Processed foods rule dinner tables today. Everything from savoury snacks to tinned to canned foods lines up shelves. Not all of them are bad. Especially, the pre-chopped vegetables, or fruits canned in their own juices. Others with large amounts of hidden sodium, fats and sugar are harmful.
In the first place, they have too little fibre. But fibre is essential. It helps absorb food, and form a gelatinous barrier. That coats the intestinal walls. Also it induces slow absorption of glucose and fructose, and stops spiking of blood sugar. Slow digestion gives gut bacteria more time to feed on it. This in turn benefits the body.
Processed food contains too few omega-3 fatty acids. Thus, you miss out on anti-inflammatory properties. Instead, processed foods come with higher amount of omega-6 fatty acids. That causes inflammation, while damaging cells. Also, they contain little vitamins and minerals. These micronutrients are essential.
Another flipside is, processed foods have Trans fat, emulsifiers and branched-chain amino acids. Trans fats would end up in arteries and liver, generating harmful free radicals. Acting like detergents, emulsifiers strip away protective mucus membrane on intestine. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and have branched chains. They help build muscle. But, too much amino acids end up in liver as fats. Processed foods contain over much salt. This leads to hypertension and heart disease. They also have high levels of fructose.
Fructose are broken in the liver like ethanol or alcohol, causing fatty liver disease. As a result, kids, who never so much as smelt alcohol, get liver diseases, common in drunkards. Eat and drink sensibly.
