"Processed" food - Definition? Do you avoid? Pro's and Con's

Grumbers
Grumbers Posts: 111 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I struggle with the phrase "processed". Technically any cooking/chopping is processed.
I believe it generally means anything processed before end user and with additional additives/preservatives.
I've found im eating much less processed food but I think it would be tough to completely avoid processed foods.
The occasional packet of crisps or chicken kiev do slip in to my diet and I can't believe that's a really bad thing.

What do you guys define as processed? Do any of you completely avoid processed? Applying the usual concept of moderation and variation, is it accepted that some processed food is fine?

Cheers

Replies

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I don't really have a working definition of processed myself. I believe what most people are referring to is frozen dinner type stuff, fast food, etc…

    Personally, I eat some processed foods and not really see what the big deal is. I think if you follow the 80/20 rule…80% healthy/20% whatever the hell you want rule that you will be fine…

    in - to get about four million different definitions of what processed is and why OP should eat Paleo...
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I have a calorie intake that I eat too and set Macro's that I aim for, I don't label or categorize food into columns of good vs. bad or clean vs. dirty. Whatever it takes to hit my goals with what ever foods I deem to get there is my approach and so far I would have to say I have been somewhat successful with this approach.... Best of Luck..
  • Grumbers
    Grumbers Posts: 111 Member
    Cheers both. I believe I'm basically doing what both you guys suggest, which is eat "sensibly", mostly lean meats, veg/salad, cereals, etc with the occasional couple squares of chocolate or packet of crisps. Factor this in to my calorie targets and I've dropped 10lb so far, so it's certainly working.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    Lol, I take it that most people view processed foods as foods that come in a box and you heat it up.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Grumbers
    Grumbers Posts: 111 Member
    Lol, I take it that most people view processed foods as foods that come in a box and you heat it up.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Assuming from your post, that you believe this isn't correct. As mentioned in my heading, would be great to get your definition.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
    I don't really worry about it, myself. I'm more concerned about nutrient density than whether or not something is easily microwavable or could live for a year in my pantry. I will assume the definition of processed is at the bay of the user
  • rjdunn87
    rjdunn87 Posts: 385 Member
    My personal loose definition of processed foods is pretty much anything that comes in a package and contains artificial flavor, color, or other kinds of chemical additives and preservatives. I generally avoid them as much as possible, but by no means have I completely cut them all out. Just today I snacked on some Earth Balance white cheddar popcorn. :) But, for my personal health journey, I have decided to try and cut out as many non-natural and chemical laden products as possible.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    No, I don't "avoid" it, so no, I don't really have a definition of it. Pretty much everything is processed. Unless you grow and pick the vegetables and grains yourself, and kill and butcher you own meat, it's been processed by someone else.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    I tried the whole 'clean/whole foods' thing for a few months-avoiding anything like frozen dinners, packaged cookies, chips, fast food etc. and only eating things like fresh veggies and fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds and limited meat and dairy. Nothing magical happened, except I began having an unhealthy relationship with food and started heading down the slippery slope of orthorexia. I no longer eat that way and I no longer label food 'bad' or 'good', 'clean' or 'unclean', 'processed' or 'unprocessed'. I eat the foods I like, in moderation. I've learned that this is what works for me :smile:
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Once I committed to calorie and macro targets, it automatically drastically reduced the amount of "processed" food I ate. There are only so many times I can have pizza or sour cream & onion potato chips or Haagen Dasz before it makes it very difficult to meet my macro goals without blowing up my calorie budget.

