What's so bad about processed "healthy" foods?
Replies
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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
This is 100% right on. If you read this article and don't agree, then you are seriously lying to yourself about everything food in America and the western world. Thank you for providing this article.0 -
So does my DW. If someone needs to eat 2-3 of them to feel "satisfied", then there may be an issue of how they eat overall.Lean cuisine is generally garbage because its full of sodium. Completely void of taste. And have you looked at the size of them? Youd have to eat like 2-3 to be even remotely satisfied.
^^ THIS X400!!
I eat a Lean Cuisine or similar (Marie Callender, Amy's, etc) meal almost every day at lunch. I'm not worried about the sodium. Tastes pretty good, super easy, super convenient, and inexpensive. They fill me up. The Marie Callender meals are especially good - they all include a decent portion of vegetables and generally have 360 or fewer calories with 20+ grams of protein. Not bad.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
I think the way to manage this is to google the unfamiliar ingredients and learn their purpose. Sometimes the scary-sounding stuff is actually not all that bad. For example, artificial flavours are often the same chemical that's found naturally in food, but artificially added to a food product.
Fruit juice vs. real fruit is an obvious one. Just by looking at the nutrition label you can see that fruit juice has zero fiber and more sugar than the actual fruit. I rarely drink fruit juice. But I was referring to things with good nutrition facts that are still processed, ie something like whole wheat bread with 5 grams of fiber per slice but 20 ingredients.For one thing, they usually lack fiber, so they are so easily digested and quickly added to your available sources of energy, they cause a large release of insulin into your bloodstream which quickly stores the energy as fat.
Fruit: good
Fruit juice: bad (it has all the sugar but all the fiber is stripped out)
This.
When people say "if I can't pronounce it I won't eat it" I just hear "anything I don't understand must be bad." There are a ton of things I don't understand that are beneficial to me. My medicines come to mind.
I think emphasis should be on getting enough nutrients and proper ratios of macros, and less time should be spent worrying over whether something counts as "processed" or not.0 -
Hahaha!,Actually, horsemeat has fewer calories than lean beef. Seriously, I checked!LOL i have one word....
HORSEMEAT! :laugh:
?
What about horse meat?
If they are hinting at what's currently in the news about finding it in things that advertise "100% beef" then it's another issue. There are the possible drugs and antibiotics that are given to horses that are not supposed to be in food animals. Also, ignoring the whole inaccurate labeling... though that's far from an issue with just meat products.
Edited for holy run-on sentence, Batman!0 -
Lean cuisine is generally garbage because its full of sodium. Completely void of taste. And have you looked at the size of them? Youd have to eat like 2-3 to be even remotely satisfied.
^^ THIS X400!!
I eat a Lean Cuisine or similar (Marie Callender, Amy's, etc) meal almost every day at lunch. I'm not worried about the sodium. Tastes pretty good, super easy, super convenient, and inexpensive. They fill me up. The Marie Callender meals are especially good - they all include a decent portion of vegetables and generally have 360 or fewer calories with 20+ grams of protein. Not bad.
me too! and ive gone from 246 in spetember to 186 now, my blood pressure at last dr appt was 105-ish / 70-ish, cholesterol was 146, and every other number was perfect as well! they are convenient, pre-portioned, and cheap when price shopping with coupons! i like to add fresh spinach or steamed cabbage to my meals to bulk them up a bit! im all over the lean cuisines, smart ones, and healthy choice!0 -
My favourite processed food is Trader Joe's prepackaged Chicken Pasadena Salad. MMMM! That dressing with the almonds is to die for!0
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Amy's Mattar Paneer is nom. I eat it with a quarter cup to a half cup of Greek yogurt plain to add in some more protein, and scarf it all down.0
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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
This is 100% right on. If you read this article and don't agree, then you are seriously lying to yourself about everything food in America and the western world. Thank you for providing this article.
it's pure propaganda. the author is a nutjob with an agenda.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Pollan0 -
I'm definitely going to try doing this. Do a bit of investigation myself lol.
I think the way to manage this is to google the unfamiliar ingredients and learn their purpose. Sometimes the scary-sounding stuff is actually not all that bad. For example, artificial flavours are often the same chemical that's found naturally in food, but artificially added to a food product.
Fruit juice vs. real fruit is an obvious one. Just by looking at the nutrition label you can see that fruit juice has zero fiber and more sugar than the actual fruit. I rarely drink fruit juice. But I was referring to things with good nutrition facts that are still processed, ie something like whole wheat bread with 5 grams of fiber per slice but 20 ingredients.For one thing, they usually lack fiber, so they are so easily digested and quickly added to your available sources of energy, they cause a large release of insulin into your bloodstream which quickly stores the energy as fat.
Fruit: good
Fruit juice: bad (it has all the sugar but all the fiber is stripped out)0 -
I definitely agree with that statement! I didn't understand half of the worlds used in my Biology classes before I learned what they were, and obviously not all difficult to pronounce biological terms are somehow harmful because the average person doesn't know the meaning of them. Lol.
