Packaged Diet Products – Don’t Believe The Hype!

A display of healthy foods – (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Packaged Diet Products – Don’t Believe The Hype!

Weight gain is a huge concern for many people. Whether they’re 10 pounds or 50 pounds overweight, the extra baggage may have some serious health repercussions. Either that or they simply don’t like the way it looks on them. So what to do?

If you’ve been plugged into television or the internet, then you’ve been exposed to weight loss products. It’s hard to ignore the siren call, isn’t it. The promise is sweet – lose weight in record time simply by consuming “X” amount of this or that product daily.

Here’s what you need to know! If someone is pushing some powdered “diet” product on you, understand you’re being fed a lie. Sure, it will work for a while, but just until you stop taking it and starving your body of calories. In the long term it’s a crutch and without the crutch, you fall hard.

Here’s another fact: Packaged weight loss products aren’t food substitutes because they can’t replicate all of the nutrients and benefits of fruits and vegetables. Don’t believe the hype!

Whole foods offer three main benefits over packaged weight loss products:

• Increased nutrition. Whole foods contain a variety of micronutrients — not just some. We simply don’t have all the knowledge we need on what types of nutrients are missing or we haven’t discovered yet. This is an “X” factor critical to long term health. Whole foods keep us healthy as their nutrient profile absorbs properly via interplay with all ingredients, something a man-made product cannot replicate.

• Essential fiber. Whole foods, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes, provide dietary fiber which can help prevent certain diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It can also help manage constipation. Packaged products can only try to replicate this process.

• Protective substances. Whole foods also contain other naturally occurring substances called phytochemicals, which may help protect you against cancer, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Many are also good sources of antioxidants — substances that slow down oxidation, a natural process that leads to cell and tissue damage. Imagine missing these in your daily diet.

• Naturally low calorie. If you stick to whole foods such as lean proteins, small amounts of complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, smaller amounts of fruits and so on, you never have to count calories. It’s really all about portion control and good quality foods, not refined boxed or canned alternatives.

The reality is that most of the promises you’re “fed” about packaged diet foods is carefully crafted doublespeak, with the intent of selling you ever more product.

Whole food sacrificed on the altar of packaged diet products may be done with good intentions, but it always leads to repercussions. In the end, it’s nothing more than a poor substitute for proper nutrition.

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