The term ‘natural foods’ is banded around here there and everywhere in the foodie world – usually accompanied by images of luscious farmland and grazing animals.
But what does it actually take for a food to be ‘natural’?
Natural foods and drinks will mean something different for everyone as it’s a pretty vague and un-policed term.
But, generally speaking, natural foods are:
For example, a carrot picked straight from the ground would be classed as natural but that carrot cake on the shelf in the supermarket – not so natural.
Natural foods may have certain crossovers with organic foods, but they are two totally different things.
‘Organic’ is a protected term that is subject to legal regulation.
In order for a drink or food to be labelled organic, at least 95% of the ingredients must come from organically produced animals or plants.
These ingredients must be approved by an independent certification body, like the Soil Association Certification, who certify over 70% of organic food in the UK.1
The main aim of organic food production is to limit the environmental impact as much as possible.
Processed food includes any food that has been altered from its natural state in some way.
The term has been somewhat demonised over the years, but the truth is that not all processed food is necessarily bad for you.
Does it make sense to turn your nose up at frozen peas just because they’re not deemed ‘natural’? We think not.
Although it is best to stick to natural foods where possible, here are some examples of processed foods that may surprise you (and are perfectly fine to include in a healthy, balanced diet):
One of the easiest ways to think about the most natural foods available is to ask yourself: would a hunter gatherer be able to get their hands on this back in the day when ovens, factories and the like didn’t exist?
Yes, natural foods are some of the healthiest foods around, especially fruits and vegetables.
They are usually full to the brim with nutrients like vitamins, minerals and fibre, with none of the added fat, sugar, salt that a lot of processed food has these days.
However, with that being said, it would be quite hard to live on purely natural foods – and probably a lot less tasty.
It’s all about balance and trying to fit in as many natural foods as possible into your diet.
Yogurt isn’t ‘natural’, tofu isn’t ‘natural’, but foods like this have a very valid place in a modern healthy diet – just like the occasional bowl of ice cream and slice of hot, buttery toast!
To help motivate you to include more natural foods into your diet, below are 12 benefits of eating natural foods.
