Today, the shelves of our supermarkets are full of more and more prepared dishes that you just have to reheat to be ready to use. If proponents of healthy eating prefer to stay away from it, these foods can be tempting for the rest of us, concerned about our schedules. So, to save time, we turn to prepared dishes. But as part of a slimming diet, are prepared dishes a good or bad idea? According to a recent American study, consuming processed or prepared dishes would be harmful to weight loss, as they tend to cause more calories to be consumed.
Ready meals contain too many additives
In the first rank of these dubious elements, special mention for the famous mono-sodium glutamate. It is a flavor enhancer that has potentially neurotoxic effects, especially in children. However, manufacturers do not hesitate to add abundantly in their processed foods in order to reduce the use of salt and maximize the addictive potential of these dishes. Enough to make prepared foods addicted, as evidenced by the inscription "come back" on the label of some package dishes.
Certainly, the effects of these additives are supposed to be tested by manufacturers in order to validate their safety, but these tests are generally done in isolation. However, in these chemical cocktails, the combination of different substances could have toxic effects on the body, according to the study by Professor Vyvyan Howard, from the University of Liverpool. By testing the association of glutamate with dyes found in certain packets of chips, the Professor found that the toxicity of the substances can be multiplied by 7 once they are combined.
The effects of transformation on the glycemic index
A prepared dish is, by definition, a processed food whose denatured structure can have a detrimental impact on the body. For example, let's take the case of rice, a completely innocent or even noble starch at its core. When rice is processed into puffed rice to enhance children's cereals, its glycemic index increases significantly, which increases our insulin production, with all the effects on health.
Ready meals contain too much omega-6
Less known than omega-3, omega-6 is an essential fatty acid that stimulates the immune system and keeps the heart functioning properly. However, it is essential that the blood concentration of omega-6 and omega-3 must remain balanced to ensure the proper functioning of the body.
However, when fatty foods are not sufficiently hydrogenated, they may contain too much omega-6, as is the case of sunflower oil, sold at a much cheaper price in France compared to other cooking oils. However, sunflower oil is very rich in omega-6, a fatty acid that causes inflammation of cells when it is in excess in the body. No luck, it is found in most prepared dishes ! In contrast, olive oil is one of the best cooking oils. However, it is much more expensive, which makes it accessible only in high-end products.
Prepared meals contain bad fats
Industrial dishes therefore contain a large amount of omega-6, this essential fatty acid that sometimes leads to inflammation in case of excess. But omega-6 is not the only substance contained in processed dishes, as there are many other fats that are harmful to health:
- Processed fatty acids from the hydrogenation of certain fats, such as palm oil and sunflower oil. These trans fats are actually dangerous to cardiovascular health. Although the WHO has banned their use altogether, some brands continue to use them for the preparation of low-quality products.
- Pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMs) refer to molecules released by certain viruses, fungi and bacteria to cause inflammatory reactions in the immune system. In addition, these molecular structures increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease when consuming too much prepared foods. This is particularly the case for dishes based on minced meat (lasagna, sausages and hamburgers), vegetables sold in sachets, sandwiches, sauces as well as certain cheeses and chocolates.
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