BY STEVE BORN
It can be downright difficult to eat healthy consistently, given the seemingly increasing hectic pace of our lives. We're all busy with career and personal responsibilities - not to mention our athletic pursuits! - and all of these things limit the time we have available to shop for and prepare high quality meals. As a result, more often than not, we end up eating out or having a snack on the go, hoping that we're not eating too poorly.
Highly processed foods - oftentimes the usual snack food choices - are loaded with sugar, sodium, unhealthy fat, and other ingredients that are poor choices for keeping energy levels consistently high, metabolism healthy, and body composition ideal. In addition, refined sugars and processed foods promote inflammation, which can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and more.
So the dilemma exists: How can I maintain a high-quality diet when it's often difficult to prepare and enjoy a proper sit-down meal? When an on-the-go meal replacement/ snack is your only option, you can enjoy guilt-free convenience with Hammer Bars, while knowing that you're still eating right.
Reasons to Avoid Processed Foods
1) Processed foods and beverages are the biggest sources of added sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in the diet. The consumption of excess sugar has so many negative health consequences associated with it - far too many to list here - but one that's worth noting is the effect that high sugar intake has on nutrient absorption. While whole foods provide your body with a plethora of vitamins and minerals, processed foods are devoid of these nutrients, and their high sugar content reduces absorption of crucial vitamins and minerals, causing nutrient depletion. For more, see the article.
2) Most processed foods' content is intentionally engineered to be exceptionally sweet, salty, and fatty - these three tastes being very rewarding to the brain. Many processed foods are so high in the amount of sugar/salt/fat they contain - they're hyper-rewarding, in fact - that they can override natural satiety mechanisms in the body. This causes overconsumption, which will compromise health.
3) Processed foods contain unwanted artificial ingredients. In fact, the term artificial flavor" usually means that it is not a single ingredient, but a combination of several chemicals. The listing of artificial flavor on an ingredients list could, for example, actually mean a blend of 10 or more chemicals.
4) Unlike whole foods, processed foods tend to be low in fiber. High-fiber diets support optimal digestive and cardiovascular health, promote healthy cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and help reduce health-damaging inflammation.
Hammer Bars - Real Food!
Unlike far too many energy/food bars - which are really just expensive processed food - Hammer Bars are real food, made of whole, organic, raw food sources. Hammer Bars provide nutrient-dense complex carbohydrates, complete vegetable proteins, and healthy fats, and they're a good source of fiber. They are certified vegan and kosher, and free of GMO's and gluten.
When you need to supplement a meal, are following a real food approach to fueling your training sessions, or simply want a healthy snack, Hammer Bars are the answer.
