It has been proven: eating processed foods make you fat!
People eating ultra-processed foods eat more calories and gain more weight than when they eat a minimally processed diet. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the results of a small study of 20 adult volunteers in the first randomized controlled trial examining the effects of eating the same amount of calories in processed foods as in unprocessed foods.
Ultra-processed foods are defined by the NOVA classification system. This system considers foods “ultra-processed” if they have ingredients predominantly found in industrial food manufacturing, such as hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, flavoring agents, and emulsifiers.
“Though we examined a small group, results from this tightly controlled experiment showed a clear and consistent difference between the two diets,” said Kevin D. Hall, Ph.D., an NIDDK senior investigator and the study’s lead author. “This is the first study to demonstrate causality — that ultra-processed foods cause people to eat too many calories and gain weight.”
I’ve been advocating a whole-foods based diet for twenty years and am excited to see the research backing me up. If you’re looking to lose weight by transitioning away from eating processed foods, you owe it to yourself to check out Glorious One-Pot Meals!
If you’re not familiar with Glorious One-Pot Meals, it’s my unique, quick and easy method of flash-cooking whole foods without a lot of effort. Watch this 5-minute cooking demonstration to whet your appetite and show you how easy it is to make meals out of wholesome whole foods that won’t pack on the pounds!
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