Processed foods (3): What is the problem with processed foods?
Health & Fitness By KEMI ILORI
Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Since last week, we have been looking at the numerous sources of sodium in processed foods. One of the most common names used to describe sodium containing substances in our food is "soda". Soda is actually a compound called sodium bicarbonate. It is ubiquitous in confectioneries and has earned the name, baking soda. It is the active ingredient in baking powder. Soda is also found in a lot of drinks, especially fizzy drinks popularly called "soft drinks". This means that some soft drinks may contain at least two sources of sodium, i.e. the bisulphite and the bicarbonate.

If your drink is not sweet, you may still not be spared the intake of sodium. Such is the case with soda water. If you drink soda water in an attempt to choose a healthy drink, then you are not making a right choice DRINK WATER! I have always advised that if you had to choose between still water and soda water; ALWAYS CHOOSE STILL water. You can see that we are exposed to not only sugar onslaught, but also sodium onslaught. Welcome to the world of habitual daily ingestion of sodium!! This is what the modern diet has made of our world.

The Combination of Sugar with Sodium in our diet: There is an important issue I wish to draw the attention of readers to. This is the effect of sodium on sugar in our diet. Sodium multiplies the amount of calories we get from our food. This means that we are able to absorb much more sugar from our food when it is eaten with high sodium containing foods like salty foods. The sugar is also absorbed into our blood much more rapidly. This means that the more sodium there is in your food, the faster the sugar gets into your blood stream. It is easy to see how high blood pressure and diabetes seem to have become a regular pair in some individuals. For those who do not know, the symbol for sodium is "Na". Watch out for this symbol on food package labels. It means that the product contains sodium compounds. As I explained last week, it does not matter that the food does not taste salty. It may still contain a lot of sodium.

Unhealthy fats in processed foods: The story of the processed fats in our diet is a very sad one indeed. This is especially so because of the huge disservice done to mankind by the propaganda of the evil geniuses who invented these fats. Not only are our foods pervaded by these dangerous fats, but the good natural fats were discredited as bad! The discredited fats are mostly natural fats containing medium chain fatty acids, such as coconut oil and palm oil. We thank God for new research which have helped to reinstate these fats as the healthiest cooking fats on earth! What are these bad processed fats?

Trans-fats – These are fats made by hydrogenating vegetable oils. For non- science oriented people, it simply means that the vegetable oils are converted to a more solid form e.g. margarine is made from vegetable oil using such a process. It becomes solid and spreadable. For decades, the processed food industry claimed that these fats are better and healthier than natural fats like butter. Recent events have helped to clarify the issue for the erstwhile unsuspecting public. In America, McDonald's, paid

out $8.5m (£4.5m) to settle a law suit in San Francisco over using trans
fats in its cooking. And health experts now warn that these "killer" fats
are the most dangerous foodstuffs we might consume. Trans fats are found in their highest quantities in processed foods that
contain large quantities of hydrogenated oils, such as ready-made cakes,
chips, pastries, pies, chocolates, sweets and ice cream. As you all know, in a fast developing economy like Nigeria’s, these convenience foods are now being rapidly embraced by the populace, especially city dwellers. It is good to note that we are also rapidly developing the health problems that arise from such diet. What are the diseases? "The European Food Safety Authority has said that trans-fats may cause more damage
than saturated fats. This is contrary to the original thinking when they were introduced. They were presented as a safe alternative to saturated fats. Those were the days when margarine was used to replace butter. All that is now reversed. Butter is accepted as better than margarine. The warning with regards to trans-fats is quite serious. Some think that as little as 1g a day of these dangerous trans-fats (e.g. in your biscuits!), will
significantly increase your risk of heart disease." Trans fats raise the levels of "bad" (LDL) cholesterol in the blood, and lower the levels of
"good" (HDL) cholesterol, so increasing your risk of coronary heart disease.

They have also been linked to type-2 diabetes. Unfortunately for you, it might be difficult to know exactly how much of this dangerous fat you are consuming. Why? Well this is because trans fats are sometimes not mentioned on the package labeling of processed foods that contain them. In addition, food manufacturers are NOT OBLIGED to indicate whether a food contains them or not, or in what amount! All the manufacturer is required to say is that a product contains hydrogenated fat or oil. These are fats that creep into your diet without you knowing how much. It has earned them the name, "stealth fats". The World Health Organization (WHO), has recommended that we try to eliminate these fats from our diets completely.

Foods that kill
• Margarine and other hydrogenated fats
• refined salt, Table salt
• Chlorinated Water
• Antibiotics
• ASPARTAME
• MSG - Mono Sodium Glutamate
• Pesticides
• Food additives
• Sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup, chocolate and other foods containing similar concentrated sweeteners
• refined oils e.g. Vegetable oils made from bleached palm oil
• baking powder
• hard and dry bovine milk cheese
• Junk foods (hamburgers, pizza, hotdog, etc)
• fried, smoked, grilled foods
• Soft drinks