Eliminate the 3 Ps: Processed, Packaged, and Prepared Foods

The average per­son eats over 124 pounds of chemical food additives every year. The food manufacturing industry adds them to food for many purposes, making it common to find multiple types of food additives in any processed, packaged, or prepared foods. Some of the more than 3000 additives used include acid/base balancers, bleach, colors, condi­tioners, firming agents, flavors, flavor enhancers, heavy metals, nutrient enrichers, preservatives, ripening gases, and texture agents. These chemicals add no value, no nutrients, and no health benefits.

Conversely, many of these chemicals are known neurotoxins, meaning that they are damaging to your brain and nervous system. Some are a specific class of neurotoxins called excitotoxins that literally excite your brain cells to death. Almost all commercially-packaged foods contain different types of excitotoxins but some of the worst culprits include:  pre-made soups (even ones in many restaurants), many baked goods, any food item that says “artificial flavors” and even many that say “natural flavors.”  If you’ve heard of MSG, which is short for monosodium glutamate, you’re familiar with excitotoxins.  With the high consumption of these excitotoxins, is there any wonder that there is an alarming increase of children suffering from developmental disorders such as attention deficit hyper­activity disorder (ADHD) and autism? I believe these types of disorders are closely linked to the increase in harmful chemicals (and sugar) in our food.

In addition to food additives, we are also getting harmful fats in our diet, primarily from fried foods, cooking oils, margarine, shortening, lard, meat, and foods or pro­cessed foods made from these ingredients. Trans fats are the worst type of fat people are ingesting. Currently, the average person eats 5 pounds of trans fats per year. Any amount of trans fats in your diet can potentially cause health concerns.  Even though laws governing trans fat labeling and use are tightening, trans fats are still eaten in excess quantities.  Any amount of trans fats is too much.

Trans fats are particularly damaging to the brain. They actually take the place of healthy fats in cellular mem­branes in both the brain and nerve cells.  Not only do trans fats impair the brain directly, researchers speculate that their composition makes them less capable of blocking toxins from crossing the blood-brain barrier, a critical defense mechanism designed to allow nutrients to enter the brain while blocking many harmful substances and pathogens. Those donuts, cookies, French fries, and most snack foods aren’t providing your body with many (if any) nutrients, but they are giving you a heck of a lot of trans fats.

The great news is that by eliminating the 3 Ps:  processed, prepared, and packaged foods, you’ll avoid most trans fats, hidden sugar, preservatives, colors, and other additives that destroy your life force. Of course, not all packaged foods are bad, but many are.  Be sure to check the labels.

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