Do you want to be slimmer or want to have an ideal body weight? Come on, reduce food consumption processed, as nuggets, sausage, biscuits or chips. Although tantalizing and has a delicious taste, these foods can not only trigger weight gain, but also not good for health.
Processed foods become the "enemy" of dieters because these foods can actually trigger weight gain. This is because most processed foods are high in sugar, salt, oil, or fat.
In fact, not only that. Processed foods also tend to contain certain chemicals, such as developers, flavours, preservatives, or food coloring, which can be detrimental to your health.
What Are Processed Foods?
Processed food is food that has been processed and packaged in cans or plastic, frozen, baked, or dried. Generally, processed foods are found on supermarket shelves.
Processed foods consist of various kinds. Here are some types of processed foods that are often consumed by many people because they are considered practical and have a good taste:
1. Cereal
Not all cereals are healthy because many cereals contain excess sugar. The amount of sugar in cereals that are considered safe for consumption is about 5 grams per 1 serving or 100 grams of cereal.
2. Chicken nuggets
Although easy to serve, chicken nuggets including high-salt foods whose consumption needs to be limited or avoided. The reason is, in one serving (184 grams) chicken nuggets, contained 1410 mg of salt. This content is more than half of the recommended daily salt consumption, which is about 2,300 mg.
3. Sausage
Sausage goes into foods that contain high calories, fat, and salt. One medium-sized sausage (75 grams) contains 557 mg of salt.
4. Potato Chips
This one favorite snack does have a savory taste. However, one serving of potato chips or 18 pieces of potato chips contains 150–200 calories. The salt content ranges from 120-170 mg per serving.
5. Biscuits
Although not as sweet as candy, biscuits including high-sugar snacks. In 100 grams of biscuits, contained about 20-36 grams of sugar. This amount is close to or can exceed the recommended level of sugar intake, which is only about 30 grams per day for adults.
6. Instant noodles
Consumption of instant noodles once in a while is okay. However, if you are on a diet, reconsider its consumption. The reason is, 1 serving of instant noodles contains about 14 mg of fat and 1,500 mg of salt.
In addition to these four foods, other processed foods that need to be limited because they contain high calories, salt, or sugar are sweets, cakes, canned vegetables, and canned fruit.
The Impact of Consuming Too Much Processed Food
If you want to have a slim body, consumption of processed foods is not recommended. The reason is because this type of food contains high calories, fat, salt, and sugar so that it can trigger weight gain.
In addition, the nutrients contained in it also tend to be low, making it less nutritious. The addition of certain chemicals such as developers, flavor enhancers, preservatives, and food coloring in it also makes processed foods tend to be unhealthy.
Even if you consume it in excess, you are at high risk for various diseases, ranging from hypertension, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, colitis, to autoimmune diseases.
Carefully Choose and Limit Processed Food Consumption
Fresh food is healthier, but that doesn't mean all processed foods are bad for consumption.
You can still eat processed foods, as long as the amount of sugar, salt, or fat contained in them is still within reasonable limits. So, pay close attention to packaging labels, so that you eat healthier processed foods.
To find out the safe limits for sugar, salt, or fat in a food product, here are the guidelines:
- Total fat: less than 1750 mg fat per 100 grams.
- Sugar: less than 2250 mg per 100 grams.
- Saturated fat: less than 500 mg per 100 grams.
- Salt: less than 1500 mg per 100 grams.
In addition to paying attention to these ingredients, you are also advised to combine processed foods with fresh foods to make them more nutritious and healthier.
For example, you can add bottled salad dressing to your own vegetable or fruit salad, mix packaged yogurt with fresh fruit, or eat whole grain cereal with fruit.
Limit the consumption of processed foods, and make sure you have a balanced diet to maintain your weight. In addition, do not forget to increase the consumption of water and exercise regularly.
If necessary, consult a nutritionist to find the right diet so that you can have a slim body, but stay healthy.
