English pop singer Leona Lewis has made quite a name for herself after becoming a multi-platinum selling artist and Grammy nominee. Lewis is also a strong advocate for protecting animals as she supports the World Society for the Protection for Animals in addition to being a vegetarian. She was selected as PETA’s 2008 Person of the Year.

You might think that the pressures of superstardom has gotten to Lewis, but she disputes that. In a time where celebrities are taken to task for even the slightest flaw in their looks, Lewis says that she puts pressure on herself to stay healthy and eat well. You won’t see anyone pressuring her to stay slim, that’s for sure.

Lewis tried to detoxify one summer and the results were very positive. She went from a size 14 to a size 10. She ate mostly vegetables and made it a point to avoid processed food of any kind. As part of the detoxification process, Lewis also made sure to drink plenty of water to flush toxins out.

One of the disadvantages of processed food is that it sometimes strips vital vitamins and minerals as it is processed. Vitamin C is destroyed by heat, so processed fruit sometimes have lower vitamin C than fresh produce.

Additives, flavorings, and preservatives also have their drawbacks. They have little to no nutritional value as they only serve to prolong the shelf life of the product. Even more dangerous is the use of substitute ingredients. These low cost alternatives to natural ingredients have many health risks associated with them. The cheaper price and lack of information on the part of the consumers are reasons as to why they are still widely used.

Processed food also contains more calories over nutrients than other foods. This has popularized the term “junk food” because of the empty calories gained from eating such foods.

In short, always be on the lookout for fresh produce. It may be a bit costlier, but the benefits to your health and fitness are immense.