    So while it is correct that CICO doesn't explicitly deny any type of food, it does mean that, for most people most of the time, the math itself forces strong restrictions on many, many foods.
  • Loves418
    Loves418 Posts: 330 Member
    I don't avoid it...I like my progresso light chicken pot pie soup..its cold here and I eat everyday for lunch..I also like to have the frozen healthy choice dinners sometimes it easier when I am out running for work and come home starving for lunch...this way I know I am not killing my calories. Everything in moderation..
  • Grumbers
    Grumbers Posts: 111 Member
    Once I committed to calorie and macro targets, it automatically drastically reduced the amount of "processed" food I ate. There are only so many times I can have pizza or sour cream & onion potato chips or Haagen Dasz before it makes it very difficult to meet my macro goals without blowing up my calorie budget.

    So while it is correct that CICO doesn't explicitly deny any type of food, it does mean that, for most people most of the time, the math itself forces strong restrictions on many, many foods.

    You've basically described me and my thoughts/situation.
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
    I try to get most of my calories from fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables, and lean meats, dried beans, steel cut oats, just to avoid the added sodium and sugars in convenience items and canned foods. I very seldom have fast food (not been to McDonalds in almost 2 years) or go to a restaurant to eat any more for the same reason, sodium/sugar.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    For me processed is anything that isn't just a couple ingredients... so packaged bread, pasta, stuff that comes in a box, basically anything you could make yourself but don't.

    And I totally eat it. I don't eat the super processed stuff like hamburger helper, but I buy tacos, pasta, packaged bread, soups etc. If I made my own bread, it wouldn't last a day, and I'm way too lazy to make pasta and some other stuff from scratch.
  • Haskin_Fuzernick
    Haskin_Fuzernick Posts: 22 Member
    Processed = anything not in it's original organic form. If it wasn't organic to begin with, then it started out as processed. I don't think people are talking about you getting a carrot that you subsequently chop in your kitchen. I think people are referring to grinding that carrot and stuffing it in cake (mmmm - carrot cake. My favorite vegetable) to turn that carrot into something totally different.

    Heard this somewhere --- can't remember where, but it seems solid. If your great-grandma would not recognize something you're eating as food, best to just put it down and find something else.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    I mostly try to eat food that is as close to its original form as possible. If it has been processed, I try to pick an option that has been altered or added to as little as possible.
  • missADS1981
    missADS1981 Posts: 364 Member
    the definition for me is basically anything that is not fresh and needs additives to allow it to sit on a shelf or in a freezer. anything that comes in a box or can. we all need some of that though, but it's good to be smart about which and how much you consume.

    i avoid all frozen foods and mostly all canned and frozen veggies if i can swap for fresh.

    most "healthy" boxed or canned items are loaded with sodium which i avoid.
  • janinab75
    janinab75 Posts: 147 Member
    For me processed is anything that isn't just a couple ingredients... so packaged bread, pasta, stuff that comes in a box, basically anything you could make yourself but don't.

    And I totally eat it. I don't eat the super processed stuff like hamburger helper, but I buy tacos, pasta, packaged bread, soups etc. If I made my own bread, it wouldn't last a day, and I'm way too lazy to make pasta and some other stuff from scratch.

    I'm pretty much the same way. I prefer to cook fresh veggies, I use some frozen ones in Winter. I tend not to buy boxed meals as they are way high in sodium and preservatives. If it has a really long list of ingredients and I can't pronounce them, I most likely won't buy it. If it has MSG, I won't buy it. MSG gives me migraines. I try to stick with simple ingredients, and close to all natural as I can. I cook as much as realistically possible with my schedule and as time and life allows.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    I think there are degrees of processing.
    In the summer, I get some fresh-from the garden produce, home-raised fresh chickens and fresh-caught seafood (I cook seafood but don't eat it - blech).
    I consider that stuff unprocessed, really. I eat more of that in the summer. Some I can freeze, but we use it up pretty quickly.

    Then there's the fresh produce & stuff from the grocery store. I eat lots of that.

    Then there's frozen pizzas, canned / boxed & fast food. I eat lots of that, too.

