Being a whole, single-ingredient food, real food is mostly unprocessed, rich in nutrients, and free of chemical additives.
Human beings have been eating real foods for thousands of years.
However, the advent of food processing in the 20th century has made the Western diet shift toward ready-to-eat meals.
While it’s true that processed, ready-to-eat foods are convenient, they can cause harm to your health.
What are processed foods? Processed foods are food items that have undergone mechanical or chemical operations, thereby reducing a food's nutritional wealth or adding things that you may want to limit or avoid, such as sugar or sodium.
Eating real foods may be one of the best and most important things you can do to maintain good health and improved quality of life.
So here are 25 reasons to start eating real foods.
1. Low in sugar
Eating sugary foods has been suggested in some research to increase your risk of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, obesity, and heart disease.
Real food generally contains lower sugar compared to many processed foods.
Though fruit contains sugar, it also has high fiber and water content, making it healthier compared to processed foods and soda.
2. Nutrient-dense
Unprocessed plant and animal foods are nutrient-dense. They provide the vitamins and minerals required for optimal health.
For example, a single cup (220 grams) of broccoli, red bell peppers, or orange slices harbors > 100% of the RDI for vitamin C.
Liver and eggs are rich in choline, which is vital for proper brain function. And one Brazil nut is an excellent source of selenium.
Most whole foods are typically excellent sources of beneficial nutrients like vitamins and minerals.
3. Loaded with healthy fats
Unlike processed fats, most naturally occurring fats are healthy.
For instance, extra virgin olive oil provides excellent amounts of oleic acid, which promotes heart health; coconut oil carries medium-chain triglycerides, which may promote weight loss.
In addition, fatty fish, such as sardines, herring, and salmon, are a great source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which may help protect heart health and fight inflammation.
Other real foods that provide healthy fats include whole-milk dairy, nuts, seeds, and avocados.
4. Promotes heart health
Real food contains antioxidants and nutrients that promote heart health, including healthy fats and magnesium.
What’s more, eating a diet rich in real foods may improve inflammation—one of the major drivers of heart disease.
5. Rich in fiber
Fiber provides several impressive health benefits, including improving metabolic health, digestive function, and feelings of fullness.
Flaxseeds, chia seeds, avocados, and blackberries, as well as beans and legumes, are excellent sources of healthy fiber.
Consuming fiber from whole foods is always better than eating processed food with added fiber or taking a supplement.
6. Helps lower triglycerides
Your food intake affects your blood triglyceride levels.
Eating sugar and refined carbs can cause dangerous spikes in triglycerides. Minimizing these foods or cutting them out of your diet and replacing them with unprocessed real foods like vegetables, lean meats, fatty fish, and nuts can help lower triglyceride levels.
7. Helps improve blood sugar
Eating a diet rich in unprocessed animal and fibrous plant foods may help improve levels of blood sugar in people with diabetes.
In fact, a 12-week study in individuals with prediabetes or diabetes who followed a paleolithic diet combining fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, and eggs experienced reduced blood sugar levels by 26%.
8. Healthy for the brain
Real foods are packed with antioxidants, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that help your brain stay healthy. Eating and staying healthy can improve brain function, help clear your mind, and allow you to process things a lot faster.
9. Environment-friendly
Along with the growing population comes an increased demand for food.
However, producing foods for everyone in the world has an environmental toll. This is partly due to the increased greenhouse gases, fuel needs, pesticide use, and packaging that ends up in landfills, as well as the destruction of rainforests for agricultural land.
Developing sustainable agriculture based on real food reduces the amount of non-biodegradable waste produced and the energy needs, thereby improving the health of the planet.
10. Good for your skin
Eating real food is good for your skin.
For example, avocados and dark chocolate may help protect skin against sun damage.
In addition, eating more fish, vegetables, and olive oil has been suggested in studies to help reduce age-related skin changes like loss of elasticity and wrinkling.
11. Provides variety
Including diverse real foods in your diet is healthier than repeating the same foods over and over.
There exist hundreds of different real food choices, including fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Try new foods regularly. Unique options include organ meats, quinoa, chayote squash, kefir, and chia seeds.
With so many varieties to choose from, real foods can give you plenty of healthy dinner ideas or healthy dinner recipes.
12. Costs less in the long run
While it’s true that real food is way more costly than processed food, the difference is minimal compared to the cost of managing obesity, diabetes, and other chronic lifestyle diseases caused by consuming processed foods.
Eating real food minimizes your medical costs because it is more likely to keep you healthy.
13. May reduce disease risk
Real food may help lower your risk of developing a disease.
In fact, a study has shown that eating a Mediterranean diet based on whole, unprocessed foods can help lower your risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease.
Moreover, a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been suggested by several large observational studies to lower your risk of heart disease and cancer.
14. Contains antioxidants
Antioxidants are compounds that help prevent or slow cell damage caused by free radicals.
These compounds are present in all real foods, especially plant foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts, as well as in fresh, unprocessed animal foods.
15. Good for your gut
Real foods are good for your gut microbiome—the bacteria living in your digestive tract. They may also function as prebiotics, which turn bacteria in your gut into fatty acids. It can be noted that fatty acids promote heart health.
There are actually quite a number of real food sources of prebiotics, including cocoa, asparagus, bananas, and garlic.
16. May help prevent overeating
A high intake of high-carb processed foods can cause overeating, especially in overweight individuals.
Eating real food may help prevent overeating, as it does not contain the flavorings and sugars that may drive overeating.
17. May help reduce sugar cravings
Real food can help reduce your craving for sweets, such as candy, cookies, and cakes.
Once your taste buds adjust to eating real foods, you’ll appreciate them more and your cravings for sugary foods could even disappear.
18. Promotes dental health
Manufactured ingredients like additives don’t bring any good to your teeth. They may even damage your teeth’s enamel over time due to plaque.
Eating real food like real cheese can help lessen tooth decay and strengthen your teeth’s enamel.
19. Sets a good example
Not only are you improving your own health and well-being when you eat real foods. You are also encouraging the people you care about to adopt better eating habits and stay healthy.
Leading by example is a great way to teach your kids about good nutrition as well.
20. Gets the focus off dieting
Dieting goes beyond the aim of losing weight. It’s also about feeling healthy and having enough energy to enjoy life.
Giving more focus and enjoying eating real foods makes weight loss come as a natural side effect of an improved metabolic health and a better diet.
21. Helps support local farmers
Purchasing meat and produce from farmer markets means you are supporting local farmers. It’s a great way to help the people who grow much fresher and less processed food in your community.
22. Sustainable
Eating natural food is more sustainable than eating processed foods since the former produces less waste and has less use of chemicals.
23. Suitable for everyone
Real foods are absolutely for everyone, whether they’re vegans or diabetics. But take note that diabetics may need additional guidance from the doctor.
24. Doesn’t require restrictive diets
Committing to restrictive diets can be at times overwhelming. Commit to eating natural real foods first as you begin your journey to fitness.
25. Delicious
A fresh, unprocessed real food is undeniably delicious.
Conclusion
Eating real food can give you a healthier body and a better and healthier environment.
Though eating real food will go a long way toward bettering your health, real food isn’t the only component of a healthy lifestyle.
It’s also important that you maintain proper nutrition, get consistent exercise, and manage your stress.
