Is Oatmeal processed food???

erinsueburns

funny because from where I stand, the sadder thing is how many obese people there are in this country because they DON'T eat whole foods. And how many sick people there are in this country because they DO eat pesticide-laden foods.

just me though.

No one is obese "because they don't eat whole foods."

when you don't eat whole foods, you're eating processed foods. when you eat processed foods, unless you track your intake, it's extremely easy to overeat because your stomach doesn't relay that it's full until you've stuffed an insane amount of calories in your face, and if you're doing that, you will become obese.

it's much easier to become fat eating processed foods than whole foods unless you track your intake

the vast majority of people do not track their intake.

is it a direct causal relationship? no. is it a huge, huge factor? yes.

As I have said before, cut carrots ARE processed. Thus Jonnythan's position on elimination of "processed" as it is misused...

haha the problem is people like you view the world in black and white where there are actually shades of grey.

a carrot that has been cut is far less processed than a pop tart. there is a gradient. and the less processed, the more nutritionally beneficial.

Yes, but no one says they are making food choices and switches based on choosing less processed versions or alternatives. No one says, I switched to raw baby carrots instead of candied carrots at my favorite restaurant. They just say they are "eliminating processed foods" or "eating clean" or "eating ____% clean". Which are all BS misleading terms.

Personally I don't think I have eaten so much as 0.00001 completely unprocessed foods in my life, because I tend to cook stuff and am not a zombie noshing on the still living. And I haven't routinely eaten dirty food since I was a small toddler who would put most anything in its mouth.

clean does not mean uncooked. raw means uncooked.

and cutting out processed foods means pre-packaged, manufactured foods. making a salad is still eating unprocessed clean food. and if you'd like to argue it isn't then go ahead, but you're just being absurd and argumentative for argument's sake if you do.

No, and maybe I chose the wrong comparison in the carrots things, maybe I should have used boiled carrots compared to the candied carrots with corn syrup and marshmallows? But clean isn't a defined word. Some people would consider my white wheat store bread "clean" or clean enough, some people still think my homemade bread isn't because I am not using whole wheat flour. How clean is that salad with the normal store bought dressing? Does it only work as clean if you don't put dressing on it? If you make your own vinaigrette? Is my tub of baby mixed greens less clean than cutting up a head of lettuce? I can certainly tell you it is more processed, in that it has already been cleaned and sorted and boxed and essentially now all I have to do is dump handfuls of it in my bowl. So yes, it is highly processed and even a prepackaged food, but I think between you and I, that it is not a bad thing.

See what I mean? Nebulous terms MAKE these discussions ridiculous. And people who are starting out or needing assistance have no real frame of reference. There is a complete lack of clarity that is frankly off putting to people who are just learning about nutrition and healthy eating. It is detrimental because the keys to appropriate education ARE in semantics, in clarity of language.

candymara

I wouldn't be worried so much about it being processed and more about the fact the sugary little flavored packets are your worst choice when it comes to oatmeal. Steel cut oats with your own toppings (i.e. real fruit, nuts, etc) are going to be a better choice. Even plain rolled oats w/real fruit are a better choice. The fruit (or berries or whatever) will add more fiber & other nutrients and keep you fuller longer. You can even stir in an egg for some extra protein.

^ Agreed 100% And for a sweet topping, try a bit of liquid honey. I usually top mine with a splash of 2% milk and some honey. The little packets are handy when you are in a hurry but the old fashioned oatmeal made like mom used to make it is surely much healthier.

MariaHammer750

most food goes through a process.

i don't understand why people are afraid of "processed" food.

Additives are what many people are afraid of ...like sugar, sodium, high fructose corn syrup; not bad for some people, but others have to stay away from it, sometimes by choice, but other times because of health issues.

rubypond

funny because from where I stand, the sadder thing is how many obese people there are in this country because they DON'T eat whole foods. And how many sick people there are in this country because they DO eat pesticide-laden foods.

just me though.

No one is obese "because they don't eat whole foods."

when you don't eat whole foods, you're eating processed foods. when you eat processed foods, unless you track your intake, it's extremely easy to overeat because your stomach doesn't relay that it's full until you've stuffed an insane amount of calories in your face, and if you're doing that, you will become obese.

it's much easier to become fat eating processed foods than whole foods unless you track your intake

the vast majority of people do not track their intake.

is it a direct causal relationship? no. is it a huge, huge factor? yes.

