Processed Foods

Rilke

they aren't undisputed carcinogens, though. studies have shown that they may cause cancer in animals, in large amounts -- which is the case in all of these kinds of studies. they give these lab rats so much of whatever they are testing that of course problems will occur. (same thing has been done with artificial sweeteners.) there is no evidence that says there are known problems for people. even so, the FDA limits the amount companies are able to use.

plus, since it helps prevent botulism? I'm kind of OK with that.

ETA: did a quick search. not only used to preserve meat, which I didn't know. also found in mascara, concealer, conditioner, baby shampoo, pain relief salve, sunless tan lotion, latex, condoms, beer, party balloons ...

Your edit is a straw man: I'm not putting any of those things into my stomach, so I don't care :P

no. you aren't eating them. of course. but absorption through the skin? still means it gets into your body.

and of course massive amounts of something -- pretty much anything -- is bad. the body can't handle too much. that's why it is, you know, "too much." but in realistic, normal amounts? the body will handle it just fine.

What is a realistic, normal amount of cigarettes to smoke?

Rilke

Okay, so what about the Kashi dark mocha almond granola bars? I know they're processed but are they really bad for you?

For specific items I really like fooducate.com. Here's the page for that particular bar:
http://www.fooducate.com/app#page=product&id=50F1447A-32A4-11E0-A55F-1231380C180E

My main beef with Kashi is that they masquerade as a super healthy option, but they are owned by Kellogg's and prone to quite a few of the nasties (particularly GMOs) that the parent company loads into its other lines. I find it deceptive. But at that point you are bordering on political objections as much as health related ones, and most people on this site and in the larger sphere don't care about those things.

Thank you so much for the information and sharing that website. It's awesome!

Glad you find it helpful.

Nataliaho

I am not even really sure what counts as processed or not?? I have never consiously cut processed foods out of my diet, I just don't think they were ever a very big part of it. Maybe its growing up on a farm growing our own veggies, killing our own animals, milking our own cows?? There was only one supermarket and it was really basic. But then I do love a whopper and I guess that is the whole other end of scale!

I eat mostly natural foods because that's what I think is the most delicious.

tsh0ck

they aren't undisputed carcinogens, though. studies have shown that they may cause cancer in animals, in large amounts -- which is the case in all of these kinds of studies. they give these lab rats so much of whatever they are testing that of course problems will occur. (same thing has been done with artificial sweeteners.) there is no evidence that says there are known problems for people. even so, the FDA limits the amount companies are able to use.

plus, since it helps prevent botulism? I'm kind of OK with that.

ETA: did a quick search. not only used to preserve meat, which I didn't know. also found in mascara, concealer, conditioner, baby shampoo, pain relief salve, sunless tan lotion, latex, condoms, beer, party balloons ...

Your edit is a straw man: I'm not putting any of those things into my stomach, so I don't care :P

no. you aren't eating them. of course. but absorption through the skin? still means it gets into your body.

and of course massive amounts of something -- pretty much anything -- is bad. the body can't handle too much. that's why it is, you know, "too much." but in realistic, normal amounts? the body will handle it just fine.

What is a realistic, normal amount of cigarettes to smoke?

so we've gone from meat preservatives to smoking? I don't know the answer to that, though. what if we said one a day? I don't know.

Acg67

Did the studies you posted show that nitrates have been shown to be problematic?

Nitrosamines, yes, sure looks like it. The nitrosamines discussed are not caused by nitrates found in food, though (naturally occurring or otherwise).

"epidemiological study"

"A cohort of 8933 rubber workers"

So now correlation = causation?

Enlighten me, then. What is an example of a study that is legitimate, if these are not?

I'm asking you if correlation = causation

Rilke

so we've gone from meat preservatives to smoking? I don't know the answer to that, though. what if we said one a day? I don't know.

I know the topic has changed. Honestly I was just so bothered by your "the body gets rid of what it doesn't need" statement that I am looking for other ways to refute it. I believe that is true to an extent, but using it so generally is inaccurate.

Rilke

I'm asking you if correlation = causation

You know and I know that it does not. I've taken logic and reasoning courses; I understand the difference between these concepts. I'm asking you, legitimately, to show me a valid study and explain why the ones I posted are not valid. I didn't think they equated correlation and causation. No snark, genuine request to be informed.

tsh0ck

so we've gone from meat preservatives to smoking? I don't know the answer to that, though. what if we said one a day? I don't know.

I know the topic has changed. Honestly I was just so bothered by your "the body gets rid of what it doesn't need" statement that I am looking for other ways to refute it. I believe that is true to an extent, but using it so generally is inaccurate.

don't think it it is inaccurate. we're not talking about massive amounts of ______. we're talking in terms of everyday, normal amounts. amounts found in the dreaded processed foods.

