Frequent consumption of ready-to-eat foods can be harmful to health, as the vast majority contain high levels of sodium, sugar, saturated fats and chemicals that improve and ensure taste, as well as increase shelf life.
Therefore, due to the amount of sodium, fats and preservatives, prepared meals can promote weight gain, increase pressure and increase the risk of heart and bowel problems.
- Prepared foods.
- Which may or may not be frozen.
- Can have several negative health impacts.
- As foods used in their preparation often lose quality during the freezing process.
- As preservatives and salt are often added.
- To ensure the taste of food and increase shelf life.
For example, some of the main risks associated with long-term consumption of frozen prepared foods are:
When frozen foods are consumed frequently, there can be an increase in body fat and weight, as most of these foods contain a lot of calories. Also, because they are often not rich in nutrients, they do not guarantee satiety and, as a result, the person wants to eat more and more throughout the day.
Increased blood pressure is often related to the large amount of sodium present in prepared dishes and spices, especially in lasagna, soup powder, instant noodles and chopped spices.
A 300g serving of lasagna, for example, contains more than 30% of all the salt an adult can eat each day, while a bucket of meat seasoning contains twice as much salt as an adult can eat throughout the day. This facilitates abuse when using industrialized products, increasing the risk of developing high blood pressure. Find out what the daily salt recommendation is.
Here’s how to eat less salt by watching the following video
In addition to the large amount of sodium, cooked meals are also high in saturated fats, which are mainly responsible for increasing bad cholesterol and lowering good cholesterol.
Thus, due to changes in cholesterol levels, there is also an increased risk of developing heart disorders, such as heart attack, stroke and atherosclerosis, which is obstructing blood vessels due to the presence of fatty plaques, as well as increasing the risk of fat. liver.
Due to the high content of chemicals, such as preservatives, flavourings, dyes and flavor enhancers, frequent consumption of ready-to-use foods can also cause health problems such as stomach irritation, colon cancer, headaches, tingling, kidney stones. , nausea and decreased absorption of vitamins in the gut.
In addition, food additives such as monosodium glutamate leave the palate addicted to the artificial taste of food, which results in increased consumption of this type of product.
Although frozen foods are not the best option for a meal, in some situations you may consider consuming it. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the label of foods, giving preference to foods that contain less fat and sodium. Other tips for choosing frozen foods include:
Even for vegetables and fruits, it is important to check the ingredients, as only fruits and vegetables themselves should be mentioned, any other ingredient may indicate that they contain preservatives that may be harmful to health.
Frozen fruits, vegetables and legumes are healthy as long as they freeze shortly after harvest, so it is possible to preserve their nutrients and health benefits. In fact, some fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, peas, or beans, lose vitamin C much faster when they’re fresh than frozen.
Learn how to freeze food well to ensure its benefits: