of these fats do a body good!

Next up on the worst foods list is ultra processed grains. These whole grains start as seeds before being planted in the ground. As the seed sprouts they are intaking water from the ground or irrigation plus they are intaking the poisonous pesticides and sprays to get rid of mold and other damaging items. Once harvested, the grains are taken to roller mills where the rollers separate the grains into different parts and taken out the bran and the germ (which contain the most nutrients). Then what is left is heated and bleached which gives the flour its bright white color and also leaves it stripped of all it’s vitamins and minerals so then it is “fortified” and now “healthy”. This process is not what our grandmothers and grandfathers did to get their loaf of bread! This flour is then heated, pressurized, slurried, extruded, and reshaped into difficult to digest foods such as rice cakes, breakfast cereals, and loaves of white bread. Sounds appetizing, right?

Last on our short list is ultra processed sugars – the heavy hitters with the power packed punch! These little guys and gals sneak into your prized packaged foods and hide out as chemicals ending in -ose. Unrefined carbs are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes which build our bodies up, but the refined carbs of today are just empty or negative calories which over load our bodies with excess glucose that causes havoc on our bodies in the form of some systems being on high alert while others simply cannot keep up and shut down altogether. Did you know that in 1821, the average American’s sugar intake per year was only 10 pounds? Today this number is dramatically increased to over 170 pounds per year! This paired with the ultra processed seed oils and grains has led to a huge increase in degenerative diseases that plague our society today.

For those of you wondering, the information comes from the amazing book by Sally Fallon called Nourishing Traditions, which I hope that you will purchase as she talks way more in-depth and skill than I can talk about here today as well as a podcast, On Health with Dr. Aviva Romm featuring Dr. Casey Means.

Now I am sure you are thinking, “Thanks for ruining my day, Andrea.” Never fear, on Thursday I will come back with 5 key elements that should be included in each meal that you each daily and examples of foods to eat!

Until then, leave me a comment or question below!