I think the way to manage this is to google the unfamiliar ingredients and learn their purpose. Sometimes the scary-sounding stuff is actually not all that bad. For example, artificial flavours are often the same chemical that's found naturally in food, but artificially added to a food product.
Fruit juice vs. real fruit is an obvious one. Just by looking at the nutrition label you can see that fruit juice has zero fiber and more sugar than the actual fruit. I rarely drink fruit juice. But I was referring to things with good nutrition facts that are still processed, ie something like whole wheat bread with 5 grams of fiber per slice but 20 ingredients.For one thing, they usually lack fiber, so they are so easily digested and quickly added to your available sources of energy, they cause a large release of insulin into your bloodstream which quickly stores the energy as fat.
Fruit: good
Fruit juice: bad (it has all the sugar but all the fiber is stripped out)
This.
When people say "if I can't pronounce it I won't eat it" I just hear "anything I don't understand must be bad." There are a ton of things I don't understand that are beneficial to me. My medicines come to mind.
I think emphasis should be on getting enough nutrients and proper ratios of macros, and less time should be spent worrying over whether something counts as "processed" or not.0 -
processed.0
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First of all, everything in moderation. Coke, chips, milky ways, etc are ok EVERY NOW AND THEN. You just shouldn't live on them. I highly recommend Jillian Michael's Master your Metabolism. It's an interesting read and explains clearly why processed foods are "bad". Hope that helps.0
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I think that the biggest issue in this discussion is that everyone is using a different definition of "processed". Just because a food item is packaged or is flash frozen does not mean it is bad. Processing food essentially means it has been prepared or altered from an original state. When you eat at a restaurant or eat something in your kitchen it would be considered "processed" at that point. I think we need to have discussions on specific concerns. Is it preservatives? sodium? I also must add that the "chemical" fear is irrational and everything around us is a chemical and many ingredients on your labels are common ingredients using their scientific names per FDA guidelines on labeling.0
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If you believe that the food industry has your best interest and health in mind, not the their profit margin and the shelf life of the product, than nothing.0
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It's obvious that things like coke, chocolate bars, chips, etc are unhealthy because they're void of nutrients and high in calories, leaving your body malnourished & overfed. But what about things like Subway sandwiches, Lean Cuisine meals, high fiber cereals, precooked chicken breasts, protein bars, etc?
I probably should not get into this thread ...
Your first sentence is incorrect - none of the foods you listed, consumed at a reasonable level, leave the body either "overfed" or "malnourished". Any diet of any substance taken to an extreme is will lead to nutrient deficiency. I eat chocolate every day and I guarantee you that I am neither malnourished or overfed by it. Over consumption of anything is bad. I once ate a kilo of raw cashews (there was nothing to had, literally, for a 2 day hike from where I was) I have never, EVER, been sicker. Healthy cashews? Oh, my *kitten*.
As long as one maintains a large variety of foods, assures micro and macro nutrient needs the majority of food is reasonably healthy. There have been more deaths as the direct epidemiological cause of eating tainted vegetables than of eating chocolate in the last 20 years. I'm in no way suggesting one should not eat veggies, but there is little intrinsically bad from the idea of processing.
In fact processing some food makes it edible - a variety of beans (etc...) are poisonous, if not cooked. Processing makes them edible.
Processing gets a bad reputation. I try to eat fresh and buy locally, when possible, but I refuse to pay the game of "unhealthy" food.0 -
I can only speak for myself here, but I dont worry too much about what is processed vs non processed. All I do is try to make better choices. We eat cheeseburgers, spaghetti, french frieds. I just do it in moderation, and we do eat alot of fruits and veggies so I think it evens out. Its all about moderation.0
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If I can't call it "unhealthy food" I would just as well not classify some items as "food".
This, for example:
ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, DEXTROSE, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN, PALM, COTTONSEED AND/OR HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL† WITH TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID FOR FRESHNESS), CORN SYRUP, WHEY, CRACKER MEAL, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, COCOA, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF CORNSTARCH, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, SALT, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), MODIFIED CORN STARCH, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, GELATIN, DRIED EGG WHITES, DATEM, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL†, MODIFIED WHEAT STARCH, XANTHAN GUM, NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR, CARAMEL COLOR, SOY LECITHIN, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, COLOR ADDED, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), FOLIC ACID.
Millions of parents give this to their kids as breakfast and see nothing wrong with this. (It is a pop-tart). It is made to look like food, so people eat it. And same with thousands of other items.0 -
Which ingredients concern you? Just wondering.If I can't call it "unhealthy food" I would just as well not classify some items as "food".
This, for example:
ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, DEXTROSE, VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN, PALM, COTTONSEED AND/OR HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL† WITH TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID FOR FRESHNESS), CORN SYRUP, WHEY, CRACKER MEAL, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, COCOA, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF CORNSTARCH, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, SALT, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), MODIFIED CORN STARCH, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, GELATIN, DRIED EGG WHITES, DATEM, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL†, MODIFIED WHEAT STARCH, XANTHAN GUM, NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR, CARAMEL COLOR, SOY LECITHIN, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, COLOR ADDED, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), FOLIC ACID.
