What is "Processed Food"?

Options
124678

Replies

  • ctpeace
    ctpeace Posts: 327 Member
    Options
    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
    neanderthin Posts: 10,018 Member
    Options
    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
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    Options
    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
    IzzyBooNZ1 Posts: 1,289 Member
    Options
    I'm drinking a can of coke right now as I read this.
  • peacemongernc
    peacemongernc Posts: 253 Member
    Options
    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
    annatamar Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    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
    neanderthin Posts: 10,018 Member
    Options
    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":smile:
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    Options
    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":smile:

    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
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    Options
    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
    jen_mv Posts: 21 Member
    Options
    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. :smile:
    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
    peacemongernc Posts: 253 Member
    Options
    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. :smile:
    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
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Options
    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
    zillah73 Posts: 505 Member
    Options
    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. :smile:
    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
    barbaratrollman Posts: 317 Member
    Options
    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
    ArtGeek22 Posts: 1,429 Member
    Options
    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 :smile:

    P.S The documentary Hungry for Change talks about and explains this topic extremely well. I highly recommend watching it!
  • QueenGyn
    QueenGyn Posts: 106
    Options
    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. :smile:

    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
    barbaratrollman Posts: 317 Member
    Options
    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
    djames92 Posts: 990 Member
    Options
    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
    miranda823 Posts: 91 Member
    Options
    I really enjoyed this post, as I've been asking myself that question and I loved seeing all the different answers.
  • barbaratrollman
    barbaratrollman Posts: 317 Member
    Options
    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.

Categories