NUTRITION AUTHOR
Shannon Dolan
INGREDIENTS YOU WANT TO STAY AWAY FROM n Are these unhealthy ingredients lurking in your pantry?
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onsuming predominately real, whole foods is the ideal path to eating a nutrient-dense diet. However, sometimes we have to purchase processed foods to align with our busy schedules. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), processed food is defined as any raw agricultural item that has been subject to any process — washing, cleaning, milling, cutting, chopping, heating, pasteurizing, blanching, cooking, canning, freezing, drying, dehydrating, mixing, packaging, etc. There can be lightly processed foods like some nut butters or highly processed foods like packaged cookies. The problem is some of these processed foods that are labeled as healthy with buzz words like “organic” can actually contain chemically-rich ingredients that inflame our bodies. Before you make a purchase,
DECEMBER 2020
review the nutrition label’s ingredient list, and look out for some of these unsavory additives to make sure it really is best suited for your healthy lifestyle.
Processed Oils
Processed oils can be found in a plethora of products labeled as “healthy.” Canola oil and vegetable oil are the most popular offenders. These oils are used quite often — and in a variety of foods you may not even know include them. Canola oil, found often in meat and dairy substitutes, for example, is processed in a way that
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