What is "Processed Food"?

ctpeace

Agreed that everyone has their own definition. And mantras like "If I can't understand the ingredients, it's processed" end up not making sense (refer to the example quoted multiple times above). I tend not to use this term as it's thrown around a little too freely to the point of not having meaning. I do, however, read ingredients, and when I indulge in something like corn chips, I prefer the ones that say "corn, salt, water, oil" under ingredients to the ones whose ingredients take up half the package. This is also a taste thing for me, I like to be able to taste the components of my meal. It seems that we can't really come up with a good definition, but we know "processed food" when we see it. Canned soup vs made from scratch, koolaid vs lemonade from lemons, lean cuisine vs grilled salted meat, a baked potato and steamed broccoli. No conclusive study has made all the preservatives and fake flavoring bad enough to ban, but I just don't think they taste as good as the real thing.

neanderthin

I processed the rosemary from my garden....I picked it.:bigsmile:

:huh:

Technically all food is processed, even from my garden. Not to be confused with cinnamon roll Captain Crunch with rosemary.

picking =/= processing

processing = adding of ingredients or denaturing the natural state of the food. picking and apple does not denature the apple.

You missed my point, carry on.

CoachReddy

I processed the rosemary from my garden....I picked it.:bigsmile:

:huh:

Technically all food is processed, even from my garden. Not to be confused with cinnamon roll Captain Crunch with rosemary.

picking =/= processing

processing = adding of ingredients or denaturing the natural state of the food. picking and apple does not denature the apple.

You missed my point, carry on.

i understand your point, it's the same one i was making, however, i just would like to clarify that not all foods are processed. not even "technically"

IzzyBooNZ1

I'm drinking a can of coke right now as I read this.

peacemongernc

This reminds me of a radio show I heard one time where they were discussing processed foods. There was a Dr of nutrition being interviewed and she was discussing the difference between eating an orange or drinking orange juice, and similar sorts of things. She said that things that are "toxic" to us on some level are often "packaged" with the "antidote" to that toxin when they are in their most natural form. However, when we change them, often the result is that we remove the antidote from the toxin. For example, with the orange vs. the orange juice, she talked about how the orange juice is naturally very high in sugar. So is the orange. But the orange comes "packaged" with 4 grams of fiber that go a long way toward mitigating the negative effects of the sugar in our bodies.

The thing that she said that I thought was particularly funny is that she had noticed that God had packaged antidotes and their toxins together in almost every natural food, with the exception of honey... and God guarded the honey with bees.

I'm goofy, but I just thought that was hysterical!

annatamar

I would recommend getting the book by Michael Pollan called, Food Rules. It is a great little book that has a list of rules that are easy to live by and keep you eating things that are actually food and not chemical altered 'food'.

Examples, If your grandmother would recognize it eat it, (or have it in her pantry back in the day), if it has less than five ingredients (packaged food, this does not include recipes) eat it. If a third grader can pronounce the ingredients, eat it. If it is a plant, eat it, if it was made in a plant, don't. Just a few examples.

neanderthin

I processed the rosemary from my garden....I picked it.:bigsmile:

:huh:

Technically all food is processed, even from my garden. Not to be confused with cinnamon roll Captain Crunch with rosemary.

picking =/= processing

processing = adding of ingredients or denaturing the natural state of the food. picking and apple does not denature the apple.

You missed my point, carry on.

i understand your point, it's the same one i was making, however, i just would like to clarify that not all foods are processed. not even "technically"

Why do you need clarification, if that's what you believe, then who cares. Personally I similar beliefs but I'm not going to beat myself up if I consume mustard, canned tomatoes, pasta, coffee, chocolate, ice cream, bread or stuffed chicken breasts from my butcher. and if someone finds these foods technically processed, so what, I'm still going to consume them, without the negative connotation of "I've just consumed processed food"

CoachReddy

Why do you need clarification, if that's what you believe, then who cares. Personally I similar beliefs but I'm not going to beat myself up if I consume mustard, canned tomatoes, pasta, coffee, chocolate, ice cream, bread or stuffed chicken breasts from my butcher. and if someone finds these foods technically processed, so what, I'm still going to consume them, without the negative connotation of "I've just consumed processed food"

i refer you to my previous posts where i stated quite clearly that it's ok to eat some processed foods. I do daily. no negative connotations, guilt, or anything!

slkehl

The thing that she said that I thought was particularly funny is that she had noticed that God had packaged antidotes and their toxins together in almost every natural food, with the exception of honey... and God guarded the honey with bees.