Millions of parents give this to their kids as breakfast and see nothing wrong with this. (It is a pop-tart). It is made to look like food, so people eat it. And same with thousands of other items.0 -
I just personally stick to organic non-gmo foods 95% of the time now.
But i still enjoy my white cheddar cheez-its & other favorite processed foods occasionally in moderation.0 -
Good
Better
Best
Everyone is going to have an opinion on this one. I think the way to go is to eat the best food that you can at the time. I like cooking my own food so I know what's in it, I don't call that processed, but others would.
If I'm out at the shops and it's lunch time, and I'm hungry, I'll buy something to eat. I try to make a good choice most of the time but sometimes I'll have something that I am craving and it may not be the best choice. Life is for living, I had a chocolate bar tonight, I really wanted it, I don't feel guilty about it. I might only have chocolate nice a month, so I think that's ok.
To me, bad foods are those that make me feel "bad" about myself. Nothing should be bad. There is just good, better, best.
And then there are food products
they aren't food at all. 0 -
Lean cuisine is generally garbage because its full of sodium. Completely void of taste. And have you looked at the size of them? Youd have to eat like 2-3 to be even remotely satisfied.
And your body smells like the fake cheap garlic powder all day especially in the ummmm bathroom if you know what i mean. And yes you do have to eat 2-3 to feel like you've eaten anything.
I notice that food eaten out often has high sodium. i.e. Jersey Mike's subs. I purchased a turkey sub, regular size, i thought it was a decent choice. However, the MFP says it had about 2,200 grams of sodium. Wow! Also other food out does that too. I notice it has an effect on my weight loss. So even "healthy" choices seem to do me in.
Processed food is generally thought of - even at the grocery store - the food in the middle of the store rather than the perimiter (meaning it is better to buy food along the edges of the store rather than the pre-made food that you find on the shelves (the cans of food, etc.) i mean it is better to buy from the fruits, vegetables, fresh meats, and dairy rather than the tv dinners, cans of meals, packaged stuff, etc.0 -
The biggest thing, in my understanding, is the fact that processed foods have to have so many extra ingredients just to preserve them until you can eat it. If you make the same food at home you don't need all those preservatives.0
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I try not to be sanctimonious about processed foods; I know I eat fewer than most people do, but I do eat them. A favorite easy dinner on a fast day (I do 5:2) is canned noodle soup with lots of sauteed veggies and a dash of hot sauce. It's better when I make the same dish starting with DH's homemade broth but sometimes we're out of it.
In general, processed food tend to strip out all the good stuff and then they attempt to add it back in via unpronounceable chemicals ("enriched" wheat flour, for example). I laughed out loud at the Pop-Tarts ingredient list!
I guess it comes down to what you do and don't find acceptable. Some people have to watch sodium and most processed foods are deadly for that. My own gripe is with high-fructose corn syrup. I just don't trust it and if it's in the ingredient label, back to the shelf it goes. In many cases, the processed foods just don't taste right to me- they leave a greasy residue in my mouth or have a funny chemical aftertaste. It's easy for me to pass up bakery goods in the grocery store because of that- they look pretty but they just aren't going to taste as good as they look.
Yesterday I ran across a perfect example of what happens when they try to add "healthy" ingredients to processed foods- a dry granola cereal with Greek yogurt. How do they do it? It's dehydrated yogurt, of course, "heat-treated after culturing". Translation: they just killed all the bacteria that make yogurt healthy.0 -
I think everyone here has the right idea. Eat as naturally as possible without going to extremes and causing yourself stress over it. I don't always want to cook, so I buy organic/Kashi/Amy's, etc., type frozen meals. Mostly, I make my own, though. If I make spaghetti (organic ingredients and ww/pasta), I will freeze measured portions for a quick meal at a later time. This keeps me from getting sick of eating the same thing for 5 days in a row (it's usually just me eating what I cook). But the bottom line is no food will kill you in moderation.
Find what works best for you and don't be afraid to modify as needed/desired. Keep up the good work!
Lib
Second this!0 -
LOL i have one word....
HORSEMEAT! :laugh:
LMAO! Yep, it's made me never want to eat anything beef related and processed.
To those who don't know there has been a bit of a scandal finding horse meat in certain beef products.
I'm aware of that, but there's nothing actually wrong with horse meat. Westerners have a bit of an "ick" factor about it, and clearly consumers weren't told it was horse meat, but horse meat is fine.
This is how it was explained to me...
The only problem with horsemeat in a US-american diet is that horses in the US can be given medicines and supplements that make them unfit for human consumption.
Personally, I do not like horsemeat. It tastes too sweet for my palate. But then, I have a similar "ick" factor for most meats if I think about the animal's living conditions and manner of death too long... or drive past a Tyson chicken farm! :sick:0 -
I really enjoy cooking and eating fresh foods, so that's my own first "strike" against processed foods.
The other thing is that I have a couple of food intolerances I have to be mindful of, and I find it easier to just NOT worry about checking labels and concerning myself with cross contamination and other issues. If I'm doing all the cooking, I know what is in my food.
I don't care what anyone else eats or doesn't eat-- "eyes on your own plate", as they say.0 -
probably the sodium0
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