You’ve had a long day at work. You don’t really go to work anymore but your dining room is your new work desk. The day goes by and you’ve just got a couple of hours left till you can check out mentally and from work. That’s often the time when you start craving for a quick snack along with a cup of tea. You make your nth round to the kitchen and give a disappointing hello goodbye to the food sitting in the fridge
On your way out, you grab that large translucent Tupperware sitting on one of the shelves.
So there you are at your desk, in front of your laptop snacking on something crispy, crunchy and of course, very very tasty. By the time you’re done with work, you are also done devouring everything in that Tupperware container. You don’t realise it because you are not really satiated, there’s still dinner to go.
What is it that makes these snacks so addictive? Why can you not stop?
Certain processed and ultra processed food are artificially made and designed for addiction. When I say designed for addiction, I mean there are hundreds of trials conducted in labs to get the “right” texture and flavour.
Also, they contain one or more of these three ingredients in copious amounts.
Added Sugar, Preservatives and Artificial Ingredients
As to what makes these snacks so damn addictive, without getting into too much detail, from an evolutionary standpoint these snacks tend to create an abnormal super stimulus which disrupts or alters our food habits and behaviour. (READ: None of this is good for you)
We all know that sugar is not good for health.
However, just in case you feel like having it you should know that it can lead to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension. Ofcourse, we all know that processed sugar is one of the main causes behind unhealthy weight gain.
The concept of preserving food has been around since our hunter – gatherer days. Simply put, preservatives are added to the food to protect it from spoiling.
However, processed/ packaged food does not contain natural preservatives. They contain artificial and chemically made preservatives which are detrimental to your health. Our body often does not recognise these chemicals and hence we tend to develop health issues ranging from minor colds, digestion issues to allergic reactions.
We recommend reading the label before purchasing your snacks. Some preservatives to avoid are
- Sulphites
- Benzoic Acid
- Sodium Nitrite
- BHA
- Bromate
- Propylene Glycol
Artificial ingredients can include a range of substances such as flavouring agents, colours, emulsifiers, non-sugar sweeteners and other cosmetic additives. These are often added to products to imitate sensorial properties of unprocessed or minimally processed foods and their culinary preparations or to disguise undesirable qualities of the final product.
Now, why would you want to consume something like this? In fact, why would you want to consume any food consisting of these ingredients? We all are fully aware of how unhealthy eating habits can destroy our health along with our freedom in the short and the long run. We’ve seen it with our friends, family and colleagues as well.
As they say, the best time to change your habits was yesterday, the second best is today. As fitness enthusiasts ourselves, we understood how important it is to have easily accessible, nutrient dense and preservative free snacks in a world full of ultra processed food.
Whether it is a coffee bite to get you started or even our on the go all natural energy bars full of protein, we have a wide range of healthy snacks options and meals which do not have any added artificial sugar, preservatives or artificial ingredients.
You are what you eat. Remember always #eatwhatyouknow #knowwhatyoueat.
#Readthelabel
Additya Bhide (Fitness Enthusiast)
