Definition of processed foods ???

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IsMollyReallyHungry
IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I rented "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" after someone posted about watching it. I had it on my list for a while and just got around to renting it. Don't remember who suggested it but it was very good and worth a watch for anyone trying to get healthier.

I am not going to do juicing but It made me a beliver on dropping processed foods. I have been trying to eliminate the junk but this documentary convinced me that it is best for me and that food is killing us just as bad as smoking. I am going to watch it one more time before I return it to the library!

This movie really drove the point home on dropping processed foods period.

Is cheese, yogart, milk, and white/brown rice processed? I guess all breads would be considered processed, right?

And regular meats like beef, chicken, fish are not processed right?
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Replies

  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    i read a blog of a family that went on an "unprocessed" food diet. their definition was anything with 5 or fewer ingridients. i think it was 100daysofrealfood.com
  • janemartin02
    janemartin02 Posts: 2,653 Member
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    Thanks for the post
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
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    Everyone's definition of processed foods is going to be different. Everyone's dividing line between foods they will eat because they are only minimally processed and foods that they will not eat because they are too processed is different.

    If the food is still in the same state it was in when it was harvested, it is unprocessed. An apple, a head of lettuce, a grain of rice. And extended to the animal world, raw milk, eggs, and meat. As soon as you do something to the food, it is processed. Cut up the apple. Cook the egg. Sterilize the milk. Those would be minimally processed foods, and in most people's books would be just fine. Each time you add a step - cooking, mixing, grinding, adding foods, packaging, forming, puffing, etc. it becomes more processed.

    So wheat is unprocessed. Grind it into flour (whole wheat flour) and it is minimally processed. Remove the germ and bran (white flour) and it is now quite processed. Bleach it, add more vitamins and additives, and you are changing its nature by quite a bit. Mix it with other ingredients, ferment it, and bake it, and it no longer resembles the initial state (a grain of wheat) at all. Put enough preservatives in there that it will last on the shelf for a week . . . you get the idea.

    So yes, anything canned/packed, cooked, mixed, or ground is processed. But you can choose minimally processed foods as much of the time as possible. Michael Pollan's books are a great place to start. "In Defense of Food" and "Food Rules". Great books

    Pam
  • Nana_Booboo
    Nana_Booboo Posts: 501 Member
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    http://www.danielplan.com/blogs/dp/dp-what-is-in-your-pantry

    This was very helpful for me - If that doesn't work google "the daniel plan" and watch the "clean your pantry" video under "start"

    also this one helped me http://www.dldewey.com/hydroil.htm
  • Nana_Booboo
    Nana_Booboo Posts: 501 Member
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    I was told if it's from a plant it's good, if it was made in a plant (as in factory) stay away!!
  • inkdgirl
    inkdgirl Posts: 79
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    Great documentary, loved it!

    Great post as well, definitely read Michael Pollen or even Skinny ***** books, they teach you to eat real food... if it wasn't picked from a tree or pulled from the ground.. don't eat it... but then I also don't eat it if it ever had a face or a mother! (vegetarian)

    Good luck to you!
  • wiffe
    wiffe Posts: 224 Member
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    bump
  • toasterlisa
    toasterlisa Posts: 100 Member
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    What I learned in a "nutritarian" eating class ...

    Processed means anything that is not in it's natural state, or as close to natural as possible.

    An apple is not processed. Apple Juice is processed.
    An olive is not processed. Olive oil is processed.
    Grapes, not; Grape jelly, yes.

    Steel cut oats are as unprocessed as you can get them, and they take a long time to cook. Instant oatmeal is highly processed to make it cook faster.

    You are good with brown rice, or quinoa (our favorite grains); of course not instant rice.

    Yes, meat, chicken or fish that you get "whole" is not processed. Chicken nuggets, sausage, or deli meat is very processed.

    Frozen vegetables are not considered processed, because they are usually flash frozen right after harvest, so they still hold their nutrition and fiber (the good stuff!).

    diseaseproof.com is a great website. I think this article really explains the "processed food" thing really well:
    http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/hurtful-food-are-energy-bars-protein-shakes-and-other-foods-advertised-as-health-foods-good-for-us-answer-more-often-than-not-no-they-arent.html

    Best wishes on your health and wellness journey!
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
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    I would disagree on the olives. Very processed!