MFPBrandy

You're right, people have been eating them for decades - approximately five decades - and in that time you could fill a phone book with the list of chronic health conditions that have surfaced.

Exactly. Processed foods take out nutrients and add chemicals. Anything that says "fortified" was first stripped, and what they add in is never as good as the real stuff they took out. Not to mention it's usually stored in plastic -- and plastic leaches chemicals into your food (even BPA-free plastic!). That process is accelerated by heat or cold -- think about it; the food is hot when they make it and dump it in the plastic trays, heating the plastic. Then it's frozen, releasing even more chemicals. Then you microwave it!

So yeah, processed food isn't as healthy as "clean" food. Not only does it not have as many nutrients as fresh food, it has added chemicals.

It's pretty extreme/difficult to remove all processed foods from your diet -- that'd be pretty much anything that comes in a box or a bag. But you can make huge changes really easily. Instead of lean cuisine, you can whip up a big batch of delicious soup or a veggie-laden pasta dish and freeze it in meal-sized batches for a lot cheaper than Lean Cuisines, but with the same or less calories, and MORE nutrients! And yeah, I said pasta--like I said, eliminating processed foods altogether is hard. You just go with the compromises that work for you. For me, whole grain organic pasta is about 50 cents more than the "reguar" stuff, and it doesn't make up the majority of the dish--the real filler is lots of yummy squash, mushrooms, onions, etc. Every couple weeks, I make a few different big batches of this or that, and divide them up into freezer meals for lunch at work, or at home when I'm not up to cooking. By making a few different meals, I make sure I've got variety instead of eating the same thing every day, and it's still so much cheaper than Lean Cuisine or the like.

Rilke

don't think it it is inaccurate. we're not talking about massive amounts of ______. we're talking in terms of everyday, normal amounts. amounts found in the dreaded processed foods.

I don't think there are any "normal" amounts of artificial additives, as they are not normally found in the food humans have been eating since humans began eating.

At this point I thank you for the mature discussion and agree to disagree. I choose not to eat additives, at least in 90+% of my diet. You choose to do your own thing. Thankfully we both have the ability to do so.

Acg67

I'm asking you if correlation = causation

You know and I know that it does not. I've taken logic and reasoning courses; I understand the difference between these concepts. I'm asking you, legitimately, to show me a valid study and explain why the ones I posted are not valid. I didn't think they equated correlation and causation. No snark, genuine request to be informed.

Then if correlation =/= causation how did you come to the conclusion those studies showed nitrates to be problematic?

MFPBrandy

they aren't undisputed carcinogens, though. studies have shown that they may cause cancer in animals, in large amounts -- which is the case in all of these kinds of studies. they give these lab rats so much of whatever they are testing that of course problems will occur. (same thing has been done with artificial sweeteners.) there is no evidence that says there are known problems for people. even so, the FDA limits the amount companies are able to use.

plus, since it helps prevent botulism? I'm kind of OK with that.

ETA: did a quick search. not only used to preserve meat, which I didn't know. also found in mascara, concealer, conditioner, baby shampoo, pain relief salve, sunless tan lotion, latex, condoms, beer, party balloons ...

Your edit is a straw man: I'm not putting any of those things into my stomach, so I don't care :P

no. you aren't eating them. of course. but absorption through the skin? still means it gets into your body.

and of course massive amounts of something -- pretty much anything -- is bad. the body can't handle too much. that's why it is, you know, "too much." but in realistic, normal amounts? the body will handle it just fine.

What is a realistic, normal amount of cigarettes to smoke?

And here's another thing -- the FDA establishes a "safe" limit on these chemicals, but there's no mechanism to account for the cumulative effect of getting the maximum dose in 12 different products a day.

stargazer008

I feel sorry for you since you're actually asking what is wrong with processed food.


Processed food has only been around for 50-100 years, that's it whereas natural food as been around since the beginning of time! What do you think your body will like? Natural food which humans have thrived on for thousands of years or processed food which humans have suffered on for what like 50-100 years.

starmell1

With anything there should be balance. Excess processed foods are not good for you. I am learning that food is better closer to its natural state. Processed foods have a lot of chemicals in them to help preserve/keep them. It's funny because my hubby and I were just talking and the brain doesn't recognize some of this food ad healthy or beneficial, therefore you are getting a lot of calories, however no nutritional benefit. Ask yourself "what is the purpose of food". If the answer is nourishment, then do what you can to have a nurishing meal. It does seem that we don't have a lot of time to prepare our food, however know that fast food is more costlier than what we anticipate paying.

borichfan

the processed foods have higher risk of cancer which is why i don't eat much of them. I stay away from hot dogs especially.

Acg67

the processed foods have higher risk of cancer which is why i don't eat much of them. I stay away from hot dogs especially.

Please stop making things up

Cmandy67

Try reading "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan.

