Natural Foods

Natural foods are the best healthy choice for your body.  Natural foods are grown in gardens, orchards, or greenhouses. They do not include refined sugars, refined flours, milled grains, hydrogenated oils, sweeteners, food colors, or flavorings.  Instead, to sweeten the foods ingredients such as stevia, raw honey, agave, nectar, and maple syrup are used.  Natural foods are unprocessed and unrefined.  While this does give them a shorter shelf life, they are very flavorful, beautiful, and have rich textures.  Natural foods have much more minerals, antioxidants, phytochemeicals, and fiber.

Since natural foods are not funded by government subsidies, they are harder to find.  Healthy, natural foods can be found at your local farmers market, and at fresh fruit and vegetable stands.  Some natural foods include fruits, vegetables, and unpolished grains.

Processed Foods

Processed foods have a longer shelf life than natural foods.  While this may seem attractive, processed foods are full of monosodium glutamate (MSG), preservatives, hydrogenated oil, artificial sweeteners, and fillers.  This makes the processed foods low on minerals, antioxidants, phytochemeicals, and fiber.  Processed foods are heavily funded by government subsidies.  They can be found all throughout the aisles in grocery stores.  Examples of processed foods include cereal, crackers, and soda.

You may be asking yourself “Why should I switch to natural foods?  I am healthy eating what I am eating now.” While this may seem like a valid argument, your body isn’t nearly as healthy as it could be if you are eating lots of processed foods.  To understand this better, you must know a little bit about your body and what it requires.

There are four basic nutrients that our body require.  They are water, carbohydrates, fat, and protein.  These four basic nutrients should be the foundation of any diet.  Carbohydrates give your body energy.  They can be found in fruits, vegetables, peas, and beans.  The Carbohydrates are converted to glucose which provide energy for your body.   Sixty percent of your diet should contain carbohydrates.  Fats are the most concentrated source of body energy.  There is far too much negativity towards fats.  Fat is needed for your body to support growth and to provide energy.  While you will want to watch your fat intake, it is needed for your body.  Protein helps your body including the tissues, muscles, skin, and organs.  It is broken down into amino acids which gives your body energy for vital organs.  Good protein include meat, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, and seeds.

Lacking in these four basic nutrients, can cause endless amounts of problems including diabetes.  Substituting processed foods for natural ones will give you more energy, and will help you become a much more healthier person.