The term processed food doesn’t just refer to ready meals and products, a processed food refers to any food that has been altered in some way during preparation. Basic examples include foods that have been frozen, canned, baked or dried. however, not all foods that fall under those categories are necessarily unhealthy, some need a form of processing to make them safe or usable for consumption e.g. pressing seeds to make oil. There are some processed foods which are indeed unhealthy though, these tend to be the ones with added ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat to make them more palatable or to give them a longer shelf life. These unhealthy options have been associated with health issues like heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

An issue we face today is we’re time poor and don’t give ourselves much time to cook and prepare meals from scratch, which makes convenience or unhealthy processed foods all the more appealing. In any body transformation or weight loss program, changing the types of foods you consume will transfer one of the greatest impacts in helping you realize your goal and building yourself a healthy body with a strong foundation (one that is less prone to health problems and chronic illnesses). It’s worth every second of your time investment.

The gold standard when it comes to reducing your intake of heavily processed ready meals, products or snacks is to opt for whole foods, i.e. those that tend not to have a food label on them! This is therefore referred to as (you guessed it…) a whole food diet, full of plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and wholegrains. Although the emphasis is on eating foods delivered from plants such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, beans, pulses, seeds and their cold pressed oils, it also includes animal based foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy products too (unless you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet). A Mediterranean-style diet is a great example of this, which is made up of plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, wholegrains, olive oil, small amounts of meat, moderate amounts of fish and low/moderate amounts of dairy whilst consuming lower amounts of refined grains, sugar sweetened foods and beverages and generally containing a lower salt and saturated fat intake.

Following a diet based on whole foods and with an emphasis on plant derived foods has been linked to reduced risk of heart disease, strokes and type 2 diabetes as well as helping to lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and promote healthy body weight.