That is a made up term that means nothing and everything. Washing vegetables is a process. “Cooking” is a process. Cutting is a process. Chilling is a process.
My friend who is really into these things describe "processed food" as anything that has the ingredients printed on the label when you buy it from a grocery store.
Veggies, fruits, meats, and "natural" starches (like potatoes and rice) don't have ingredient labels, so they count as "unprocessed" or "natural."
> it much different than them processing it in a factory or bakery for you.
The difference is that bakeries etc. tend to add a lot of sugars and preservatives.
> Per that definition, items like white vinegar and corn syrup are not processed foods?
Yeah, so not a perfect definition, but a good rule of thumb.
The general idea is that you don't want some big corporate to prepare the food for you, it is better to prepare it yourself. If you prepare the food yourself, you have more control over how healthy it is. This approach serves my friend quite well, he reports that he feels more energetic when he avoids "processed" foods as per his definition.
> The general idea is that you don't want some big corporate to prepare the food for you, it is better to prepare it yourself
I understand that. But my body doesn’t care who prepared the food. If a big corp prepares the food the same way I prepare it at home (or vice versa), then this advice is useless.
I am sure that he placebo could improve his energy. Also, I’m sure there are ingredients that “big corp” uses that we wouldn’t normally use in the kitchen that could hurt our health. So then instead of saying avoid “processed foods” (which means nothing and everything), name the ingredients and the processes that are bad.
> So then instead of saying avoid “processed foods” (which means nothing and everything), name the ingredients and the processes that are bad.
Yeah sure, but that is quite a lot of effort. And you are going to end up avoiding most processed foods anyway. Especially if you are the sort who distrusts artificial sweeteners and preservatives. So then it is just easier to say "avoid processed foods" than to say "avoid foods that contain [...insert a long list of ingredients here]"
Meals that you only need to heat in a pot/oven and that are stuffed with preservatives and other stuff.
Some people include more in that "processed food" category, some less, but practically everyone agrees that preparing meals yourself using raw ingredients is a good idea.
The point is salting that soup and frying the chicken yourself, which avoids a lot of substances with often still uncertain long-term effects or potentially harmful effects on the environment.
Of course it's more a rule of thumb, I thought that goes without saying.
The way I see it, it's processing that you wouldn't or cannot do (in a daily basis) at home, is generally likely to either introduce stuff or break down / transform nutriments unneeded for your body that is likely to have undesirable effects.
My rule when I buy stuff all things that count as raw ingredient is ok, then to quickly imagine is there any reason that adding things
or altering the most basic way to produce it can give economical advantage, all this with a quick ingredient check.
Given that, as examples flour is ok, rice and pasta, even pre-cooked is mostly ok, basic canned food is not a no-go anymore.
Look at the ingredients list. This is such a weird hill engineers always want to die on. "Processed" is very clear on what it means to anyone that isn't being pedantic
What makes something industrial processed? The geolocation of where the food was made?
The amount of food created together? Making 1 pizza dough at home is fine, but creating 10,000 in a geolocation that isn’t in the same building where you sleep is not fine?
It’s not just engineers. Scientists are also confused what processed means.
>Making 1 pizza dough at home is fine, but creating 10,000 in a geolocation that isn’t in the same building where you sleep is not fine?
Right, because it's not just 10000x my home experience. At that scale, entirely new methodologies, ingredients, industrial chemicals, etc. all start to be used. This is very simple stuff, I have trouble believing you truly don't see a distinction
You will never produce factory food in your home. Not unless you can prepare 10,000 servings an hour of something for far cheaper than you can buy it for in a grocery store and ensure that it has a 3-12 month shelf life in the process.
You're stuck on the word "processed" as if it means anything that has been changed from its natural form, whereas it is meant to relay that a food has been industrially bulk processed and then packaged.
By your definition, cutting an apple is processing it, which is (hopefully) obvious that we're not talking about that.
The idea is to make your own food from as close to scratch as you can, to not eat pre-packaged "processed" foods like frozen pizzas and hot pockets and hamburger helper all the time.
We should name specific processes (like frying in cooking oil) and ingredients (like corn syrup) and not leave it to the consumer to define their own definitions of words.
Should we drink raw milk or should we drink pasteurized milk?
Processed food refers to items that have been altered from their natural state for safety reasons or convenience. This can range from simple processes like freezing or drying to preserve nutrients and prevent spoilage, to more complex changes such as adding preservatives, flavors, and other additives to enhance taste, texture, and shelf life. Canning, baking, and pasteurizing are also common methods of processing. While processing can make food more accessible and longer-lasting, some argue it can also reduce nutritional value and introduce less healthy elements like added sugar and sodium.
That is a made up term that means nothing and everything. Washing vegetables is a process. “Cooking” is a process. Cutting is a process. Chilling is a process.
What the heck do they mean by “processed food”?