What's so bad about processed "healthy" foods?

From strictly a food based perspective if you really look at the ingredient list and research what everything is you will find that the food in the lean cuisine really isn't "real" food like we would have consumed 50-100 years ago. There are additives upon additives, corn is in EVERYTHING, the food companies actually create foods so we crave them. I would really recommend healthy for a change or food inc that goes into it a lot further and more in depth. Plus if you have the time or make the time you could make a homemade version that would be more filling, satisfying, and less filler/additives in it so you wont have the chemical reaction in your brain that makes you crave more of the bad foods.

That said its all about making steps in the right direction. Obviously choosing a lean cuisine is going to be better than ordering a big mac at McDonalds and better than several choices at the grocery store -- and your right even ketchup is highly processed and has more ingredients in it than ketchup ever should but any step that a person can get to consuming less highly processed foods the better.

Read this article when you have the chance. It's long, but I think it'll help answer a lot of your questions and change the way you understand food.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Dairy products are heavily processed...

Whey especially, but it's still one of the best proteins there is.

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Unless you're hunting and foraging for all of your food, and drinking nothing but well or spring water, you're consuming processed foods. I'm sick of the self righteous attitude surrounding food and that, if you don't eat a perfect diet, you'll be unhealthy.

I used to be INCREDIBLY self righteous about my diet; I ate "perfect" foods and always judged others for their choices. I avoided all foods I deemed "bad", processed and only ate whole, real foods. If my mom bought a box of Cocoa Puffs or potato chips I would scoff at her. I would judge anyone who ate something that wasn't what I considered to be "good".

Let me tell you: that was exhausting. I was constantly thinking about what I was eating, stressing out about eating things that I didn't buy or personally cook, scouring food labels to make sure the food was "pure" and ended up missing out on a lot of things because I was so preoccupied on making sure everything I ate was perfect.

Now? I still aim to eat well - I eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, avoid fast food and heavily processed food and do the best I can. I also eat ice cream, grab a granola/protein bar as a snack now and again, and don't stress out about everything that goes in my mouth. It's so much easier to just eat what you want, in moderation, without killing yourself trying to be perfect. There are no wholly "good" or "bad" foods, only people that abuse those foods.

Oh, and I don't care what cavemen did, or what our ancestors 1000 years ago did. We don't live in that time and, as I said, unless you're out hunting and gathering, you're not living as your ancestors did. All you did was read a book, watch a documentary or do some Google research and have come to the conclusion that you must eat the way your ancestors did or else your body will fall to pieces.

I didn't mean to capitalyze "whole foods" like the grocery store. I'm talking about whole foods.

Also, I never said processed, I said cooked. Just so you know.

From my understanding, Whole Foods, fresh fruits and vegetables are better for the nutritional value. The nutritional value will be less once cooked.

For example, a sweet potato baked in a 350 degree oven will lose some nutrients vs. a raw potato or dehydrated sweet potato (chips) at 160 degrees.

It's just nutritional value that will be lost and some people are against the extra unneccessary chemicals. The chemicals won't be needed if it is fresh and made at home.

Also, SALT! Salt is usually added a lot more than if you made it yourself! Salt may retain water.

Actually, this is not necessarily true. Processing sometimes increases the nutritional value. Canned tomatoes are an example.

Also, unless you are growing your own vegetables or buying them at a local market, whole foods may not be your best bet. Commercial farmers often pick certain crops before they are ripe, decreasing their nutritional value.

Cooking food = processing it.

There are some things that make "processed" foods bad. They're often loaded with simple carbs and sodium, for example. This gives "processed food" a bad name and people tend to simplify to "processed food is bad."

This doesn't make any sense. Processing isn't necessarily bad. Just pay attention to what the actual nutritional composition is and you'll be fine. Set targets for calories, protein, sugar, and fiber and hit those. Forget about the rest.

I think food goes by the good, better, best principle.
Best is whole types foods, fresh fruit/veg and quality meats without additives.
Better is stuff comprised of the above but prepared/processed.
Good is replacing bad with slightly healthier choices.

Lean cuisine and Subway may be Good choices if they are replacing double bacon cheeseburgers and hot pockets, etc.

Many processed foods that are marketed as healthy aren't nearly as healthy as they try to make them seem.

LOL i have one word....


HORSEMEAT! :laugh:

bump

I totally agree with you...very well said !!

Unless you're hunting and foraging for all of your food, and drinking nothing but well or spring water, you're consuming processed foods. I'm sick of the self righteous attitude surrounding food and that, if you don't eat a perfect diet, you'll be unhealthy.

I used to be INCREDIBLY self righteous about my diet; I ate "perfect" foods and always judged others for their choices. I avoided all foods I deemed "bad", processed and only ate whole, real foods. If my mom bought a box of Cocoa Puffs or potato chips I would scoff at her. I would judge anyone who ate something that wasn't what I considered to be "good".

Let me tell you: that was exhausting. I was constantly thinking about what I was eating, stressing out about eating things that I didn't buy or personally cook, scouring food labels to make sure the food was "pure" and ended up missing out on a lot of things because I was so preoccupied on making sure everything I ate was perfect.

Now? I still aim to eat well - I eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, avoid fast food and heavily processed food and do the best I can. I also eat ice cream, grab a granola/protein bar as a snack now and again, and don't stress out about everything that goes in my mouth. It's so much easier to just eat what you want, in moderation, without killing yourself trying to be perfect. There are no wholly "good" or "bad" foods, only people that abuse those foods.

Oh, and I don't care what cavemen did, or what our ancestors 1000 years ago did. We don't live in that time and, as I said, unless you're out hunting and gathering, you're not living as your ancestors did. All you did was read a book, watch a documentary or do some Google research and have come to the conclusion that you must eat the way your ancestors did or else your body will fall to pieces.

adding this to important notes in my bible!

There are some things that make "processed" foods bad. They're often loaded with simple carbs and sodium, for example. This gives "processed food" a bad name and people tend to simplify to "processed food is bad."

This doesn't make any sense. Processing isn't necessarily bad. Just pay attention to what the actual nutritional composition is and you'll be fine. Set targets for calories, protein, sugar, and fiber and hit those. Forget about the rest.

That's exactly how I feel as well, but so many research articles, blogs, books, etc beg to disagree.

Those blogs and books are worthless. Good tip is that 95% of all the stuff you read about fitness is total trash. The "research articles" are not research articles, they're just articles. Actual scientific research looks a lot different than those "articles" you read.

LOL i have one word....


HORSEMEAT! :laugh:

?

What about horse meat?

Google UK/Europe and horse meat. There has been horse meat found in many processed beef products across Europe recently.