Whether it is a bag of chips or frozen dinner, packaged foods are a part of most American's daily diet, but they are not our healthiest choice. In fact they may actually be harmful to your health. 

While packaged foods might be tasty, too much of a good thing may actually be harmful to you. Packaged foods are usually full of three things; sugar, sodium, and fat. They are often very high in unhealthy fats like refined-seed and vegetable oil that then turn into trans fat. While all of these ingredients make the food taste amazing, they are what lead to health issues such as obesity and heart disease when eaten too often. 

Packaged food also goes through processing which strips it of many vital nutrients. For example, fiber is an essential part of your diet to keep your digestion running smoothly, but processing chemically strips almost all of the fiber from the food we are eating. This causes you to digest it way faster than normal and leaves you feeling unsatisfied and hungry from a seemingly regular-sized meal. 

Packaged goods also have a ton of unnecessary added ingredients. You'll notice that when you read the back of a packaged good you can barely pronounce the majority of the ingredients. These are all additives to make the food taste better, look better, and last longer and are not good to be put into your body.

So, the next time you are shopping for food try and get as many fresh ingredients as you can and when you can't look at the back of the package and look at the ingredients to make sure you are buying what you want without all of those added ingredients. If you are a person who eats on the run, planning and cooking meals in advance is a great way to cut down on processed foods. 

 

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