Interesting! There's a lot we don't fully understand about whole foods and the chemical interactions within them. I was taught that it was always better to get nutrients from whole foods rather than from supplements and fortified foods. Scientists don't know exactly why, but vitamins and minerals seem to be "activated" by phytochemicals within the whole foods, so taking them out makes them, in some cases, almost useless.

jen_mv

Like the person above me, I view "processed" foods as those which contain ingredients I can't just pick up on my own (with the exception of yogurt and cottage cheese – obviously, I can't just swing by the store and pick up active live cultures. :laugh:) If the ingredient list reads like a recipe, I'm probably cool with it. That said, I still opt to do most of my own cooking to make things from scratch and control the ingredients. And I don't have a "diet guru." I just have common sense.

You can totally pick up active cultures at stores. I've seen packets of it in health food-type stores and Amazon, and you can make yogurt from plain yogurt with active cultures.

peacemongernc

Like the person above me, I view "processed" foods as those which contain ingredients I can't just pick up on my own (with the exception of yogurt and cottage cheese – obviously, I can't just swing by the store and pick up active live cultures. :laugh:) If the ingredient list reads like a recipe, I'm probably cool with it. That said, I still opt to do most of my own cooking to make things from scratch and control the ingredients. And I don't have a "diet guru." I just have common sense.

You can totally pick up active cultures at stores. I've seen packets of it in health food-type stores and Amazon, and you can make yogurt from plain yogurt with active cultures.

Yogurt with live probiotics in it, as most of them are nowadays, IS an active culture. I usually use yogurt as a culture, instead of buying one, when I make it. If you make it frequently, you don't have to buy yogurt anymore... just use the homemade yogurt as the culture. Although after 8 or 12 batches it makes the homemade yogurt have a really sharp taste and I end up buying some again to start over.

dbmata

I studied nutrition science in college

I studied it in the late 90s paired with a culinary education.

Processed foods and the process of using chemistry to devise better tasting food was touched upon a lot. I was at a community college. I'd be amazed if they never covered the topic of processed foods. Or their other "in industry" term, industrial foods.

zillah73

Like the person above me, I view "processed" foods as those which contain ingredients I can't just pick up on my own (with the exception of yogurt and cottage cheese – obviously, I can't just swing by the store and pick up active live cultures. :laugh:) If the ingredient list reads like a recipe, I'm probably cool with it. That said, I still opt to do most of my own cooking to make things from scratch and control the ingredients. And I don't have a "diet guru." I just have common sense.

You can totally pick up active cultures at stores. I've seen packets of it in health food-type stores and Amazon, and you can make yogurt from plain yogurt with active cultures.

That is totally cool! I just found a good health food store here – I will have to check that out. Might be fun to make my own yogurt.

barbaratrollman

watch "Hungry For a Change". Great movie that will inform you of what processed food really is.

It is a "food like" substance made to last a long time on the shelf and make the food companiews a huge profit.

What HE said. ^^^

ArtGeek22

I view processed food as being anything that has been heavily refined. I do eat "processed food", but it doesn't have all the artificial flavoring, preservatives, and other thing of that nature. I support a healthy, vegan, plant based diet

P.S The documentary Hungry for Change talks about and explains this topic extremely well. I highly recommend watching it!

QueenGyn

Like the person above me, I view "processed" foods as those which contain ingredients I can't just pick up on my own (with the exception of yogurt and cottage cheese – obviously, I can't just swing by the store and pick up active live cultures. :laugh:) If the ingredient list reads like a recipe, I'm probably cool with it. That said, I still opt to do most of my own cooking to make things from scratch and control the ingredients. And I don't have a "diet guru." I just have common sense.

I was reading while eating a banana and I almost died because I choke while laughing , – obviously, I can't just swing by the store and pick up active live cultures. :laugh:

Processed food in my opinion are those with chemicals, additives & artificial flavoring etc.

barbaratrollman

This reminds me of a radio show I heard one time where they were discussing processed foods. There was a Dr of nutrition being interviewed and she was discussing the difference between eating an orange or drinking orange juice, and similar sorts of things. She said that things that are "toxic" to us on some level are often "packaged" with the "antidote" to that toxin when they are in their most natural form. However, when we change them, often the result is that we remove the antidote from the toxin. For example, with the orange vs. the orange juice, she talked about how the orange juice is naturally very high in sugar. So is the orange. But the orange comes "packaged" with 4 grams of fiber that go a long way toward mitigating the negative effects of the sugar in our bodies.

