One of the cornerstones of Dr. Sebi's methodology for good health and well-being is the Nutritional Guide, a thorough document that describes a way of eating comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables that, when followed strictly, helps you maintain the alkaline balance within your body, and prevent diseases.
If you've been a follower of Dr. Sebi for a while, then you know that processed food has no place in your diet. However, this term can be confusing. Almost everything that we eat has been processed in some way: the apple has been cut from the tree and vegetables have been picked from the ground, washed, and handled to get them to the supermarket. While pre-cut veggies technically qualify as "processed," they don't lose any of its nutritional value through being cut and packaged for convenience.
When we talk about "processed food", we refer to food that has not only been mechanically processed but also chemically altered. Processed food is made from refined ingredients and artificial substances and it presents real harm to your health. The problem with processed food is that is easily accessible, cheap and it's everywhere! It can be tempting to allow it to slip back into your diet but keep reading to find out why you should stay away from processed food for good.
1) Processed Food Is High In Sugar. It is well-known that sugar, when consumed in excess, can be seriously harmful. Calories in sugar are "empty calories", which means that they don't hold any essential nutrients, only a large amount of energy, that when not used, can lead to devastating effects on your metabolism. Dr. Sebi declared: "Sugar is not for us. Sugar is very bad.", because sugar consumption is strongly associated with heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer.
2) Processed Food is Highly Addictive. If you follow a healthy diet and want to give in to temptation "just a little bit", beware! Processed food is manufactured to be highly addictive and hard to give up. How is that even possible? Evolution provided humans with taste buds that are supposed to help them navigate the natural food environment, and we naturally gravitate towards foods that are sweet, salty and fatty, because we know such foods contain energy and nutrients that we need for survival. However, processed foods have been engineered to be so incredibly "rewarding" to the brain, that they overpower anything we might have come across in nature, tearing down the natural mechanism of energy balance and appetite regulation. Some people just can't stop eating these foods, no matter how hard they try, because they've had their brain biochemistry hijacked by the intense dopamine release that occurs in the brain when they eat these foods
3) Processed Food Contains Artificial Ingredients. Look at the label of a supposedly "healthy" energy bar. Can you even pronounce half of the ingredients in there? Highly processed foods often contain:
- Preservatives: Chemicals that prevent the food from rotting.
- Colorants: Chemicals that are used to give the food a specific color.
- Flavor: Chemicals that give the food a particular flavor.
- Texturants: Chemicals that give a particular texture.
- As Dr. Sebi would say, "if Nature didn't make it, do not take it!"
4) Processed Food Is Low In Nutrients. Processed foods often claim they've been "fortified" with vitamins and minerals. No matter what the label says, processed food is extremely low in nutrients compared to natural, fresh food. A lot of nutrients are lost during the process and, although they are added back to compensate, synthetic vitamins and minerals are NOT a good replacement for the nutrients found in whole foods. As Dr. Sebi said, "there is no vitamin in the world that is made by man that compliments the human body. Because it does not have the electricity that it should have, just like naturals plants have."
5) Processed Food Is High In Fat. One way to make processed food be so addictive is with a high amount of fat, usually trans fat. Trans fats contain excessive amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids, which can drive oxidation and inflammation in the body. This can lead to heart disease, which is the number one cause of death in Western countries today!
In conclusion, no matter how tempting it is to have some fast or processed foods every once in a while, it is better to stay completely away from them. Follow Dr. Sebi's Cell Food YouTube Channel and Facebook page to find Journal, tips, and ideas that will help you stick with the Nutritional Guide and away from the processed food temptation.
