21 Reasons to Eat Real Food

by EzekielDiet.com
Posted on Oct 15, 2016

Real food is whole, single ingredient food.

It is mostly unprocessed, free of chemical additives and rich in nutrients.

In essence, it’s the type of food human beings ate exclusively for thousands of years.

However, ever since ready-to-eat foods became popular in the 20th century, many people have been eating them as a dominant part of their diet.

While processed foods may be more convenient in some ways, it’s hard to argue that they have made us healthier or happier.

In fact, following a diet based on real food may be one of the most important things you can do to maintain good health and high quality of life.

Here are 21 reasons to eat real food.

1. Real Food Is Loaded With Important Nutrients

Unprocessed animal and plant foods contain the vitamins and minerals you need for optimal health.

For instance, one cup (220 grams) of red bell peppers, broccoli or orange slices contains more than 100% of the RDI for vitamin C (1, 2, 3).

Eggs and liver are especially high in choline, a nutrient that’s essential for proper brain function (4, 5).

And just a single Brazil nut provides all the selenium you need for an entire day (6).

There are many other examples of this. In fact, most real foods are good sources of vitamins, minerals and other beneficial nutrients.

Unlike supplements, it’s nearly impossible to overdose on nutrients from unprocessed food.

2. Real Food Is Low in Sugar

Some research suggests that eating sugary foods can increase your risk of obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and heart disease (7, 8, 9).

Generally speaking, real food is low in sugar and isn’t very sweet.

Even though fruit contains sugar, it’s also high in water and fiber, so it’s much less concentrated than sugar in soda and processed foods.

3. Real Food Is Heart-Healthy

Heart Healthy Foods

Real food is packed with antioxidants and nutrients that support heart health, including magnesium and healthy fats.

Eating a diet rich in nutritious, unprocessed foods may also help reduce inflammation, which is believed to be one of the major drivers of heart disease (10).

4. Real Food Is Good for the Environment

The world population is steadily growing, and with this growth comes increased demand for food.

However, producing food to feed several billion people is taking a huge toll on the environment. This is mainly due to increased fuel needs, greenhouse gases and packaging that ends up in landfills.

On the other hand, developing sustainable systems based on real food may help improve the health of our planet by reducing energy needs and decreasing the amount of non-biodegradable waste humans produce (11).

5. Real Food Is High in Fiber

Fiber provides many health benefits. These include helping you eat feel more satisfied with fewer calories, as well as improving digestive function and metabolic health (12, 13, 14).

Foods such as avocados, chia seeds, flaxseeds and blackberries are particularly high in healthy fiber, along with beans and legumes.

Getting fiber as it naturally occurs in real food is much better than taking a fiber supplement or eating processed food with added fiber.

6. Real Food Helps Control Blood Sugar

According to the International Diabetes Federation, more than 400 million people have diabetes worldwide.

That number is expected to surpass 600 million within the next 25 years.

Eating a diet high in fibrous plants and unprocessed animal foods may help reduce blood sugar levels in people with diabetes and people who are at risk of developing the disease.

In one 12-week study, people with diabetes or prediabetes followed a paleolithic diet containing fresh meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, eggs and nuts. They experienced a 26% reduction in blood sugar levels (15).

7. Real Food Is Good for Your Skin

Bowl of Raspberries and a Note That Reads: Eat More Real Food

In addition to promoting better overall health, eating real food nourishes and helps protect your skin from the inside out.

For instance, dark chocolate and avocados have been shown to protect skin against sun damage (16, 17).

Studies suggest that eating more vegetables, fish, beans and olive oil may help reduce wrinkling, loss of elasticity and other age-related skin changes (18, 19).

What’s more, switching from a Western diet high in processed foods to one based on real food may help prevent or reduce acne (20).

8. Real Food Helps Lower Triglycerides

Blood triglyceride levels are strongly influenced by food intake.

Because triglycerides tend to go up when you eat sugar and refined carbs, it’s best to minimize these foods or cut them out of your diet altogether.

In addition, including unprocessed foods such as fatty fish, lean meats, vegetables and nuts has been shown to significantly reduce triglyceride levels (21, 22).

9. Real Food Provides Variety

Eating the same foods over and over can get old. It’s also healthier to include many different foods in your diet.

There are hundreds of different real food options, including a wide variety of meat, fish, dairy, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, whole grains and seeds.

Make a point of regularly trying some real foods you’ve never eaten that look or sound interesting, such as kiwi, chia seeds, organ meats, kefir or quinoa.

You might just find a few new favorites.

10. Real Food Costs Less in the Long Run

It’s said that real food is more expensive than processed food, and in some ways this is true.

A 2013 analysis of 27 studies from 10 countries found that eating healthier food costs about $1.56 more than processed food per 2,000 calories (23).

However, in the long run, this difference is minimal compared with the cost of managing chronic lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

For instance, a 2012 study found that people with diabetes spend 2.3 times more on medical expenses than people who don’t have diabetes (24).