The thing that she said that I thought was particularly funny is that she had noticed that God had packaged antidotes and their toxins together in almost every natural food, with the exception of honey... and God guarded the honey with bees.

I'm goofy, but I just thought that was hysterical!

This is a great explanation of foods and of honey. I love raw honey! Mmmmm!

djames92

Would you all eat this piece of food?


Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Pyridoxine, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Folate, Calcium, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium, Sodium, Zinc, Phytosterols, Amino acids, Alanine,Arginine, Aspartic acid, Cystine, Glutamic acid, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine,Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine,Proline, Serine,Threonine, Tryptophan,Tyrosine, Valine

sounds tasty

miranda823

I really enjoyed this post, as I've been asking myself that question and I loved seeing all the different answers.

barbaratrollman

When I think of the term "processed foods", I think of things that have spent more time in the laboratory than in a garden or kitchen.
I like my food to be less man-handled and looking more like how it was when nature provided it to us.

ArtGeek22

When I think of the term "processed foods", I think of things that have spent more time in the laboratory than in a garden or kitchen.
I like my food to be less man-handled and looking more like how it was when nature provided it to us.

Amen!!!!!

raiderzara

Unfortunately, "processed" is a term that was coined somewhere, and not technically correct, but widely accepted to mean foods not near to their original state and having been refined, or nutritionally void ingredients added. It's kind of like how the term "organic" has come to mean "grown without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers". But really, the word organic means:

of, relating to, or containing carbon compounds (according to Webster's Dictionary).

So the term 'processed' is lame. But that's what people use. As far as I'm concerned, the best definition I have found has been Andrew Wilder's. This is from his page 'Eating Rules' and is a definition I can readily accept. I say that I'm "eating clean" when I eat this way. I feel like I get more 'bang for my buck' in terms of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and satiety when I eat mostly foods that fall under this definition...and it's not boring either.


**The “Kitchen Test” Definition
Of course, this begs the question: How do we define “Processed?”

Obviously there’s a wide range of implications in that word, and we will probably each define it slightly differently for ourselves. My definition is this:

Unprocessed food is any food that could be made by a person with reasonable skill in a home kitchen with whole-food ingredients.

I call it “The Kitchen Test.” If you pick up something with a label (if it doesn’t have a label, it’s probably unprocessed), and find an ingredient you’d never use in your kitchen and couldn’t possibly make yourself from the whole form, it’s processed.

It doesn’t mean you actually have to make it yourself, it just means that for it to be considered “unprocessed” that you could, in theory, do so...

...It doesn’t mean that you have to be able to make the food — but that the food could be made in a home kitchen by someone who knows what they’re doing. If it needs high-powered, industrial equipment, or could only be made in a laboratory, then it’s out.

Here’s a good example. Look at the ingredients for a PowerBar Triple Threat® Chocolate Peanut Butter Crisp:

CORN SYRUP, soy crisps (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, rice flour, alkalized cocoa), chocolatey coating (SUGAR, FRACTIONATED PALM KERNEL OIL, cocoa, whey, nonfat milk, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR), whole oats, dry roasted peanuts, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, INULIN (FROM CHICORY), NATURAL FLAVORS (contains peanut, milk, SOY LECITHIN), rice crisps (MILLED RICE, SUGAR, salt, BARLEY MALT), salted peanut butter, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, and less than 2% of peanut flour, almond butter, salt, SOY LECITHIN, minerals: CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, FERROUS FUMARATE (IRON), vitamins: ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), VITAMIN B6 HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMINE MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1).

I’ve [capitalized] any ingredients that I’m pretty sure you can’t make at home (or without some sort of industrial process). Compare that to the ingredients of a Cashew Cookie Lara Bar:

CASHEWS, DATES.

I’m absolutely certain that a cook with average skills could make something comparable to the Lara bar in your kitchen. But the PowerBar? Not so much.**

mistesh

"As a rule, processed foods are more “energy dense” than fresh foods: they contain less water and fiber but more added fat and sugar, which makes them both less filling and more fattening. These particular calories also happen to be the least healthful ones in the marketplace, which is why we call the foods that contain them “junk.”"

You Are What You Grow, by Michael Pollan
http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/you-are-what-you-grow/

As luck will have it, his latest book, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, was released today.

