HOW DO I STOP EATING MY FAVORITE PROCESSED FOODS?

I believe the mouth is the WINDOW TO YOUR HEALTH. I also believe that as individuals we need to take care of our health-nobody else is going to do it for us. I like to look at health and nutrition from a simple common-sense approach and that is why I like the PALEO DIET so much. In our last newsletter we discussed what are processed foods and why should we avoid them? Processed foods are convenient, cheap, tasty and they are everywhere like fast food restaurants and all grocery stores. My simple definition of processed foods refers to any food that is in a container (bag, box, can, bottle etc.). It is more involved that that but basically anything that is in a container is almost always filled with additives, preservatives and of course salt and SUGAR. Of course, I think SUGAR IS POISON AND TOXIC AND WE SHOULD AVOID IT! But today I want to discuss “HOW DO WE STOP EATING PROCESSED FOODS SINCE THEY ARE MY FAVORITE?

There is no question that SAD (Standard American Diet) is a huge problem for our health! Ask any physician, dentist, dietician, or nutritionist. SAD is creating a lot of health issues and it should be addressed by everyone. One of the many foods that are considered really bad and they make up a lot of the SAD is called Processed Foods. The University of Michigan did a survey to find out the most addictive processed foods, and they are:

#1 PIZZA

#2 CHOCOLATE

#3 CHIPS

#4 COOKIES

#5 ICE CREAM

The authors of this survey make a statement that processed foods can be as addictive as cigarettes, alcohol and Cocaine! I have read several times that SUGAR IS 8 TIMES MORE ADDICTIVE THAN COCAINE, so no wonder why we are always craving and desiring these processed foods! Is that why they put sugar in salt???

One of my patients recently asked me about how they could stop eating French Fries. It turns out that they were able to give up the pizza and chips but if they ate just one French fry then they would totally fall off the wagon and go nuts eating them for several weeks. I am personally the same way-my favorite processed food is Chili con Queso with chips. I must admit that it is easier to eat non than to just eat one! I do remember an old potato chip commercial years ago that said “I BET YOU CAN’T EAT JUST ONE!” I believe it. In todays world the processed food companies are deliberately engineering their processed foods to take advantage of the addiction. It is called the ”BLISS POINT”. Google that term and you will discover that many of the big chain restaurants pay companies to help them determine the BLISS POINT for the foods they serve. These flavors will hijack our dopamine receptors in our brains creating a food high! When you come down off of the high you end up craving more! It is a very vicious cycle not unlike drugs and alcohol and cigarettes. So today, I wanted to list my steps in how to stop eating all of these addictive foods!

1. Do not EVER go to a fast food restaurant. If you do, you will be right back on the same path and go for days in a row. I have been dying to go for a fast food hamburger and fries, but I don’t.

2. DO NOT EVER BUY THEM IN THE GROCERY STORE TO TAKE HOME. If you do, the next time you are hungry, you will look in the fridge and there you go. Instead provide some healthy fish, vegetables, or fruits. For me I find that placing a package of smoked salmon in the fridge or celery with some nut butter will usually work just fine and then I’m not so hungry when dinner comes around.

3. Find another alternative. When I feel really hungry, I will grab myself a large glass of ice water or sparkling water and slug that down. If I have time, I will walk the block and by the time I get back I am no longer hungry and I have forgotten that I was hungry.

4. In my case, chips and queso were actually causing me to have chest pain (I have a slight intolerance to dairy and chips from grain like corn and wheat will really irritate my digestive system). So If I see chips and queso at someone’s house, I try to reflect how I will feel the next day if I let myself go. Most of us have some processed food that will make us feel tired or hungry or bloated etc. so try to reflect on the negative. My personal Holistic physician told me that about 60% of his patients had some type of dairy intolerance and about 70% of his patients could not digest corn products. I didn’t know how good I could feel until I quit those products of which neither are allowed on the Paleo diet-AMAZING!

So here are some other hints to help you avoid processed foods.

1. Stay to the outer perimeter of the grocery store. That is where the fresh vegetables, fruits and meats are located. The inner part of the store is everything in a package

2. Always read the ingredients before you buy. If it has anything with an “OSE” or any big chemical words that you don’t know what they are-THEN DON’T BUY IT!

3. Look for the expiration date-Fresh foods will not last for months on your shelf or in your refrigerator. When it says, “USE BY DATE” and that date is months or years from now, that means that there are tons of chemicals and preservatives etc. in this container that will prevent the food from spoiling. I don’t want to eat all those chemicals! Many of them have been proven to cause or be linked to IBS, Crohn’s disease, bloating, diarrhea, gas etc. Try leaving all processed foods out of your diet for just one month and you will be shocked how much better you will feel.

4. When in doubt, the fewer ingredients the better. Fresh foods won’t have a label, but everything packaged and processed will to extend their shelf life.

5. Don’t let the words “ORGANIC OR NATURAL” fool you for ingredients in a container.

SUMMARY-It is obvious that your mouth is the window to your health. In my opinion, we need to eliminate sugar and processed foods from our diet. Sugar, along with lots of chemicals and additives are in almost anything in a container. Please switch to fresh foods and unprocessed foods and in my opinion, avoid the fast food restaurants as they are loaded to the gills. And guess what, we all have to do it once in a while, or least it is very difficult to avoid all processed foods. Just do the best you can and learn to read the labels.

“THE MOUTH IS THE WINDOW TO YOUR HEALTH”. BRUSH AND FLOSS TWICE DAILY, AVOID SUGAR FOR 2023, AND SEE YOUR DENTIST AND PHYSICIAN REGULARLY.

Spiker Davis D.D.S. spiker@thepaleodentist.com John Seger M.D. Matt Guerre D.D.S.
PLEASE SIGN UP BY GOING TO OUR WEBSITE www.thepaleodentist.com

STAY SAFE. WORRY ABOUT NOTHING AND PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING.