If you have been listening to the show for a while – then you know I am all about lifestyle and what we put into our bodies. The foods we eat are what will move the needle the fastest when looking to optimize our health. But – what about those times that we want a “convenience food”. What about those times we are at a social gathering or having family or friends over and we want to serve snacks.  Today we are going to talk about processed foods. We’re going to get into how to read food labels. Every day in my practice I go over this concept – how to read food labels – as it can shift our mindset and subsequently help us when we are looking to optimize our health. We are going to do a couple of side by side comparisons. We are going to talk about additives and preservatives. Then we are going to talk about better options – healthier choices for the times we want to snack.

Just a quick disclaimer that this podcast is meant for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or be a substitute for medical advice from your practitioner.

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** Interesting articles for more information**

The Potential of High-Anthocyanin Purple Rice as a Functional Ingredient in Human Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8225073/pdf/antioxidants-10-00833.pdf

Nutritional and functional properties of coloured rice varieties of South India: a review: https://journalofethnicfoods.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42779-019-0017-3

The Artificial Food Dye Blues: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2957945/pdf/ehp-118-a428.pdf

Butylated hydroxyanisole: Carcinogenic food additive to be avoided or harmless antioxidant important to protect food supply?: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273230021000271

Butylated Hydroxytoluene: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/butylated-hydroxytoluene

Alarming impact of the excessive use of tert-butylhydroquinone in food products: A narrative review: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750022001111

Effects of the food additives sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium acetate, and citric acid on hemato-immunological pathological biomarkers in rats: Relation to PPAR-α, PPAR-γ and tnfα signaling pathway: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29986283/

Assessing the Health Impact of Phosphorus in the Food Supply: Issues and Considerations : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3884091/