RobynMWilson

1. "Captain Tight" is right!
2. For a long time I lived on "calories in/ calories out" ...I lost weight and maintained it for a long period of time (the better part of 20 yrs). BUT:
3. As much as I worked out, I was not getting the results I wanted. Yes I'm 5'7" and my weight has been between 132 and 138 consistently since 1996 when I took off failed pregnancy weight...And my abs looked great and I was younger then so I didn't see why I had to do all this tootie-fruity tofu stuff til...
4. It really hit home last year that while the top part of me looked like I worked out, my legs were flabby from extra skin and cottage cheese from my inseam down to my knees. I couldn't accept that they would stay like that and did lots of research on the internet and figured I'd give cleaner (not totally but slow small changes are adding up) eating a try...
5. Between ChaLEAN Extreme and cleaner eating the cottage cheese is smoothing out after 20 yrs of feeling hopeless and helpless! The cleaner I eat, and then I have a cheat day or cheat meal, the worse I feel afterward. Between Shakeology and cleaner eating I have so much more energy, less headaches, my monthly sinus infections that came on right before the other monthly thingy magically went away and everything just works better.

I'm slowly becoming more and more convinced of the whole eating clean strategy. We were designed to eat real food, from farms, gardens..not from General Mills test tubes. And these diet foods from GNC, Special K, Atkins, et al? COMPLETE SLOP DESIGNED TO KEEP PPL OBESE AND UNHEALTHY! Then they never lose their customer base! If you eat enough foods with artificial flavoring, you really do forget what REAL FOOD tastes like!

So really it's up to you...hope you have medical insurance to pay for all the docs and meds you may be on later in life b/c of the processed foods, whether or not you effectively manage your weight. My dad is the FIRST adult-onset diabetes case I've EVER seen that was not caused by obesity!! How is that possible?? Even though he effectively managed his weight (obesity runs wild in both sides of my family) he still has a hankering for processed foods, now so-called sugar free and "healthier" ones after his triple bypass and abdominal aortic aneurysm and he still exercises at 68 yrs old and all of the surgeries, but now has Sugar Free Tasty Kakes and Egg Beaters rather than plain ole Egg Whites. I was RAISED on processed junk food and am slowly going back to real food. I'm celebrating my 40th birthday in August riding roller coasters at Hershey Park and have never felt better in my life!

Acg67

1. "Captain Tight" is right!
2. For a long time I lived on "calories in/ calories out" ...I lost weight and maintained it for a long period of time (the better part of 20 yrs). BUT:
3. As much as I worked out, I was not getting the results I wanted. Yes I'm 5'7" and my weight has been between 132 and 138 consistently since 1996 when I took off failed pregnancy weight...And my abs looked great and I was younger then so I didn't see why I had to do all this tootie-fruity tofu stuff til...
4. It really hit home last year that while the top part of me looked like I worked out, my legs were flabby from extra skin and cottage cheese from my inseam down to my knees. I couldn't accept that they would stay like that and did lots of research on the internet and figured I'd give cleaner (not totally but slow small changes are adding up) eating a try...
5. Between ChaLEAN Extreme and cleaner eating the cottage cheese is smoothing out after 20 yrs of feeling hopeless and helpless! The cleaner I eat, and then I have a cheat day or cheat meal, the worse I feel afterward. Between Shakeology and cleaner eating I have so much more energy, less headaches, my monthly sinus infections that came on right before the other monthly thingy magically went away and everything just works better.

I'm slowly becoming more and more convinced of the whole eating clean strategy. We were designed to eat real food, from farms, gardens..not from General Mills test tubes. And these diet foods from GNC, Special K, Atkins, et al? COMPLETE SLOP DESIGNED TO KEEP PPL OBESE AND UNHEALTHY! Then they never lose their customer base! If you eat enough foods with artificial flavoring, you really do forget what REAL FOOD tastes like!

So really it's up to you...hope you have medical insurance to pay for all the docs and meds you may be on later in life b/c of the processed foods, whether or not you effectively manage your weight. My dad is the FIRST adult-onset diabetes case I've EVER seen that was not caused by obesity!! How is that possible?? Even though he effectively managed his weight (obesity runs wild in both sides of my family) he still has a hankering for processed foods, now so-called sugar free and "healthier" ones after his triple bypass and abdominal aortic aneurysm and he still exercises at 68 yrs old and all of the surgeries, but now has Sugar Free Tasty Kakes and Egg Beaters rather than plain ole Egg Whites. I was RAISED on processed junk food and am slowly going back to real food. I'm celebrating my 40th birthday in August riding roller coasters at Hershey Park and have never felt better in my life!

FYI Shakeology is super processed and is not "clean"

sgthaggard

What's wrong with them? Personal opinion but I think they taste like crap. I have a hard time caring what other people put into their bodies, though. You like the taste of them, I'm not going to try to talk you out of them.