Over the past years, our lives have become so busy. We go out with friends, have full-time jobs and lots of exciting hobbies. It’s hard to find a good balance between healthy food, time, and money.
Often we are tempted to take less time to prepare a fresh and decent meal because ready-made, take away or processed meals are so easy and convenient. They are the modern answer to our fast-paced lifestyle and busy family or work schedule.
But are they good for you? Studies show that those meals aren’t good alternatives to fresh, home cooked meals. TV dinners or pre-made foods contain high levels of unhealthy fats, carbohydrates, salt, and calories. And they contain fewer vitamins, minerals, fiber and other important nutrients.
ALSO READ: Healthy Fats You Should Be Consuming
Top 3 TV Dinner and Unhealthy Meals Health Risks
#1 Weight gain and obesity
The conserving processes, such as canning, freezing, and dehydration, reduce the taste of the products, therefore extra fat and salt are added to the meals.
They contain high levels of calories but don’t give you a stuffed feeling due to the smaller portions and you’ll get tempted to eat more snacks. They contain more fats, salt and sugars and lack fibers. So eating lots of these meals equals gaining more weight.
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#2 Cardiovascular diseases, cholesterol, and kidney failure
A high salt and fat diet has a negative effect on our blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and overall heart health. Sodium or salt is processed in our kidneys when eating to much salt our kidneys can’t handle them all and the remaining salts end up in our blood circulation.
Sodium retains water and our blood volume increases dramatically. As a result, our cardiovascular system has to put more effort to pump the blood around. So after a while, this can result in severe heart and kidney diseases.
ALSO READ: How To Lower Your Blood Pressure Naturally
#3 Lower IQ
Processed foods lack nutrients of a good quality such as vitamins and minerals. Those compounds are very important for our brain growth and development. Studies show that especially children under 4 are affected.
Some people counter the lack of nutrients in these meals with vitamin and other supplements. While this can be a good option for some people, the high amounts of salt and sugars in the TV dinners are still very bad for your health and should be avoided.
There are plenty of recipes with fresh produce that are simple, quick and easy to make. It takes as long to prepare these as it takes to go to a drive-in or get something from the supermarket. I’ll be posting a few of these recipes soon.
Thanks for reading. I hope this information was helpful. Until next time!
Amy Goodrich
Crazy cat lady, life and food lover, certified biologist, and holistic health coach.