    I don't turn my nose up to anything based on processing.
  • jweindruch
    jweindruch Posts: 65 Member
    It's a good idea to avoid processed foods. Most of these foods are in the center of the grocery store in the aisles. Not all processed foods are equal though. For example, the cereal aisle has quite the spectrum. Some boxes are full of high fructose corn syrup and MSG while others are from organic whole grains. My philosophy is to read the ingredients label and if there are large words that I've never heard of or too many foreign ingredients I steer clear. Moreover, the more you can include a whole food vegetable based diet the better.
  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
    I don't really have a working definition of processed myself. I believe what most people are referring to is frozen dinner type stuff, fast food, etc…

    Personally, I eat some processed foods and not really see what the big deal is. I think if you follow the 80/20 rule…80% healthy/20% whatever the hell you want rule that you will be fine…

    in - to get about four million different definitions of what processed is and why OP should eat Paleo...

    This! *grabs popcorn*
  • Mof3wc
    Mof3wc Posts: 126 Member
    When I think "processed" I think of things that have a ton of ingredients in them, things like kraft dinner, premade chicken nuggets, microwave dinners, hamburger helper, frozen pizzas, fruit loops, candy/Chips/pop, Oreos, poptarts etc.

    And we do avoid them, but because we have to. I have one child anaphylactic to peanuts, 2 of us are celiac and I have a lot of food intolerances due to an autoimmune disease. So most "processed" foods can't be eaten by us anyway. I always joke that "If it looks tasty, I can't eat it". I would do anything for a bowl of fruit loops lol.
  • fruttibiscotti
    fruttibiscotti Posts: 986 Member
    For me, processed food is something that no longer resembles it's original plant, animal or mineral origin.

    I avoid/minimize processed food because I like to ensure quality of ingredients, and I personally love to cook. I'm guessing that processed food will increase the levels of preservatives in your diet, which I don't think is healthy.
  • XxmeetmydedicationxX
    XxmeetmydedicationxX Posts: 21
    1) In my opinion, "processed" food is any type of food that is made for convenience sake. Stuff that we COULD easily make ourselves, but find it easier to buy it in a premade state. ex) cookies, granola bars, frozen dinners and even bread like a previous poster had mentioned.
    But that's just my thoughts on it, everyone has a different definition of what they perceive "processed" to be.

    2) I don't think it's necessary to completely avoid processed food. I think demonizing types of food and restricting them at all costs is a negative way to view things. Personally, I view full restriction of food types & 100% avoidance as a negative relationship with food.

    That being said, I do try to limit the amount of processed foods that I eat. When I do eat them, I try to find the ones that give me the most satisfaction for the amount of calories they have. (things that won't leave me hungry and miserable after 500 cals worth lol)

    3) PROS- Super fast and convenient. Most people don't have time to make everything from scratch. As a university student, I know I don't have time to make my own protein bars or make my own hummus (even though there's tons of recipes out there)

    -Finding the calorie counts/macros is easy to do. No calculations or anything involved, you just look on the packet and log for the most part!

    -Sometimes... they're just so freaking delicious. I mean, I could make my own protein bars at home.. but there's a 50/50 chance they would taste disgusting or not turn out like the recipe. Also, I could "make" Reese pb cups at home, but they wouldn't be HALF as yummy :laugh:


    CONS - Sometimes processed foods have false calorie counts on the labels. Apparently, there's a 20% margin of error that's allowed with packaging... and if you're eating ALL your cals in processed foods, that's definitely going to add up eventually if there's a 150 cal difference here and a 150 cal difference there.

    -Sometimes they leave you hangry after a large amount of calories and may be very calorie dense. Ex. a cereal like Lucky Charms. Even after a HEAPING bowl that's probably 700 cals worth, I'll be hungry 30 minutes later. It's not really worth it IMHO

    -The sodium levels can be off the charts!! (especially with the frozen dinners) It's not too big of an issue for me since I don't have any major health concerns, but I tend to have water retention with high sodium foods & that's not fun for me.


    Moral of the story: Everything in moderation!!!!! :wink:

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