Have you every really looked at our current wide world of food?  What to eat?  That is the question.

We have so many options for food choices.  The large super markets carry up to 50,000 food “items”.   In just the past 20 years alone more than 40,000 food items have been added to our list of choices.  

Of course, those 40,000 items are mostly made up of packaged and processed foods. 

We have never had more food or greater diversity.  We have never had more harmful foods provided to us.  There is a common trust that if we can buy it in stores, then it must be ok for us to eat.  

It mostly comes down to convenience.  Foods prepackaged to simplify the process of making meals with less steps needed when preparing food at home.  New sauces, new heat and serve, new ways to bring home pre-cooked meats and full course meals in a box.

Do we need this many choices, brands, options, and such?  It can be overwhelming to see isles full of foods and reading labels becomes a much needed task to sort through what all is in those packages without realizing some of the spices, additives, preservatives and such can have negative effects on our health.  MSG, colours and preservatives are rampant in our processed foods and are proven to have negative health effects.

What is the relationship between the packaged foods, that is so easy and more often consumed that we didn’t have as much of 20 years ago, and our health?  When we look at the amount of digestive and health issues abundant in our lives today, it would make sense that there is a tie between these processed foods and how we feel and digest.  

Coming back to what is best for our health should be what helps us to decide what to eat in the vast market of options.  

The most beneficial of foods are the ones that remain as close to the original source of where those foods came from.  An example would be an apple.  The apple is the purest source of the apple tree’s produce.  Next would be apple sauce, then maybe apple juice.  By processing and removing some of the contents, it is modified, but has some of its original benefits and nutrients intact.  Then you might see apple pie, or apple bars as the much less version of ‘apple’ foods.  Those processed apple foods are much more processed where apple is a very small part of the contents and very much modified from its source.

This is why markets, like Quality Greens, can be smaller in size.  They focus on the foods that are close to their source.  Their produce section is most of its store space.   They have only a few packaged food options and most of those are ingredients to help use those whole foods into making meals.  Simple to shop and find what you need!

Just some food for thought when planning your next grocery trip.  See how much of your foods come from the source as well as what ingredients are used in order to make real meals versus ready to eat packaged foods.   See what options you can replace with whole foods and make simple but similar much loved meals that are of greater benefit to your health and so much easier to digest. 

Enjoy your week!

Lisa.