what processed food is and why it is bad for us
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Food which has gone through mechanical and/or chemical treatment, usually to make it more palatable (tastier), give it more convenient properties in terms of preparation and outcome when preparing, as well as be able to use less of the “expensive” input food to achieve something which still tastes similar.
It’s not “bad for us” as such, but the processing in many cases removes the beneficial “byproducts” of certain raw foods (micronutrients, fiber etc), usually results in the end product being more calorie dense and less filling, which leads to overconsumption without realizing it, and then being “hungry” again much sooner than you would be if you ate the same calories worth of whole foods, with the added negative that your intake of micronutrients, fibre etc would be much lower if any.
In more extreme cases, processing uses/adds substances which are not ideal for our organs to cope with, although this is becoming rarer with better regulation.
It is bad for us because it mostly contains huge amounts of unnecessary nutrients that are body don’t need
Processed food is any food that doesn’t come in its natural form.
Raw meat, apple, egg, almonds, those are unprocessed foods.
Altering the food in some way by adding something and/or removing something and/or letting some chemical processes do their thing is processing.
So, if you take that piece of meat and cure it (to make, say, prosciutto), that’s processed. Fruit jam is processed fruit. Cheese is processed milk. Yoghurt is processed milk. White flour is processed. Pickles are processed cucumbers. Even cooking is processing food. Doritos and Snickers are processed foods.
Why is it bad for us? It’s not necessarily. Yoghurt or cooked food are processed food, but aren’t bad. Pickled food isn’t bad. Cheeses aren’t bad. Many forms of processing are perfectly fine.
Some types of processing are moderately bad, like processing of white flour because it takes away the nutrients of whole wheat flour, leaving it nutritionally poorer.
The worst kinds of processed foods are so called ‘ultra-processed foods’ which have a lot of undesirable ingredients added, while at the same time being very nutritionally poor. That’s all the stuff you see in the bags and boxes in grocery stores. Foods that have added sugars, fats, preservatives, artificial flavors, food colorings, emulsifiers.
That’s the kind of processed food you want to avoid.
Why? Firstly, because it may have too much of something you shouldn’t be eating a lot of (like sugar, artificial flavors, etc.).
Second, because it is nutritionally very poor (not many micronutrients, not much protein, not much good fats). So it’s what is usually referred to as “empty calories” – food that has a lot of calories, but not many useful nutrients that your body needs on a daily basis.
Third, because those foods are generally not very satiating. Meat keeps you full for longer. Vegetables fill you up with not many calories. However, ultra-processed foods have a lot of calories, but are not very filling (because they’re mostly based on simple carbs), so it’s much easier to overeat if you eat a lot of ultra-processed junk.
Pretty much all food is processed one way or another unless you eat things fully raw. Cooking or fermenting foods are examples of processing that make foods healthier, easier to eat or have a longer shelf life.
The kind of processed food you hear that’s bad are the foods loaded with sugar, fat, sodium and cholesterol with little nutritional value. They tend to be cheaper and available everywhere. Add the fact that people are more sedentary causes health issues on an epidemic scale. Contrary, pure raw diets are not healthy.
Processed food are made to lasts longer, for it to last longer, they put chemicals on it, that if repeatedly consumed, it can have an effect in our body
In nature all living things compete over “food”. Bacteria are the world champion eaters. If you want to store food, you need to stop bacteria.
That’s been our goal for most of human existence.
So say you want to keep some meat you killed for longer than a few days? Well you might cure it by adding salt. This is a rudimentary form of processing. The salt affects the biological processes of Bacteria and prevents them growing.
Same with fruit. Wanna eat your strawberry you just picked in summer in winter? Add a bunch of sugar and make some jam. The sugar inhibits bacterial growth as well.
The problem is, salt and sugar also harm humans in high levels.
Okay well what if you want to preserve the mechanically separated meat you have turned into pink goo and reformed into shapes? You need some sodium nitrite.
Well same there. Too much sodium nitrite is really bad for you.
That’s one reason processed food is bad for you if eaten regularly, all the stuff they process with is bad in large amounts.
Dr. Michael Greger put it this way: “If it comes in a bag, a box or a can, don’t eat it.”
What the food industry doesn’t want you to know is that there are a whole lot of parts of different foods that are essentially inedible. But through modern chemical engineering and “food science”, they don’t have to waste those parts anymore. Now they can turn these things into edible substances that look similar to actual food, and sell them to you for profits! They’ve engineered the taste and “mouth feel” to be as addictive as possible.
Read the ingredients. The “enzymes” in bread are often from the intestines of animals. Bologna and hot dogs are made from the meat that couldn’t be cost-effectively trimmed from the carcass, so it was chemically separated, then processed to remove most of the chemicals, then made into “meat.”
There’s a whole lot more, but I’ll let you do your own research.
Try this (it only works once, so pay attention when you do it.) Drink nothing but water for two months. Then try to drink a soda. It will be one of the nastiest things you’ve ever tried to drink. Acidic, bitter and hyper-sweet at the same time. But you’ll get used to that after the second one, then you’ll start to crave sodas again.
If you try this again a year or two later, it won’t work. I don’t know why, but all my friends and kids who’ve done this had the same experience.
Packaged foods are not made to be healthy. They’re made to keep you buying more of them. They are designed to be as addictive as possible.
Learn to cook and cook your own meals from whole foods. Every meal, every day. You’ll save money and be much healthier for it.
Processed food is any food that has been changed from its natural state.
It can be considered bad, like washing away all nutrients.
It can also be considered good, like pasteurisation of milk to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life.
What is generally considerd bad, is the ultra-processed food.
This is more food-like than food and it is designed to be highly profitable, convenient, and hyperpalatable, often through food additives such as preservatives, colourings, and flavourings
Epidemiological data suggest that consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with higher risks of certain diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain types of cancer.
See also: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-processed_food](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-processed_food)
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