Read [this article](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/07/01/health/worst-ultraprocessed-food-early-death-wellness) and though I’m scientifically literate and understand how scientific research can be overdramatized by the media, I’m worried. How I avoid ultra processed food, it is apparently everything. Ugh
In: Biology
The only useful definition is the definition used by the specific study in question. You have to understand *their* definition to contextualize their results. It’s like asking what “hot weather” is. To someone from Alaska 80F is going to feel pretty darn hot because they are not used to it, their bodies aren’t acclimated. Whereas someone from Phoenix Arizona might say that hot weather is only when it’s over a hundred. That’s what “processed” or “ultra-processed” is like. At its most basic level *any* alteration of a food substance other than whole and raw is “processing” it. Pasteurized milk is “processed”, steamed veggies are “processed” even *chopped* veggies have been “processed”. Ultra processed may mean something like flour or applesauce, or it may mean “modified food starch” or kraft American cheese. So you must understand what definition the author of the study is using, because someone claiming that applesauce is poison against the natural order and you can only truly be healthy if you eat nothing but raw meat is a whackjob. But someone claiming that eating nothing but easy squeeze “cheese” and slim Jim’s contributes to unhealthy levels of cholesterol is probably reasonable.
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