Pollan Cooks!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/968150-pollan-cooks

redraidergirl2009

Most food is processed including meat, dairy which most people leave put when they say 'processed' unless someone actually goes and gets milk straight from a cow or meat.

barbaratrollman

"As a rule, processed foods are more “energy dense” than fresh foods: they contain less water and fiber but more added fat and sugar, which makes them both less filling and more fattening. These particular calories also happen to be the least healthful ones in the marketplace, which is why we call the foods that contain them “junk.”"

You Are What You Grow, by Michael Pollan
http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/you-are-what-you-grow/

As luck will have it, his latest book, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, was released today.

Pollan Cooks!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/968150-pollan-cooks

So the term 'processed' is lame. But that's what people use. As far as I'm concerned, the best definition I have found has been Andrew Wilder's. This is from his page 'Eating Rules' and is a definition I can readily accept. I say that I'm "eating clean" when I eat this way. I feel like I get more 'bang for my buck' in terms of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and satiety when I eat mostly foods that fall under this definition...and it's not boring either.

This is exactly how I feel about it. Thus, I so disagree when I see folks post that all calories are equal. First of all, our bodies process different types of food differently. So, the calories are used by our bodies differently. Foods that take more time for our body to break down, like whole foods, veggies, whole grains, nuts, etc... are going to be more of a time-released energy. Foods, like pasta, white breads, sugar, corn syrup, etc...get broken down very quickly in our bodies and usually result in insulin spikes and glucose crashes...which by the way, if very taxing on our organs. The sudden high glucose spikes and the low dips really put a slam dance of a strain on them.

I'm not a nutritionist, but my dad is a doctor, with a focus on diabetes. He speaks at conferences to educate other doctors about diabetes and food and exercise lifestyles that can manage and even reverse diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions.

I feel my very best when I eat as clean as I reasonably can. I catch bugs and other sickness far less often. Wounds heal faster. I have much higher energy levels. I can think and process more sharply and my memory seems better.

I just generally feel super high-energy pretty much all the time. I seem to be able to out-perform and endure extremes more than just about anybody I personally know and spend time with. Even those who are much younger than I am. (I am 55-years old.) Everybody always talks about how much energy I have.

I take no drugs, and other than my one cup o' joe each morning (I'm in love with the flavor and the ritual.), I don't use other types of energy enhancers. Just clean eatin'. Mmmmmm! Mother Nature is the best chef EVAH!

I don't go around trying to change anybody else's eating behaviors. I only offer up how I'm doing things if somebody asks me to or has asked me what I am doing to be so high energy, lose weight, be healthy, etc... I am too busy working on my own health and figuring out what works best for me. Heavily processed foods don't, so I don't do them. I feel lucky that I have those options.

highervibes

It may not be the correct use of the word, but I think of precessed food as the stuff that is in the center aisles of the grocery store. Frozen pre-made dinners or breakfasts. I still consume some of these foods, I just do my best to limit them without stressing myself out. I wouldn't buy a Lean Cuisine but I would be okay with using ketchup or taco seasoning from a pouch. Stressing out about your food, obsessing and feeling excessive guilt is not healthy either. Pick your battles I guess!

Theindomitablejeeves

watch "Hungry For a Change". Great movie that will inform you of what processed food really is.

It is a "food like" substance made to last a long time on the shelf and make the food companiews a huge profit.

I'm a little confused as to how a product that lasts such a long time on the shelf and huge profits (or revenues) relate to each other.

CoachReddy

watch "Hungry For a Change". Great movie that will inform you of what processed food really is.

It is a "food like" substance made to last a long time on the shelf and make the food companiews a huge profit.

I'm a little confused as to how a product that lasts such a long time on the shelf and huge profits (or revenues) relate to each other.

things with a long shelf life are cheaper to produce and don't spoil... thus more $$

KarenJanine

Would you all eat this piece of food?


Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Pyridoxine, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Folate, Calcium, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium, Sodium, Zinc, Phytosterols, Amino acids, Alanine,Arginine, Aspartic acid, Cystine, Glutamic acid, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine,Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine,Proline, Serine,Threonine, Tryptophan,Tyrosine, Valine

I would.

Espressocycle

It's just a meaningless pejorative. If it has any value at all, it is to refer to foods that made with too much fat, sugar and sodium in order to make addictive snacks or palatable low-quality ingredients.