Welcome to part three of our series on the hijacking of our taste buds. This is a critical issue because, let's face it, we all have to eat. Food is an unavoidable part of life, and we're naturally drawn to the most convenient and tastiest options available. But the notion that food must always be incredibly tasty and explode with flavor in your mouth is not entirely true.
You've probably been hearing a lot about ultra-processed foods lately. These foods are engineered to give you that "explode-in-your-mouth" sensation, making them addictively appealing. However, they are often devoid of essential nutrients and are designed to make you eat more by hitting that bliss point – the perfect balance of fat, sugar, and salt that momentarily makes you happy but leaves you craving more.
About two years ago, I was sitting with a group of friends in a coffee shop, discussing processed foods. We were focusing on processed oils, commonly known as seed oils like vegetable, corn, and soybean oils. These oils undergo extensive chemical processing, which is often hidden from us, and they are doing more harm than good to our health, particularly to our microbiome.
One friend pointed out that nearly everything in a grocery store is processed. And he's right—to an extent. There are varying degrees of food processing, from minimally processed to ultra-processed. Today, I want to focus on distinguishing these types and understanding how we can reestablish a healthy relationship with food.
Imagine walking through a field of wheat, plucking a sheaf, and eating it right there. That's unprocessed food. Historically, humans started grinding wheat into flour between stones and mixing it with water to make bread. This flour is minimally processed as long as it's only ground up. But once additional processes like bleaching and removing fiber occur, it becomes more processed, well on its way to becoming ultra-processed.
Ultra-processed foods are those with added chemical concoctions to extend shelf life and enhance taste. Take a loaf of bread from the supermarket, for example. A true loaf of bread should contain only flour, water, salt, and yeast. Any additional ingredients, especially those you can't pronounce, are there to make the product hyper-palatable, long-lasting, and frankly cheaper to produce.
Meat, vegetables, and even something as simple as salad dressing are not exempt from processing. Many store-bought meats are injected with solutions to make them weigh more, and vegetables are often sprayed with chemicals to preserve them. Salad dressings often contain sugar, salt, and emulsifiers to prevent separation – ingredients that wouldn't be necessary if made fresh at home.
My clients take pictures of their meals, and if the ingredients come from a package, they also photograph the nutrition label. We often find inexplicable ingredients like modified potato starch – a cheap filler made from something that would typically be discarded.
I want my taste buds and my health back. And I invite you to join me on this journey. Start by reading labels and being mindful of what you’re consuming. Identify your deal-breakers. For me, soybean oil is a no-go due to its GMO origins and extensive chemical processing.
Do you read labels? If not, maybe it's time to start. Share your deal-breakers with me, and let's navigate this journey together. Feel free to reach out, like, and subscribe to help spread the word. Together, we can reclaim our health and our taste buds.
Joseph Onesta, your Type 2 Mentor. Let's do this together.