Processed Foods

I suppose all the chemicals &things you can't pronounce on the labels label these foods "unclean". I was raised on this stuff, hard to cut the habits. I miss eating spam, haven't had it in months!!!

Blasphemy. SPAM is required in my diet. Especially with rice and eggs.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Before those few decades of pre-packaged foods being consumed, there were millenia of non pre-packaged/ natural foods being consumed. Science has brought us a long way, that's for sure. Along with salt content, sugar content tends to be really high in these food choices. How much good are they doing for us? It's fine to say that we aren't "supposed to" cut our hair, or wear make-up, but are those things causing cancer and other diseases?... well, maybe the make-up is... In the back of my head, I love the idea of being as natural as possible, but that is solely my opinion for myself. If you are questioning it for yourself, do some research and find out if you want to consume manufactured/ genetically modified products, and follow what YOU feel is right. I don't know if there is a "right" or "wrong" answer here for every single person, only for you.

Also, if you like the idea of natural, but the convenience for packaged food, maybe make things ahead of time, and package it./ freeze yourself. At least you will know exactly what you put in it.

All I can say is, since I cut out processed foods (for the most part) I no longer get migraines! :happy:

I suppose my frozen wild alaskan salmon fillets, my bags of wholegrain rice and my steam bags of various vegetables count as processed as well, even though there is nothing added, according to ingredient list ?

Ingredient lists do not lie. Though of course those foods have been cut into serving sizes and made edible for humans, I wouldn't consider them processed.

But companies who provide food don't need to say how they "cleaned and prepped" the food on the package. You don't think there is some "chemical" cleaning going on?

Maybe it would be simpler to just eat nothing then since not everyone has access to fresh fish shops and wants to live every single day on organic fish, potatoes, and vegetables, lol.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

But companies who provide food don't need to say how they "cleaned and prepped" the food on the package. You don't think there is some "chemical" cleaning going on?

Maybe. But everything that graelwyn mentioned -- frozen salmon, frozen veggies, rice -- is going to be heated up before it's ingested. I am much less worried about things used to clean my single ingredient food before I heat and eat them than I would be about popping frankenfoods like Doritos or Tastykakes into my mouth.

But companies who provide food don't need to say how they "cleaned and prepped" the food on the package. You don't think there is some "chemical" cleaning going on?

Maybe. But everything that graelwyn mentioned -- frozen salmon, frozen veggies, rice -- is going to be heated up before it's ingested. I am much less worried about things used to clean my single ingredient food before I heat and eat them than I would be about popping frankenfoods like Doritos or Tastykakes into my mouth.

Yes, right now, I cannot even begin to think how I, personally, could manage a diet that literally had nothing that came in any kind of packaging, or indeed from a supermarket. It would be severely limiting, and probably not too healthy for me to live purely on organic vegetables, fresh fish, farm eggs and fruits, since nuts are usually in a packet too, lol. There is a point where it can get too extreme and silly, imo. Mind you, those on paleo seem to manage, but that is not a diet suited to me.

Yes, right now, I cannot even begin to think how I, personally, could manage a diet that literally had nothing that came in any kind of packaging, or indeed from a supermarket. It would be severely limiting, and probably not too healthy for me to live purely on organic vegetables, fresh fish, farm eggs and fruits, since nuts are usually in a packet too, lol. There is a point where it can get too extreme and silly, imo. Mind you, those on paleo seem to manage, but that is not a diet suited to me.

You have to do the best you can with what you have while living in the real world. I love the eggs and seasonal produce I am lucky enough to get from local farmers for decent prices, year round. But I also love the convenience of wild caught Alaskan salmon in the freezer aisle at Costco, and the oranges shipped from California I eat all winter.

ninerbuff mentioned the 80/20 rule -- I try for that too, but while still avoiding the worst stuff (partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, preservatives, etc) even in my 20%.

What's really wrong with them?

easy answer: nothing.

If you don't mind the garbage that's in them....sure then. To each his own.

Yes, right now, I cannot even begin to think how I, personally, could manage a diet that literally had nothing that came in any kind of packaging, or indeed from a supermarket. It would be severely limiting, and probably not too healthy for me to live purely on organic vegetables, fresh fish, farm eggs and fruits, since nuts are usually in a packet too, lol. There is a point where it can get too extreme and silly, imo. Mind you, those on paleo seem to manage, but that is not a diet suited to me.

You have to do the best you can with what you have while living in the real world. I love the eggs and seasonal produce I am lucky enough to get from local farmers for decent prices, year round. But I also love the convenience of wild caught Alaskan salmon in the freezer aisle at Costco, and the oranges shipped from California I eat all winter.

ninerbuff mentioned the 80/20 rule -- I try for that too, but while still avoiding the worst stuff (partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, preservatives, etc) even in my 20%.

Yes, I check everything I eat, and I guess the worst things I have which are not the majority of the time, are the chocolate and ice cream, lol.

wait. processed foods made everyone fat? I thought that was McDonald's. oh, wait! no, it was large fountain drinks! oh, wait! no, it was ______.

come on, now, people. the country got fat because we quit moving, above all else. more than 90 percent of the U.S. now, I'm sure, works in an office for most of the day. add to that, of course, a lack of portion control. but that's with any food, whether it comes in a wrapper or not.

and for the chemicals!! crowd, everything we eat? made up of and broken down into chemicals.

Okay. But chemicals formulated in a laboratory (that don't occur anywhere in nature) and formulated into substances vaguely resembling food are not the same beast as chemicals produced by nature that humans have thrived on for . . . well, you know.