So real food is more expensive in the short-term, but way cheaper in the long run — because junk food costs you twice.

11. Real Food Is High in Healthy Fats

Fish, Berries, Spinach, Avocado and Nuts

Unlike trans fats and processed fats found in vegetable oils and spreads, most naturally occurring fats are incredibly healthy.

For example, extra virgin olive oil is a great source of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that promotes heart health (25).

Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides, which have been shown to increase fat burning and assist with weight loss (26, 27).

Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids help fight inflammation and protect heart health. Fatty fish, such as salmon, herring and sardines, are excellent sources of these fats (28, 29).

Other real foods that are high in healthy fats include avocados, nuts, seeds and whole-milk dairy.

12. Real Food May Reduce Disease Risk

Making real food part of your lifestyle may help reduce your risk for a number of chronic diseases.

Eating patterns based on whole, unprocessed foods — including the Mediterranean diet — have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome (30, 31).

In addition, several large observational studies link a balanced diet with a high intake of fruits and vegetables to a decreased risk of cancer and heart disease (32, 33).

13. Real Food Contains Antioxidants

Antioxidants are compounds that help fight free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can damage your body’s cells.

They are found in many real foods, including plants with deep pigments, such as leafy green vegetables, berries and cantaloupe.

Certain animal foods also contain antioxidants, including fish and eggs.

For instance, egg yolks contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which help protect against eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration (34, 35).

14. Real Food Is Good for Your Gut

Eating real food may be beneficial for your gut microbiome, the bacteria that live in your colon.

Indeed, many real foods function as prebiotics — food that your gut bacteria ferment into short-chain fatty acids. In addition to promoting gut health, these fatty acids may improve blood sugar control and provide other health benefits.

Real food prebiotics include garlic, asparagus and cocoa. For an extensive list of prebiotic foods, read this article.

15. Real Food May Help Prevent Overeating

Three Jars Filled with Colorful Vegetables

A high intake of processed and fast foods has been linked to overeating, particularly in those who are overweight (36).

By contrast, real food doesn’t contain the sugars and flavorings found in processed foods that help drive overeating.

16. Real Food Promotes Dental Health

Healthy teeth may be another benefit of a real food lifestyle that’s low in sugars and refined carbs.

Sugar and refined carbs promote dental decay by providing food for the plaque-causing bacteria that live in your mouth. The combination of sugar and acid in soda is especially likely to cause decay (37, 38).

Cheese seems to help prevent cavities by increasing pH and hardening tooth enamel. One study found that eating cheese dramatically improved enamel strength in people with limited saliva production due to radiation treatment for cancer (39, 40).

Green tea has also been shown to protect tooth enamel. One study found rinsing with green tea significantly reduced the amount of erosion that occurred when people drank soda and brushed their teeth vigorously (41).

17. Real Food May Help Reduce Sugar Cravings

A diet based on real food may also help reduce cravings for sweets, such as cake, cookies and candy.

Once your body adjusts to eating whole, unprocessed foods, cravings for sugary foods could become infrequent and even disappear altogether.

When you limit or avoid processed foods and high-sugar foods, eventually your taste buds adapt and learn to appreciate real food more.

18. Eating Real Food Sets a Good Example

In addition to improving your own health and well-being, eating real food can help the people you care about stay healthy as well.

Leading by example can help encourage better eating habits for your family members.

It’s also a good way to help your kids learn about good nutrition.

19. Eating Real Food Gets the Focus off Dieting

Chicken and Egg Salad

A dieting mentality isn’t good over the long term. It makes you focus on the number on the scale too much.

Nutrition is about way more than just dieting. It is also about feeling good, having enough energy and being healthy.

Focusing on real food instead of dieting can be a much healthier, more sustainable and enjoyable way to live.

Instead of focusing too much on weight loss, let weight loss come as a natural side effect of a better diet and improved metabolic health.

20. Real Food Helps Support Local Farmers

Purchasing produce from farmers’ markets, along with meat and dairy products from local farms, supports the people who grow food in your community.

In addition, these are often much fresher and less processed than the foods you get at the supermarket.

21. Real Food Is Delicious

In addition to all of the other reasons to eat real food, it truly tastes delicious.

The amazing flavor of fresh, unprocessed food is undeniable.

Once your taste buds have adjusted to real food, processed junk food simply can’t compare.

The healing power of sound: Energy fields determine how healthy you are by: Edsel Cook (Natural News) Sound can exert a deep effect on the human body. It can even heal us, an article in Waking Times stated, by adjusting the sound energy field that permeates […]
#2 Food Ingredient to Avoid – Sodium Chloride (Processed Salt) Everyone may not agree with sodium as my #2 food ingredient to avoid. And some people thrive on excessive sodium and need it for good health. Consult with your physician about your […]
Vitamin D deficiency is the primary cause of covid hospitalizations and deaths Ezekiel Diet Note: It's clear that the government, CDC and the controlled mainstream media is lying by omission when they ignore the vitamin D solution to the COVID "plandemic". In this […]