We all have heard that eating too much meat is bad for you. In fact, processed meats increase your risk of certain cancers by 18%. According to a report issued by the National Cancer Institute on the Standard American Diet, three out of four Americans don’t eat a single piece of fruit in a day and nine out of ten don’t even get close to reaching the recommended daily intake of vegetables. 96% of Americans don’t reach the minimum weekly recommendation for greens and beans and 99% do not reach the minimum for whole grains. The most shocking statistic about the average American’s diet is that 70% of it is processed foods. 

What are processed foods? The true definition of a processed food means any food that has changed in any way from its natural state, which is far too vague of a definition. What most processed food really means today is any food that’s made a stop in a lab on its way to you. So what started as a real whole food made a stop in a lab where chemical additives, sugar, artificial sweeteners and flavorings, chemical emulsifiers, stabilizers and preservatives were added and now its more like a distant relative of that whole food that it once was. The worst offenders are typically the ready to eat packaged “faux foods” like imitation eggs and beef that are low in nutrients and high in chemicals, calories, sodium and additives. Companies now slap a label like “vegan”, “plant-based” “keto”, “gluten-free” or “non-gmo” on these packaged foods and trick the population into thinking these foods are healthy choices when they’re quite the opposite. 

These are some of the ingredients of one of the most popular fake meat burgers:

water, pea protein isolate, canola oil, rice protein isolate, artificial flavors, methyl cellulose, potassium chloride, sunflower lecithin, tertiary butylhydroquinone, magnesium carbonate, erythosine (red #3), provolone glycol, ferric orthophosphate, maltodextrin

Remember what I always say when reading labels: “If your brain doesn’t recognize it, your body wont either.”

Just to elaborate on some of these ingredients:

• Tertiary Butylhydroquinone has been shown to cause cancer and the FDA actually limits the use of it in food products, 
• Magnesium Carbonate helps foods to retain color but is also used in flooring, fireproofing and fire-extinguishers
• Erythosine (Red #3) is an artificial coloring that was banned by the FDA in cosmetics after it was shown to cause cancer, yet they still allow it in foods.
• Propylene Glycol is used as a moisturizer in foods and just so happens to be the main ingredient in ANTIFREEZE
• Ferric Orthophosphate is used to fortify foods and also used as a pesticide to kill slugs and snails.

 The best piece of advice when it comes to limiting processed foods is to ask yourself, “Did it grow on a tree, bush or in the ground? Did it roam freely in a pasture? Or “Did it grow in a lab or factory?”