This is the fifth in a series of posts answering the question: “Why has there been such an astronomical rise in childhood allergies?”

Today’s post is likely to make some of you unhappy. To quote a friend of mine, “You’re not taking away my processed foods.” It’s true that we’re all in love with processed foods. They’re quick, they’re easy, and they’re tasty, right? All of that may be true, but there are some real problems with processed foods.

Let’s first define processed, since some might say that frozen green beans are processed. When I talk about processed foods, I’m thinking of all of the prepared foods: your chips, crackers, cookies, cokes, prepared frozen or canned meals.

There are several problems with with processed foods:

1. There are often hidden allergens in processed foods, disguised in words like natural flavorings and artificial flavorings – to name just two.
2. They often contain unnatural additives such as MSG, high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, and other additives that are petroleum derivatives. All this does is add to the toxic load I talked about in part 4 of this series.
3. They are lacking in vitamins and minerals. And so rather than having antioxidant effects on the body, they actually contribute to oxidative stress. Yet another way to compromise the immune system.

Next up in the series – we’ll look at how hygiene and allergies may be connected.

This is the fifth in a series of blog posts answering the question: “Why has there been such an astronomical rise in childhood allergies?” To view other posts:

• Childhood Allergies in the 21st Century
• Childhood Allergies – Part 2 – Explanation of Allergies
• Childhood Allergies – Part 3 – Eczema Connection
• Childhood Allergies – Part 4 – Our Toxic World

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Barbara

I love to cook. I’m also a health coach, a path I chose after going through a health crisis which taught me the importance of eating healthy meals. Now, I want to combine the two — health coaching and cooking — to help people learn to cook healthy meals. To plan healthy meals. And to eat healthy meals. For more, please visit Your Cooking Coach.

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