10 Processed Foods to Avoid

Supermarket shelves and freezers are packed with processed foods - the preservative-laden and artificially enhanced traps designed for us – the busy, modern shopper and family.

​​​​​​What is Processed Food?

A processed food is any food that is altered during preparation. Processed foods aim to offer us the ultimate convenience as we seek ways to cut down on the frequency of our shopping and fill our fridges and freezers with food that will last.

Yes, of course, we want to buy that big bag of fresh prawns from the local market. But we also know how quickly a night can change and four days later, we’re dispatching the now putrid prawns as far from the house as possible.

So it’s back to the ever-reliable processed foods; foods forever sympathetic to the uncertainties of not only life but dinner time; foods processed to ensure they do the exact opposite of those fresh prawns and stay true to their lofty use-by date; foods that are basically laden with preservatives.

So which are the main culprits that you need to beware of? Find out in our list of processed foods you need to stay away from.

10 Processed foods to avoid

One: Bacon

Yes, a big surprise to start; top of our list as the number one processed food to avoid is also a much-loved breakfast staple. What would eggs be without bacon? Well, healthy seems to be the simple answer.

Bacon is dripping in sodium, noted for its steadfast contributions to high blood pressure. We haven’t even started on saturated fat that is heavily linked to obesity and heart disease. Bacon is, quite frankly, a crackling health hazard to be avoided at all cost.

Two: Instant ramen

Instant ramen is one of those quick fix meals we resort to when we’re cramming for exams or simply cramming too much into our day.

Well, guess what, instant ramen competes pretty well with bacon on the sodium front, so scrub it off your list.

Three: Dried fruit

Quick and easy, no question, but also a fast way to load up on unwanted calories and large doses of diabolical sugar.

Trying to quit your sugar addiction? You might find it slightly easier with our 5 Steps to quit sugar for good blog post!

Four: Fruit snacks

They might satisfy your sweet tooth, but with gelatinous, sticky sugar, they’re rotten on teeth.

Five: Granola bars

Ah yes, healthy grains, right? Wrong, sugar-clogged, carbohydrate-loaded health traps.

Six: Fruit juices

Fruit juices are often mistaken to be a healthy food as it comes from fruit, which everyone knows is healthy, however, the high sugar content cancels out the benefits.

Seven: Flavoured nuts

Another from the devious marketing department. Nuts are good for us, right? Not when they’re drowned in syrups and sauces for a salt and sugar explosion no diet needs.

Eight: Margarine

Two words: trans fats. These nasty beasts promote all the bad cholesterol that causes strokes and heart disease. Enough said.

Nine: Ketchup

Shock horror, not the ketchup too! Sorry, but yes; the tomatoes in ketchup are absolutely overwhelmed in sugars and salts that, unfortunately, qualify this family staple for our list.

Ten: Frozen dinners

More sodium with your heavily processed, sort of chicken fillet, sir? Frozen dinners are only one step removed from takeaways and equally bad for our health.

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