Why fortified foods are about as healthy as eating tar

If you asked the average person whether nutrients are good for you, I think most people would say yes.

But alas, all nutrients are not created equal. 

That’s especially true when you’re talking about the nutrients fused into processed, packaged foods.

Because although these factory creations may boast about being “Fortified with essential nutrients!” trust me, the actual amount of added nutrients your body may be getting isn’t even close to what you need, plus many of these so-called foodstuffs are about as good for you as eating tar, so the added nutrients are about useless at that point.

Let’s take a closer look at these not-so-healthy foods:

Why do they add in nutrients to begin with?

Processed food manufacturers add in nutrients for two main reasons:

1- To replace some (but not all) of the naturally occurring nutrients that were “processed out” of the product’s ingredients during manufacturing.
For example, during the processing of whole grains into flours, several B vitamins and minerals are destroyed.  So the flour must be “enriched” to add some of the nutrients back in, but the vitamin B6, chromium and zinc that were destroyed are typically not replaced. 
So you end up falling short on what Nature had provided.

2- To make a product appear healthier than it is.
Processed orange juice is a good example.  Several brands of OJ are fortified with vitamin D and calcium. 
In Nature, oranges don’t contain vitamin D or calcium.  But food manufacturers are well aware that many menopausal women (who do the family grocery shopping) are concerned about osteoporosis, so why not make their product appear healthier and play on people’s fears about bone health?

Sounds like a great way to sell a lot of orange juice.

What they’re hiding

Processed food manufacturers hope that you become so excited about added nutrients that you overlook what they’re hiding—here are two of the biggies:

Truckloads of sugar
The average person consumes between 130 – 140 pounds of sugar from processed foods each year!
Sugar is a leading contributing factor to most chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer and Type 2 diabetes. 

Plus it depresses your immune system functioning, drives up your blood pressure, feeds harmful yeasts and bacteria in your gut, slows down your brain’s ability to transmit messages and is certainly a major force behind our widening backsides.

Oh, and it’s been compared to cocaine in terms of addictiveness too.

And get this—one of the biggest offenders in terms of added sugar is: Children’s breakfast cereals!

Thousands of chemicals
The food industry routinely uses 2,000 different food additives, but the total number of available additives is over 8,000.

Chemicals are easy to spot.  Anytime you look at a food label and have no earthly clue what an ingredient is, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s a chemical.

But that’s not all.

Because if you don’t know what an ingredient is, neither does your body.

And contrary to what you may think, these mystery ingredients don’t just sail innocently through your innards and become part of your next BM. 

Your body cannot metabolize chemicals--instead they must be processed by your liver similar to a poison.  This can lead to acid waste build-up, tax your liver and kidneys, impair your cells’ functioning, and make you toxic, sick and overweight.

Here’s an interesting tidbit—“Chemicals” also includes medications too.  That’s why, although they may achieve a desired outcome like shutting down your stomach acid, lowering blood pressure or relieving pain, they also take their toll on the rest of your body.

That’s what called “side effects.”

What to do?  The answer is simple

The closer you stick to foods in their natural state, the more you will avoid processed foods and their hidden dangers.

Do the majority of your grocery shopping in the outer perimeter of the store where the real foods are located—fresh produce, meats, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs and real butter.

Take advantage of farmer’s markets and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) programs to keep costs down.
Drink filtered water instead of soda or sports drinks (yet another tremendous source of sugar that is supposed to appear healthy).

Choose healthier options for processed foods.  For example, make oatmeal or scrambled eggs for your kids instead of serving sugary breakfast cereals.  If they balk, do it anyway.  They’ll eventually eat when they’re hungry enough.

And if you must purchase a processed food, strive for organic, choose those with as few ingredients as possible and look out for hidden sugars and chemicals.

If you need help, my Great Taste No Pain health system can guide you on making healthy choices and creating delicious meals made from real foods!

And if you’re getting away from processed foods, it’s important to help your gut flora recover from previous sugar onslaughts with Super Shield multi-strain probiotic formula!