I doubt many people need to be convinced of the health benefits of removing junk foods and adding more natural, whole, unprocessed or minimally processed foods to your diet.

Benefits like:
More energy
Better digestion
Healthier skin, nails and hair
Improved mental clarity and focus
Easier weight management
Improved immunity etc

So why don’t more people have a diet full of these amazing healthy whole foods?

Well one reason is because many people think healthy foods taste terrible. They literally see them as tasteless and unappetising and who am I to argue with what someone’s taste buds are telling them?

But what I would like to do is share with you 3 reasons that could be the cause, so you can do something about them and start adding more whole foods to your life that taste really good.

3 Reasons Healthy Foods Taste Terrible 

1.
 You’re Eating Fat Free Nonsense – If your versions of healthy whole foods are foods labelled reduced fat, low fat or fat free, then you are barking up the wrong tree entirely. The HUGE problem with reduced fat or fat free fare is that in many cases, it was the naturally occurring fats and oils that gave the foods their distinct flavor, so without it the foods become tasteless.

Fat free foods that do have some taste, normally have an artificial flavor enhancer in them to replace the taste natural fat would have given it. And naturally occurring fats in many foods is actually good for you, but are only removed to appeal to those that still think fats are “bad”.

So what can you do if this is you? Stop buying foods that have artificially had their fats or oils reduced or completely removed and just buy unprocessed, real natural foods with all their naturally occurring fats and flavor.

2.
 You’re used taste buds are on overdrive – If you’re current diet is comprised mainly of super sweet, super salty and super fatty rich foods that have been given their flavors artificially from things like aspartame, MSG (monosodium glutamate) or rancid fats, then your taste buds will be accustomed to that level of (in many cases) insane sweetness, saltiness and fattiness, tastes which aren’t found abundantly in nature.

So what can you do if this is you? Advanced food preparation techniques of raw food dishes in particular, have been able to replicate many of the very rich tastes found in many processed foods. So to help you adjust, you can find some gourmet raw vegan dishes or recreate your favorite fast foods using natural ingredients and season them with natural seasonings until they rival the processed foods your taste buds are used to.

Reduce the level of seasonings each time you make that meal and you’ll soon begin to taste the real flavors, textures and aromas of the foods (i.e. homemade chips and burger, homemade pizzas, homemade ice creams, sorbets and puddings all made from scratch with whole natural ingredients)

3.
 You could be deficient in Zinc – Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can the culprit in many common symptoms and this is one of them. The mineral zinc is necessary of normal functioning sense of smell and taste and a deficiency in Zinc has been linked to people losing interest in foods or only being able to find foods which are very sweet, salty or spicy appetising.

So what can you do if this is you? The best way to find out if you are deficient in zinc or any other minerals is to get some testing done. There are Zinc Taste Tests, in depth questionnaires, hair mineral analysis and blood tests that you can take to help you discover this.

Alternatively, you could increase the amount of natural whole foods in your diet that contain zinc (mentioned above), prepared in a way that you find appealing and see if this restores the balance and improves your sense of taste.

Zinc rich foods like:

Green peas

Brazil nuts

Scallops

Oats

Chickpeas

Watermelon seeds

Tahini and sesame seeds

& Pumpkin seeds

(as well and beef & lamb if you eat it)

Supplements can also be used to restore balance if there’s a deficiency but go for low doses of natural zinc supplements to avoid over supplementation which is reported to cause problems itself.

So go forth and start enjoying tasty whole natural foods!

Take care and stay healthy

Leah

The Naturally You Coach

About the Author: Leah Salmon, The Naturally You Coach, is a bestselling author, speaker, nutritionist and life coach, on a mission to help 100,000 black women to eat for health, think for happiness and live in harmony by 2020 or what she calls Becoming Naturally You. She does this through her books, programs, coaching, events, workshops, videos, articles and free weekly ezine, which you can join now and get a free recipe book here!