Rant - Processed Foods Are Evil!

• I'm pulling out my soapbox and hopping on it. Although I should be knitting my mother's birthday gift this is just too important. (and my hand is going numb again so I could really use the break) I just watched Dr. Oz reveal the recent research that has found a link between preservatives, processed foods and Alzheimer's. I've been saying for a couple of years now how important it is to find the shortest distance from Mother Nature's hands to your mouth when making food choices. Processed foods are EVIL! Stop eating them. They are bad for you. They increase the risk of cancer and diabetes. And now we see there is a correlation between type 2 diabetes (previously known as adult onset diabetes but is now seen regularly in kids) and Alzheimer's. Scared?! You should be!

• For years we've known the correlation between diet and heart disease but we all must start to recognize the connection between our complete health, physical and mental (the brain is just another body organ after all) and what we put in our bodies. Any population that has been touted as 'being health', Sardinia, Greek, Italian, Indian, are population groups that eat natural food products with no processed foods. It seems living off the land is a good thing. But if you can't live off the land, you can at least make better choices when you put food into your body. What exactly are processed foods? A good general way to look at it, to help keep things simple, is once man has interfered, the food have become processed. Natural sources are always, I repeat ALWAYS, best. Read the ingredients, if you can't identify everything in the list put it back on the shelf. There are special things to look for, Glucose-fructose (sugar), MSG and has Dr. Oz pointed out, the dreaded Sodium Nitrite. Here's a good list to start with!

• The label says it's healthy and natural with less fat, injected with omega 3 or probiotics. Must be good for me, right? Hold the phone folks! If it's not as Mother Nature intended beware. It's officially a processed food. Adding nutrients into other food sources isn't the best way to get the nutrient. Get your omega 3 from fish, not added to your yogurt or margarine (don't even get me started on margarine, use olive oil and limited amounts of butter - way better than man-made margarine, I don't care what health organization the margarine producer is supporting...). Check out a great article from thatsfit.ca on foods touted as "healthy". Actually the whole http://www.thatsfit.ca/ site is pretty great for a different perspective on healthy living.

• One more thing to consider under the heading of processed foods. White flour, white sugar, white rice, anything processed to 'white' is bad for you. Period. No dancing around it. When it comes to food, white ain't cool. Save 'white' for your summer wardrobe, not your diet. If you can find a local small mill that is stone grinding flour or grains, buy, buy, buy! Even white salt should be replaced with sea salt. Yup, less processing, just as Momma Nature intended.

• I'm getting off my soap box now. For supper this evening I'll be having leftover Cheesy Spinach Pasta Bake (see below) which has all real foods, nothing processed!