are protein shakes/bars/chips etc processed foods?

NormInv

HildieMe wrote: »

Normlnv, actually, your point is well taken. I lost quite a bit of weight with a high protein/low carb, low fat diet. I ate no highly processed food (you know, the stuff that comes in a colorful box or wrapper with a list of your ingredients printed in 1-point letters to fit it all on the label). Except, to get the two extra protein snacks in, I used whey and soy protein isolates, aka shakes. After five weeks of that, both my hubby and I broke out in a rash. We both had developed an allergy - and my hubby already had gone into anaphylactic shock twice in his life, so there is no fooling around with that.

That "don't eat anything that comes in a box" is a very good general guideline. But because some jokers take it the wrong way, maybe we should look more at the ingredients list: If it has more than, say, three ingredients, don't eat it. That would exclude most cereals and potato chips, but also trail mixes and granola bars. That's a good thing, because by sticking nuts and raisins together they also make them four times as expensive.

Can we agree that we want to go for "minimally processed"? So, shelled almonds and walnuts = ok; salted caramel fruit and nut bars - not ok? Grilled, frozen chicken breast strips - ok; chopped, formed, breaded and fried chicken nuggets - not ok?

We have a friend who likes to fish. He shares his catch with us, and we are so grateful he cleans and freezes the fish before we get them. Processed? Yes. Ingredients? Pure fish. Now that's protein I can have!

Very good post. Agreed.

I am guilty of eating processed myself. Like some days when I don't make my eggs in the AM, I get the Akashi cereal....I am sure there is stuff in the ingredients I have no idea about.

So maybe another rule could be, if you don't know what one of the ingredients is, avoid.

I have been using whey powder. Yesterday I was being in a pensive mood so I thought, what if 20 years from now, people say, oh those guys who took all these supplements, look at them all getting cancer now.....it was just a thought that led to my asking, do we know whats in that quest bar? I don't.

I think I will continue to use some processed foods like whey protein, cottage cheese etc. But overall, want to avoid things like C4, BCAA supplements etc.

NormInv

Kashi cereal ingredients are:

Kashi Seven Whole Grain Honey Puff Cereal (Hard Red Wheat, Brown Rice, Honey, Cane Syrup, Barley, Triticale, Oats, Rye, Buckwheat, Sesame Seeds), Degerminated Yellow Corn Flour, Expeller Pressed Soy Grits, Ground Degerminated Corn, Cane Syrup, Expeller Pressed Soy Protein Isolate, Oat Fiber, Wheat Bran, Expeller Pressed Soy Flour, Corn Bran, Kashi Seven Whole Grains & Sesame Flour (Whole: Oats, Hard Red Wheat, Rye, Brown Rice, Triticale, Barley, Buckwheat, Sesame Seeds), Salt, Natural Flavors, Annatto Extract Color.

I don't know what expeller pressed means. Or triticale, or annatto.....

Thats probably harmless ingredients but point is I never pay attention to them....and I definitely don't know what my protein bar contains..

ever noticed how the texture and taste of protein bars changes over batches?

lemurcat12

HildieMe wrote: »

Can we agree that we want to go for "minimally processed"? So, shelled almonds and walnuts = ok; salted caramel fruit and nut bars - not ok? Grilled, frozen chicken breast strips - ok; chopped, formed, breaded and fried chicken nuggets - not ok?

This is how I eat most of the time (although I do add protein powder when I have oatmeal, which isn't that often, since I find it more filling that way and enjoy the taste, and don't personally think adding whey is hugely different than just eating some yogurt or cottage cheese).

However, I think it's too simplistic. Sure, I like to cook, so whole ingredients work for me -- but then I process them, of course! If I didn't like to cook (or simply decided to go to a restaurant--I typically go to the kinds of restaurants that like to tell you the farms they buy from, although not always), then I could seek out meals that are similar to the kinds of meals I like to prepare in terms of the ingredients, manner of preparation, etc. To claim that because it's "highly processed" it must be bad is adding something that has nothing to do with the actual nutrition involved. For example, back in the days before I learned to cook as well as I do now, I'd often grab a rice and beans bag and make that with some olive oil and then add vegetables. Easy, tasty, and highly processed, oh dear.

Sure, there are highly processed items with ingredients I'd rather not eat a lot of or high in calories or high in fat, salt, and sugar (although I never personally bought many of them except ice cream, I suppose, which isn't meaningfully different from homemade, IMO, depending on what you buy). But the issue isn't "processing," it's what are you including in your overall diet.

So anyway, what I see as issues with heavy reliance on highly processed foods is that it makes it easier for people to choose poorly and overeat, especially since they don't really have to think about the ingredients and may not know. And on average there will be a different composition than how I would choose to eat (fewer veg), and -- big issue for me -- I think they often don't taste as good so people are less satisfied.

But is that a reason to suggest they are always bad for you (or bad to include in your diet)? To me, no. I see no reasonable argument for that position. Among other things, there's simply too much diversity in the items we are discussing.

lemurcat12

NormInv wrote: »

I don't know what expeller pressed means. Or triticale, or annatto.....

I happen to agree that people should read labels. If you are concerned about an ingredient and don't know what it is, well, find out. Seems simple enough.

Wetcoaster

zoeysasha37

Wetcoaster wrote: »

I was hoping someone would post this !

lemurcat12

Ah, but don't eggs normally come in a carton? Some even have bar codes or nutrition labels.

Tut, tut.

NormInv

Wetcoaster wrote: »

the heck is Terpenes?

SkinnyFit_105

Yes they are processed. You want single ingredient foods, do protein bars grow on trees or come from the ground? No? Then they arn't natural and have to be processed to make.

stevencloser

Yes they're processed. Obviously they are. But in the words a wise man once said: Who cares.

snickerscharlie

stevencloser wrote: »

Yes they're processed. Obviously they are. But in the words a wise man once said: Who cares.

+1000

lemurcat12

stevencloser wrote: »

Yes they're processed. Obviously they are. But in the words a wise man once said: Who cares.

Bingo!