The 10 food rules we live by

Easy Food rules we like to live by and a bit about processed food categories.

We don’t believe in diets or guilt tripping but, we do believe that knowledge is power and when it comes to packaged/prepared foods, you don’t need a PhD in nutrition but, you do need your wits about you! With so many heavily processed ingredients mixed with positive marketing claims, it can be easy to become confused, even when you are in the industry. This can leave people feeling overwhelmed and understandably so.

Even when you try to eat “healthy” you may find out later that a study comes out and all of a sudden, this healthy and hip food is now unhealthy. “I give up!” you may think, but, let’s just keep it simple. You just need a few guidelines and once you know them, you will be better equipped to make better food choices. Let’s first break down the packaged food categories and then explore the top 10 ingredients we avoid (and you should too).

Packaged Foods (aka Consumer Packaged Goods)

Ultra Processed foods:

The bulk of packaged foods are overly processed “food-like” substances that do not contain much nutrition, if any (ex. twinkies, cereal). This category of the worst offenders to our health is sadly also the most numerous in sheer product volume around the world. As a general rule, foods that are chips, candy, baked goods, cereals, anything in a package really, you need to be skeptical and more than likely, just avoid. If an item was super cheap, there is a reason. It is likely not real food.

The ingredients in these items are either engineered to be cheap, or for purely for taste. There is literally no incentive for food companies to provide nourishment with the items they sell (isn’t that messed up?!) These fake foods more often than not, play on the pleasure centre of your brain with a dopamine hit for a mood boost but, before you know it, you have finished an entire bag and are still hungry. You just ate entertainment foods for sensory enjoyment, but they had zero nutrition, so your body is depleted and still hungry for nourishment.

The “Better-for-you”/Natural Packaged Foods:

This category is a step up from the ultra processed foods for sure but, many still contain harmful ingredients, or just simply don’t contain much nutrition (ex. an organic cake). They may be “better” but, it does not mean it is “best” and your body deserves the best. This category could be broken out into better for you, and super natural foods.

The supernatural foods are the packaged foods that are in a league of their own. Made to actually nourish you while you are away from your home kitchen (we can’t do it all with a busy schedule!), do no harm to your body and are typically better for the environment as well. These will often be organic, made of whole food ingredients, potent and authentic doses of nutrients (if applicable), low to no sugar, nothing refined, no “natural flavours”, etc.

NUD falls into the super natural category (of course ;p) and we believe in using the power of real food to improve lives and use nothing synthesized in a lab (like legitimately nothing). Everything we make could be crafted in your kitchen and we are proud of that fact.

Here are the top 10 rules to consider to keep things less weird and less damaging to your health:

1. AVOID refined sugar, or refined sweeteners
2. AVOID white flours, or refined grains, keep things whole and less glutinous if possible
3. AVOID refined starches (think potato starch)
4. AVOID artificial or “natural” flavours (these are often not that natural)
5. AVOID preservatives
6. AVOID palm oil
7. AVOID refined oils (like canola, soy, etc)
8. AVOID food colourings
9. Reduce Animal proteins and find the best quality you can, like grassfed (if you consume animal protein)
10. AVOID dairy ingredients. Most people are lactose intolerant anyway and this is not required to sustain health.
11. BONUS: anything you can’t pronounce is likely processed and best to avoid. Real food is always pronounceable.

Are there ingredients you see in the foods you eat and love that you have questions about? Questions about why we avoid some items on the list? Comment below.