fter a long day, popping a ready meal into the microwave or oven might be much more appealing than spending time cooking. There’s no denying that ready meals are quick and easy. But although they might be convenient, do they also provide the nutrients your body needs to live well?
Ready meals are often high in salt and sugar but low in other nutrients. Eating foods that are high in calories but devoid of true nutritional value on a frequent basis will likely make you gain weight as well as raising your blood pressure. If you eat unhealthy ready meals on a regular basis it will inevitably increase your risk of related conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.
You need to get to know the labels!
The traffic light labeling found on the front of most food packaging can help you to compare the nutritional content of different ready meals and guide you towards making a healthier choice. This lists the amount of calories, fat, salt and sugar in the food and categorises these as either red, amber or green depending on whether the level is high, medium or low. Opt for as many green categories as possible on as many foods as you can!
That said, there are huge issues with the current food labeling system and in many ways its a system that does more harm than good. We’ll return to this theme on another day.
It’s also important to remember that the ingredients on the back of packaging are listed in order of quantity. So if fat, salt and sugar are listed high up, this means that the product is made up mostly of these ingredients and if the list contains a lot of ingredients or some you have never heard of, the best idea is to avoid buying that product.
If you would like to find out more about how to maintain a healthy diet, join our new Wellness with ProLongevity group: www.facebook.com/groups/278916313071738/
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