Want to avoid ultra-processed foods? Cook more often, choose whole foods [Video]

Sandra Elia is intimately aware of how prevalent ultra-processed foods are in the Canadian diet. 

As a recovering food addict, Elia struggled for years to control her intake of ultra-processed fried foods, heavy in refined sugar and flour. 

She’s not alone; Canadians get nearly half of their caloric intake from ultra-processed foods, according to a 2017 study commissioned by Heart & Stroke. 

Elia now advocates that everyone consume a diet that contains whole, fresh foods, rather than ultra-processed, “factory-made foods.”

“We know for a fact, as our Western diet ripples across the globe, it brings with it all our chronic illnesses,” said Elia, who is also board chair and director of patient advocacy and education with Obesity Matters, a non-profit. 

Experts …