Slide 8

Processed foods lack balance, fiber, and nutrients. They taste good but offer little value. Even seemingly healthy foods can have more sugar than a cookie, leading to overeating and feeling tired or bloated. Natural foods like fruit and milk have small amounts of sugar with fiber, vitamins, and nutrients. Processed foods are usually packed with sugar and lack balance. Salad dressings and frozen meals often hide added sugar. Being aware and making balanced choices can help reduce sugar intake. Whole foods fuel you, processed foods trick you. Real food comes with balance, fiber, nutrients, and natural sugars your body knows how to handle. But the processed stuff, it all tastes but no value, and as we all know, it tastes awesome. Even food that seems healthy like low-fat dressing or granola can have more sugar than a single cookie. That's why it's so easy to overeat and feel tired, bloated, or just completely off. You're not eating bad, that's not what I'm saying, you're just eating foods that aren't keeping you full or fueled. So natural foods like fruit or milk, they actually have small amounts of sugar with fiber, vitamins, and nutrients, whereas processed foods are usually packed with sugar, but nothing to really balance it out. Even healthy looking foods, as I stated before, like salad dressings and even frozen meals often hide added sugar you wouldn't expect. So if you look at the example here, you'll see where it's circled in red, high fructose corn syrup. I try to avoid it like the plague, if I can. Sometimes, hey, barbecue sauce, I love barbecue sauce, especially from McDonald's, and I know it has high fructose corn syrup in it. I always say McDonald's barbecue sauce is my contribution to high fructose corn syrup. Now, many times we are eating more sugar than we realize, but this is about just being aware and making some very smart balanced choices.