As I have said before, cut carrots ARE processed. Thus Jonnythan's position on elimination of "processed" as it is misused...

haha the problem is people like you view the world in black and white where there are actually shades of grey.

a carrot that has been cut is far less processed than a pop tart. there is a gradient. and the less processed, the more nutritionally beneficial.

Yes, but no one says they are making food choices and switches based on choosing less processed versions or alternatives. No one says, I switched to raw baby carrots instead of candied carrots at my favorite restaurant. They just say they are "eliminating processed foods" or "eating clean" or "eating ____% clean". Which are all BS misleading terms.

Personally I don't think I have eaten so much as 0.00001 completely unprocessed foods in my life, because I tend to cook stuff and am not a zombie noshing on the still living. And I haven't routinely eaten dirty food since I was a small toddler who would put most anything in its mouth.

clean does not mean uncooked. raw means uncooked.

and cutting out processed foods means pre-packaged, manufactured foods. making a salad is still eating unprocessed clean food. and if you'd like to argue it isn't then go ahead, but you're just being absurd and argumentative for argument's sake if you do.

You said the less processed the better.

All of this just goes to prove my point in my previous post. Everybody has different definitions on processed. Some consider washing lettuce is processing it. But if you really think about unprocessed is in it's natural state. Meats you buy from the store, butcher etc is processed. You can't get around that. Unless you're butchering in your backyard there is no getting away from it. To say people are obese because they eat processed foods is a false and inaccurate statement.

CoachReddy

funny because from where I stand, the sadder thing is how many obese people there are in this country because they DON'T eat whole foods. And how many sick people there are in this country because they DO eat pesticide-laden foods.

just me though.

No one is obese "because they don't eat whole foods."

when you don't eat whole foods, you're eating processed foods. when you eat processed foods, unless you track your intake, it's extremely easy to overeat because your stomach doesn't relay that it's full until you've stuffed an insane amount of calories in your face, and if you're doing that, you will become obese.

it's much easier to become fat eating processed foods than whole foods unless you track your intake

the vast majority of people do not track their intake.

is it a direct causal relationship? no. is it a huge, huge factor? yes.

As I have said before, cut carrots ARE processed. Thus Jonnythan's position on elimination of "processed" as it is misused...

haha the problem is people like you view the world in black and white where there are actually shades of grey.

a carrot that has been cut is far less processed than a pop tart. there is a gradient. and the less processed, the more nutritionally beneficial.

Yes, but no one says they are making food choices and switches based on choosing less processed versions or alternatives. No one says, I switched to raw baby carrots instead of candied carrots at my favorite restaurant. They just say they are "eliminating processed foods" or "eating clean" or "eating ____% clean". Which are all BS misleading terms.

Personally I don't think I have eaten so much as 0.00001 completely unprocessed foods in my life, because I tend to cook stuff and am not a zombie noshing on the still living. And I haven't routinely eaten dirty food since I was a small toddler who would put most anything in its mouth.

clean does not mean uncooked. raw means uncooked.

and cutting out processed foods means pre-packaged, manufactured foods. making a salad is still eating unprocessed clean food. and if you'd like to argue it isn't then go ahead, but you're just being absurd and argumentative for argument's sake if you do.

You said the less processed the better.

All of this just goes to prove my point in my previous post. Everybody has different definitions on processed. Some consider washing lettuce is processing it. But if you really think about unprocessed is in it's natural state. Meats you buy from the store, butcher etc is processed. You can't get around that. Unless you're butchering in your backyard there is no getting away from it. To say people are obese because they eat processed foods is a false and inaccurate statement.

wait wait - so if I butcher the cow it's unprocessed, but because a butcher does it, it's suddenly processed?

hamasehfallah

Let's stop nit picking you guys. I mean really. I'm sure we all know what OP meant when she used the term "processed"

Yes, it is processed. If you are trying to eat "less processed" oats then I would suggest buying bob's redmill gluten free oatmeal or steel cut oats. You can flavor it yourself at home with cinnamon and fruit.