What do you mean by real food?  Isn't all food real?

Real food is food as it is found in nature and how it was prepared traditionally with minimal human intervention. Real food is what your great grandmother prepared.  Chances are if she wouldn't recognize it, it's not real food.

Butter is real food.

By contrast margarine is a fake food.  It order to make margarine it must be processed so that refined vegetable oils are solid at room temperature.  A yellow dye is added so that it looks like butter.  It is synthetic, not real.  The chemical intervention by modern food processors changes the nature of the food.

Some of the methods of processing oils to create margarine have changed so they don't create trans fatty acids but the fact is they are still processed.  The vegetable oils have been refined using unhealthy methods.

Yes, processed food is convenient, yes, it keeps a long time on the shelf, yes, it may even taste good and yes, it is cheaper but it's NOT REAL.

So what's the big deal?  If it tastes good and serves the purpose of filling my tummy what's wrong with it?

It is filled with refined sugar, refined fats, refined flour, preservatives, artificial flavours, colours, synthetic vitamins.  Most importantly it has negative health effects on your body.

What do all these artificial and processed ingredients do to your body?

1. The refining process destroys nutrients and robs you of nutrition.  It is necessary to add artificial colours and flavours so it will look and taste good to customers.
   
   

2. There are added artificial chemical ingredients which are linked to diseases.
   
   

3. Processed food is often loaded with refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.  Both of these raise our blood sugar creating an insulin rush.  Excess sugar is stored as fat leading to obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
   
   

4. Processed foods can be addictive.  Sugar and highly rewarding junk foods activate the same area in the brain as drugs like cocaine.  Leading to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and more.
   
   

5. Processed foods can be high in trans fat or processed vegetable oils and are linked to heart disease.
   
   

6. It is estimated that 70% of the daily sodium intake in the average diet comes from processed food.

This is just a brief look at how processed foods can and do affect our health.  Look for more detailed information in future articles.