3 bitter truths about packaged foods you didn't know

Amidst the busy city life and quick online delivery options, packaged food has become a part of our daily life. While they save time and effort, we often forget that, on the contrary, such foods are damaging us inside. Wondering why? Well, because they are loaded with preservatives, and many times, these preservatives are not even mentioned on the packages. And that is the reason in July 2024, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a regulation where it became mandatory for manufacturers to display saturated fat, salt, and sugar levels in “bold letters” and “large fonts” on labels of packaged food items. In a statement, FSSAI had mentioned that this will empower consumers to better understand the nutritional value of food items. However, there are many truths about such packaged foods we don't know. Addressing the same, Dimple Jangda, a wellness and nutrition expert, recently posted a reel on Instagram and revealed three bitter truths about packaged foods that many of us don't know.

As per Dimple, if it can survive on the shelf for six months, it can survive in your gut also for six months. She explains, "These foods are made with emulsifiers, additives, chemical ingredients, which are not at all natural. They basically give a shelf life so that these foods can survive the logistic process and can survive on the shelf for months together till you buy it, open it and eat it. This impacts your gut microbiota." She further adds, "It causes sugar spikes, fatty liver. It affects your detoxifying organs, liver and kidney, which has to now work harder to get rid of these preservatives. Quite often, these preservatives block your digestive passages, your strotas, which are also called as channels in Ayurveda, weakens your agni, your immune system and increases the risk of diseases."

Explaining the second truth, she states that these foods have been designed and engineered for addiction, not nourishment. These foods are not for your health, but rather for the profit and the health of the companies that are making it. They spend almost millions of dollars learning how to make these foods addictive in nature with certain chemical additives. They trick your brain's reward system and trick you into eating more and more, thus feeding into more and more profits for that company, not for your health. It's better to replace these foods with natural foods that do not create addiction.

And the third truth is, with every bite of these packaged foods, you are feeding your diseases, not your health. She reminds, "Remember, you were born in the lap of mother nature, not in a factory. Do not consume foods that were made in a factory. Instead, switch to farm to table."

She suggests switching to the farm to table concept, which means eating foods that were grown by mother nature, by the farmers like fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds or cruelty-free dairy products if you must have or plant-based dairy products. These are foods that will nourish your tissues, your cells and allow you to boost your immunity, your digestive fire and prevent the accumulation of undigested foods, ama, toxins and these preservatives, which can otherwise trigger diseases.

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