Most of you know that choosing whole foods over processed foods is better for your health and fitness.
You hear it on the news.
You read it in articles.
And you hear us preaching it all the time.
But there’s a difference between “understanding” information and “knowing” information.
To fully process, absorb and understand information, you need to know the WHY!
So, today we’re going to focus on the simple and quick reasons of why whole foods significantly impact your health and fitness.
Here we go…
What actually is a whole food?
Simply put, whole foods resemble their original form.
For example: fresh berries, apples, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, wholegrain rice, sashimi, vegetables, eggs, shelled nuts, etc.
Some basic pro tips in determining a whole food:
You can recognize what they were before cooking.
They come with rarely any packaging or cute cartoons advertising them.
They go bad relatively quickly (sans olive oil, etc)
You find them in the perimeter of the store.
Why are whole foods so good for you?
We all know the 3 main macronutrients (carbs, fats, protein) but we rarely discuss micronutrients. Think of whole foods as “nature’s medicine”. They contain a host of chemical compounds that provide us with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and zoonutrients. (We’ll get to this at another time)
One way I like to look at it is that I want the stuff I put in my body to be enhancing my body not stealing from my body. Whole foods provide me with a host of benefits for my health and aesthetics while keeping me full longer whereas processed foods tend to take from my health and give back only in the form of extra calories, very short-lived adrenaline-rushes and food comas.
In regard to weight loss, eating whole foods fills you up faster because they’re filled with the micronutrients your body craves and they follow and respond hunger cues better.
Ok, let’s get to processed foods…
What is a processed food?
Processed foods are foods that have been altered from their original form. (They don’t look like what they started i.e., bread and cereal.)
How can you tell it’s a processed food?
They don’t resemble their original form (as mentioned above)
They’re packaged and often come with cute, lovable logos (without naming names think of bunnies who can’t eat their own cereal or pizzas with cute little ancient Greek leaders lol)
They keep for a very, very long time
Usually found in the inner aisles of grocery stores.
By the time they reach your plate, they’ve undergone a tone of alteration. Think of “plastic surgery” for your food.
So, that was your brief intro to why whole foods reign supreme! To dig deeper for your own nutrition needs, you know where to find us!!! :)