March is Nutrition Month, so let’s examine how our daily food and drink choices play an important role in our health. We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the importance of eating real food and avoiding processed foods.

But what is processed food? For that matter, what is minimally processed food or ultra-processed food? And how does processed food affect our health?

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods are whole foods in which the vitamins and nutrients are still intact. The food is in its natural (or nearly natural) state. These foods may be minimally altered by removal of inedible parts, drying, crushing, roasting, boiling, freezing, or pasteurization, to make them suitable to store and safe to consume. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods would include carrots, apples, raw chicken, melon, and raw, unsalted nuts.

Processing changes a food from its natural state. Processed foods are essentially made by adding salt, oil, sugar, or other substances. Examples include canned fish or canned vegetables, fruits in syrup, and freshly made breads. Most processed foods have two or three ingredients.

Some foods are highly processed or ultra-processed. They most likely have many added ingredients such as sugar, salt, fat, and artificial colours or preservatives. Ultra-processed foods are made mostly from substances extracted from foods, such as fats, starches, added sugars, and hydrogenated fats. They may also contain additives like artificial colours and flavours or stabilizers. Examples of these foods are frozen meals, soft drinks, hot dogs and cold cuts, fast food, packaged cookies, cakes, and salty snacks. [www.health.harvard.edu]

I found a fantastic website with a wealth of useful information. On UnlockFood.ca, you will find information on nutrition, food and healthy eating, as well as recipes, videos and online tools. There is information on hundreds of topics from A-Z. The content on UnlockFood.ca focuses on healthy eating throughout the lifecycle (from infants to seniors), nutrition topics of interest, and preventing and managing health conditions.

We need to take care of our health and nutrition. So eat well, stay away from ultra-processed foods, get plenty of rest, 6-9 hours of sleep and receive regular massages.