Many foods that are canned are inherently healthy, but the canning process can transform them into something vastly different.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people stocked up the canned food or ready-to-cook food, to limit the visits to the grocery stores.
In today’s fast-paced life, most people are using canned foods which are ready to eat and easy to grab. But they don’t know that by consuming them on regular basis, they can lead to a range of health conditions.
If we talk about tinned and processed food, they contain high-fat content and have a large number of chemicals and salt which are added for longer preservation. The worst part is that they are not nutritional and good as compared to freshly cooked food. But. On the other hand, many people say canned food can be part of your healthy diet.
So, let deep dive more into this topic and go through this informative article about the canned foods
Table of Contents
What is canned food?
So, to store the foods for a longer time, companies are using airtight containers. And this process is called Canning.
In the 18th Century, the Canning process is used to supply fresh and healthy food to soldiers at war.
There are three main steps of this process (can vary as per the product).
- Processing: They perfectly sliced, peeled, boned, chopped the food
- Sealing: Processed food is sealed in airtight cans
- Heating: In this process, cans are heated to kill the harmful bacteria
What are the side effects of eating canned foods?
#1 Less Nutrients
As all of us know that canned foods are processed and hence, numerous nutrients will stripe away. You will not get the same nutritional benefits just like fresh food. In canned food, most fruits and vegetables are cut, peeled, mixed and refined with preservatives and other ingredients.
#2 More Sugar and Sodium Content
Today, sodium and sugar content are added to certain canned foods to increase flavor. However, it gives better taste, but it is not good for health. If you think that your canned food has too many additives, then you can drain the juice from the can and rinse the food with water before consuming or preparing.
#3 Not Good in Taste
When it comes to tinned food, they will never give the same taste as good as fresh food irrespective of what your label is saying. On the contrary, fresh food has organic and natural flavors possible.
#4 Great BPA Exposure
BPA, also known as bisphenol, is a chemical that can be found in aluminum tin and aluminum paper. A recent study suggests that BPA can be toxic even in low doses. This chemical can also cause numerous health conditions for instance, prostate cancer, breast cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and so on.
They may contain Bad bacteria
Its rare, but sometimes canned foods that were not processed in a proper way can contain very dangerous bacteria known as Clostridium botulinum.
Consuming harmful food can cause botulism, this is an extremely serious illness can lead to paralysis and if not treated on time can cause death also.
So, it’s highly recommended to never buy canned food that is dented, cracked, and leaked.
How to choose the right one?
- It’s for all the foods, always read the label and check the ingredients list.
- If salt intake is issue for you, always choose the “no salt added” option.
- Choose fruits that are canned in the water and buy juice instead of syrups
Should we avoid canned food?
Now the question is should we really avoid tinned food. Certainly not. But you should limit your usage. The best part about them is that they have longer shelf life as compared to fresh food. What’s more, you can prepare them quickly if you have less time. If you are a young adult or a student and on tight budget, then buying canned food is considered as the best option. Keep reading our blog to get more information on how to improve our overall health!
