For some of us, eating junk food has almost become an everyday occurrence. One must scour the meat section to find unprocessed meat. With increasing amounts of stress and limited time to cook healthily, it can feel pretty satisfying to have a quick and convenient meal. However, the Autoimmunity Reviews journal recently published a study that found foods like TV dinners and pre-made frozen meals could make us more prone to autoimmune conditions.
It could be safer to stick with unprocessed meat and food altogether. This study showed that when processed food is eaten, it weakens the barrier in the intestine and grants bad particles access to the bloodstream. The immune system is activated because foreign particles are released, increasing your chance of developing autoimmune diseases like type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or celiac disease. In particular, seven additives to food caused this intestinal weakness that could result in autoimmune conditions.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration, processed foods are ones that are not in its raw agricultural form and have undergone any type of processing, which could include cooking, freezing, canning, milling, or dehydration. Basically, any food ranging from bread to frozen peas could be putting you at risk for autoimmune complications. Unprocessed meat and natural foods are key to keeping autoimmune risk at bay.
An autoimmune disease causes the immune system, which is normally used in protecting itself against foreign particles and things like viruses or diseases, to attack healthy tissue and cells. As a result, this condition can ruin parts of the body and disrupt the function of organs. Eating unprocessed food and meat help the body function efficiently.
As aforementioned, the immune system can be set off when foreign particles are allowed into the bloodstream via the intestines. This occurs by way of faulty sealants within cells of the intestines, which let unsuitable particles travel across the lining. This process is also known as intestinal permeability. A person who suffers from an autoimmune disease happens to be at a greater risk of having this condition. Intestinal permeability could have caused an amplified immune system response that preceded their autoimmune disorder.
Food additives function to improve taste, smell, and texture of food. Also, they make the product last longer. When it comes to our bodies however, food additives may not provide value and can actually harm us. The research proved that seven additives, which are listed below, did increase permeability of the intestine and put consumers at a greater risk for an autoimmune disease. Eating unprocessed meat and other foods can help to eliminate these food additives from our diet.
The researchers that created this study stated that while the FDA is very strict with pharmaceutical regulations, they are lax with food additives. Their hope is that their research will help change this and increase educational awareness of food additive risks and dangers to the body.
Even though there have been numerous medical breakthroughs and developments, the number of autoimmune diseases continues to climb. Serious diseases and deaths that are preventable like measles and tetanus are declining, while chronic diseases that are also preventable such as autoimmune and heart diseases are claiming more lives. Some examples of chronic and preventable autoimmune diseases include multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis, and celiac disease. The goal of this research was to see if a correlation between the diet people eat today-which is usually short of unprocessed meat and food-and autoimmune diseases existed.
These researchers found seven key ingredients that increased the likelihood of developing autoimmune diseases. Many of these seven ingredients are familiar since they are required to be on the package label, but some could be hidden as they are not even listed as ingredients on the food you are consuming.
The seven ingredients or food additives making you sick are: sugar, gluten, salt, nanoparticles, an enzyme called microbial transglutaminase (functions as glue for proteins), emulsifiers, and fat solvents.
Although this study has found food additives and processed food to be bad for health, many other reports have done the same. For example, The World Health Organization published a 2015 study showing that consuming processed meats is directly correlated to a higher risk for cancer of the colon and rectum. Eating unprocessed meat and foods is not only better for general health, but can help prevent cancer formation.
The consumption of unprocessed meat and food without additives has been found by several studies to be linked to lower risk levels for developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and more.
When the body is stressed, the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response system protects itself and prevents unnecessary adrenal fatigue by activating certain organs and systems. One of its main defenses is a hormone called cortisol. When stress becomes too much, like what happens in late stages of Adrenal Fatigue, the adrenal glands simply cannot keep up and cortisol output begins to decrease.
Cortisol output directly affects blood sugar levels, insulin sensitivity, immune system suppression, and the contraction of mid-size arteries. As studies show, food additives can also affect blood sugar and insulin levels, artery health, and signal the body to attack itself. This last point is key since eating foods and meats that are unprocessed can help prevent additional damage to an already compromised immune system for those that suffer from adrenal fatigue.
A diet that allows for blood sugar levels to remain constant is crucial to Adrenal Fatigue recovery, so it is important to limit processed sugar intake. Monitoring sugar as well as salt consumption are two huge components to healing.
This area of study definitely warrants additional research, but the evidence clearly shows that unprocessed meat and foods reign supreme for health. So, when the next opportunity arises to choose between unprocessed meat and foods and those that are processed and contain food additives, remember to select natural for the sake of your health.
© Copyright 2017 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.
