Making better and easier food choices

I am not a nutritionist but I do know that what I eat impacts my pain and my performance. When it comes to food choices, it can be hard to know what to believe. When I hear advice that seem grounded in common sense and there is some research from a reputable source, I listen. This link talks about 2 simple ways to tell if your food is considered “highly processed”, the type of food that is linked to inflammation.

#1 Place the food item in water and come back 3 hours later. If it looks basically like a soggy version of the thing you started with, it’s probably not ultra-refined. The granola bar I tested failed miserably and the “after 3 hours” photo was so gross, I couldn’t publish it. The sprouted organic ancient grain tortilla looked very much like a soggy tortilla. I was not tempted to eat it but it WAS recognizable. This is an easy test to do at home.

#2 Look at the ingredients and require the number of fiber grams to be 1 gram of fiber for every 10 grams of carbohydrate. The “Classic Original Good Chip” scored high in fiber (18 g carb and 2 g of fiber) as did the BBQ Kettle chips (16 g carb and 2 g of fiber), so I was pleasantly surprised.  The almond Nut Thins were horrible (24 g carb and only 1 gram of fiber) and some croccantini rosemary crackers (not included in the photo) had NO FIBER at all! This is an easy test to do when you are in the grocery store.

Of course, just because a food passes the fiber test doesn’t mean it’s okay to consume it on a regular basis due to possible high salt and saturated fat content. But we’re camping this weekend and these simple concepts mean that we’ll be eating just a little healthier!

Click here to fid the original article: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/16/nx-s1-5708698/ultra-processed-food-diet-health