Skip the Enriched Foods for Better Health

What does “enriched” and “fortified” mean when reading the ingredients of our favorite rice, crackers, pastas, cookies and snacks? Here’s a simple way to look at it.

The most common foods that have “enriched” on the label will be breads, cereals, pasta, noodles and other wheat or grain-based products. In a nutshell, during the
manufacturing process the wheat germ is broken down and striped of all the
fiber and nutrition. In order to provide a product that appears to be so-called
“nutritious” the vitamins are replaced by, you guessed it, “enriching” them
into the food. Mother Nature’s goodness and vitamins are removed and replaced with manmade synthetic vitamins and sold as being “fortified” and nutritious.

This process is not reserved only for white bread, which is about as nutritious as cardboard. There are tons of WHEAT breads, snack products, cookies, etc. that have enriched ingredients. These products are not as harmful as hydrogenated oods but they provide little nutritional value and can wreck your hormonal balances.

A quick example would be when you eat fibrous foods (apples or whole grains) your body releases chemical signals to your brain to indicate that you’re full, a win for fiber and whole grains. If you’re eating a processed, refined food the same chemical signals are not sent – a loss for processed, “enriched” foods.

The end result – you eat and eat and eat and NEVER feel full. Processed foods are so harmful to fat loss because they don’t produce the natural hormonal responses in your body telling you that you’re full.  Oh, and enriched products signal your body to store fat – not a good thing.

So, eating whole grains and fruits, not “enriched” or “fortified” foods, will provide long-term energy and signal your body that fuel is available so excess reserves (body fat) can begin to be released.

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