How Healthy is Your Diet Really?

Food companies use the holidays to market their food to a whole new level, example: Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING. Consumers then purchase these processed foods and eat those alongside their daily meals. What some people don’t realize, is the fact they are consuming almost 58% of their daily calories in just processed food with 10% of that being from added sugars.

Is Your Diet A Healthy One?

As we start heading into the holiday season, we have so much to look forward to. Family, friends, gifts, and the food. There is feasting upon feasting in homes across America. But maybe you are going to try and take a different route this year. Instead of letting that summer bod go, you want to work hard at maintaining your figure through the holidays so you won’t have to work as hard in the spring! Going on a diet is the perfect solution in this situation to help you keep the figure, but is it really even healthy to do so?

Big Company Tactics

Countless companies market to their consumers who are looking to eat healthier and incorporate more nutrition in their lives. They advertise less carbs, calories, sugar, reduced fat, reduced sodium, whole grain and many other keywords that will get people to buy their food. “Unfortunately, these foods – whether you’re shopping for low-calorie crackers and fat-free ice cream or gluten-free pasta and frozen meals made with “natural” ingredients – typically don’t do much (good) for your health,” explains Kylene Bogden, a registered dietitian nutritionist with the Center for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.

Are they Really Healthy?

It is because all of those “healthy foods” have the harmful ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup and chemical additives still present in the food we are eating. These chemicals that are in the food can also cause our hormones to actually crave the processed food more when we don’t have anymore. So how do you start a healthy lifestyle with all of the crazy processed foods on store shelves?

The Bottom Line

Start off with analyzing the food you are eating now, and how you feel after you eat it. If the food makes you feel tired or sick afterwards like a headache or nausea, consider cutting that out of your daily meals and focus on foods that make you feel energetic and good! Next, before buying anything at the store, check the ingredients listed on the boxes of any food product. If you cannot pronounce or recognize at least 6 ingredients, it is overly processed and you can find a better, healthier alternative for you and your family!