    Pam
  • babynew
    babynew Posts: 613 Member
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    Bump:indifferent: :flowerforyou:
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    I would disagree on the olives. Very processed!

    Pam

    Olives are cured, not processed. There is a difference.
  • MaynardLD50
    MaynardLD50 Posts: 36 Member
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    Thanks for reminding me that I need to watch this movie. I saw it on Netflix and I always forget to watch it.

    To you iPhone users out there I highly recommend Fooducate. Fooducate is a free app that you can scan UPC barcodes and it rates it based on it's "Naturalness"
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
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    I would disagree on the olives. Very processed!

    Pam

    Olives are cured, not processed. There is a difference.

    Curing is a type of processing. Remember, even chopping and bottling are methods of processing. You can't eat olives directly off the tree. Here is the process:

    Olive Processing

    Before you can eat them you must first cure your olives.

    The curing process for green olives consists of hydrolysis, leaching and fermentation. This process for green olives includes soaking the olives in an alkaline solution first to remove the bitter tannins. They are then leached for about a month, or until ready, in fresh water which is changed on an almost daily basis to remove any impurities.

    The olives are then placed in huge underground vats, covered with a strong salt brine and left to ferment for 60-90 days. Fermentation converts the natural sugars, and some added sugar, to lactic acid.

    Once the pH drops to 3.7 and the lactic acid is over 5%, the olives are ready to be prepared and packaged. To retain their yellow-green hue the olives are kept in a salt brine and are never exposed to oxygen.

    At this point they go their separate ways to be canned, bottled, stuffed and sliced prior to being delivered to specialist suppliers, your local deli and supermarkets across the world.

    All this work just so that you and I can enjoy their rich heritage and unique taste.

    http://www.proper-spanish-tapas.com/processing-olives.html

    Pam
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
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    Thanks for reminding me that I need to watch this movie. I saw it on Netflix and I always forget to watch it.
    To you iPhone users out there I highly recommend Fooducate. Fooducate is a free app that you can scan UPC barcodes and it rates it based on it's "Naturalness"

    Thanks for this tip! I will check it out!!
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
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    Thank everyone!!
  • goodhealth2012
    goodhealth2012 Posts: 85
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    I really love the website 100 days of real food. Absolutely eye opening! IT HAS ME CONVINCED!!!
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    I would disagree on the olives. Very processed!

    Pam

    Olives are cured, not processed. There is a difference.

    Curing is a type of processing. Remember, even chopping and bottling are methods of processing. You can't eat olives directly off the tree. Here is the process:

    Olive Processing

    Before you can eat them you must first cure your olives.

    The curing process for green olives consists of hydrolysis, leaching and fermentation. This process for green olives includes soaking the olives in an alkaline solution first to remove the bitter tannins. They are then leached for about a month, or until ready, in fresh water which is changed on an almost daily basis to remove any impurities.

    The olives are then placed in huge underground vats, covered with a strong salt brine and left to ferment for 60-90 days. Fermentation converts the natural sugars, and some added sugar, to lactic acid.

    Once the pH drops to 3.7 and the lactic acid is over 5%, the olives are ready to be prepared and packaged. To retain their yellow-green hue the olives are kept in a salt brine and are never exposed to oxygen.

    At this point they go their separate ways to be canned, bottled, stuffed and sliced prior to being delivered to specialist suppliers, your local deli and supermarkets across the world.

    All this work just so that you and I can enjoy their rich heritage and unique taste.

    http://www.proper-spanish-tapas.com/processing-olives.html

    Pam

    However, olives are so minimally processed that you can not really call them a processed foods. Again, curing is differnt than all out processing.

    You can't compare olives to something like wheat or soy.
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
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    I certainly do not intend to vilify olives. I love olives. I eat olives. I bought a jar of olives on Saturday.

    You may consider them a "minimally processed" food. That's okay, I have no problem with it.

    Pam

    [/quote]

    However, olives are so minimally processed that you can not really call them a processed foods. Again, curing is differnt than all out processing.

    You can't compare olives to something like wheat or soy.
    [/quote]
  • aircantu1
    aircantu1 Posts: 55 Member
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    Love that blog and her definitions are pretty much what we try to follow
  • aircantu1
    aircantu1 Posts: 55 Member
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    i read a blog of a family that went on an "unprocessed" food diet. their definition was anything with 5 or fewer ingridients. i think it was 100daysofrealfood.com

    That blog I mean :)

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