Processed Foods

http://www.dougcookrd.com/nitrates-are-not-necessarily-a-dirty-word/

Did the studies you posted show that nitrates have been shown to be problematic?

Nitrosamines, yes, sure looks like it. The nitrosamines discussed are not caused by nitrates found in food, though (naturally occurring or otherwise).

they aren't undisputed carcinogens, though. studies have shown that they may cause cancer in animals, in large amounts -- which is the case in all of these kinds of studies. they give these lab rats so much of whatever they are testing that of course problems will occur. (same thing has been done with artificial sweeteners.) there is no evidence that says there are known problems for people. even so, the FDA limits the amount companies are able to use.

plus, since it helps prevent botulism? I'm kind of OK with that.

ETA: did a quick search. not only used to preserve meat, which I didn't know. also found in mascara, concealer, conditioner, baby shampoo, pain relief salve, sunless tan lotion, latex, condoms, beer, party balloons ...

Your edit is a straw man: I'm not putting any of those things into my stomach, so I don't care :P

no. you aren't eating them. of course. but absorption through the skin? still means it gets into your body.

and of course massive amounts of something -- pretty much anything -- is bad. the body can't handle too much. that's why it is, you know, "too much." but in realistic, normal amounts? the body will handle it just fine.

Did the studies you posted show that nitrates have been shown to be problematic?

Nitrosamines, yes, sure looks like it. The nitrosamines discussed are not caused by nitrates found in food, though (naturally occurring or otherwise).

"epidemiological study"

"A cohort of 8933 rubber workers"

So now correlation = causation?

Enlighten me, then. What is an example of a study that is legitimate, if these are not?

Hmmm. Tough one.

I work in human health and nutrition psychology, and we specifically look at functional food products.

Personally, I'd never touch processed foods. Processed foods are synonymous with convenience and speed - and in our time poor lives quiet often this is seen as the only alternative, which isn't the case. How long does it take to make poached eggs on toast? A tuna salad? A Baked potato? Not long is the answer - and the nutritional value is infinitely higher.

If you look at the statistics with diet-related health conditions since the era of processed foods coming to the fore, you would most definitely spot a trend. Cardiovascular disease remains one of the worlds leading most preventable cause of death - and you guessed it, diet and the amount of sodium in our 'modern' dietary intake has a huge role in this.

I guess like everything, we have to do things in moderation - some of us are good at this and others not so good, for a variety of reasons. Just keep it in the back of your mind that although lean cuisines and other 'healthy' processed foods may promise the world in terms of nutrition - they don't actually deliver on this in the long term.

Technically, isn't bread processed then too? It's made with a variety of ingredients that I personally do not have at my disposal, I do not grind my own oats or wheat and make it from scratch so it's a convenience to buy it ready made. I don't eat white bread but am not sure that the higher fiber breads are actually made iwth all nature ingredients with no preservatives, etc.

Okay, so what about the Kashi dark mocha almond granola bars? I know they're processed but are they really bad for you?

For specific items I really like fooducate.com. Here's the page for that particular bar:
http://www.fooducate.com/app#page=product&id=50F1447A-32A4-11E0-A55F-1231380C180E

My main beef with Kashi is that they masquerade as a super healthy option, but they are owned by Kellogg's and prone to quite a few of the nasties (particularly GMOs) that the parent company loads into its other lines. I find it deceptive. But at that point you are bordering on political objections as much as health related ones, and most people on this site and in the larger sphere don't care about those things.

Thank you so much for the information and sharing that website. It's awesome!

Glad you find it helpful.

they aren't undisputed carcinogens, though. studies have shown that they may cause cancer in animals, in large amounts -- which is the case in all of these kinds of studies. they give these lab rats so much of whatever they are testing that of course problems will occur. (same thing has been done with artificial sweeteners.) there is no evidence that says there are known problems for people. even so, the FDA limits the amount companies are able to use.

plus, since it helps prevent botulism? I'm kind of OK with that.

ETA: did a quick search. not only used to preserve meat, which I didn't know. also found in mascara, concealer, conditioner, baby shampoo, pain relief salve, sunless tan lotion, latex, condoms, beer, party balloons ...

Your edit is a straw man: I'm not putting any of those things into my stomach, so I don't care :P

no. you aren't eating them. of course. but absorption through the skin? still means it gets into your body.

and of course massive amounts of something -- pretty much anything -- is bad. the body can't handle too much. that's why it is, you know, "too much." but in realistic, normal amounts? the body will handle it just fine.

What is a realistic, normal amount of cigarettes to smoke?

so we've gone from meat preservatives to smoking? I don't know the answer to that, though. what if we said one a day? I don't know.

so we've gone from meat preservatives to smoking? I don't know the answer to that, though. what if we said one a day? I don't know.

I know the topic has changed. Honestly I was just so bothered by your "the body gets rid of what it doesn't need" statement that I am looking for other ways to refute it. I believe that is true to an extent, but using it so generally is inaccurate.

so we've gone from meat preservatives to smoking? I don't know the answer to that, though. what if we said one a day? I don't know.

I know the topic has changed. Honestly I was just so bothered by your "the body gets rid of what it doesn't need" statement that I am looking for other ways to refute it. I believe that is true to an extent, but using it so generally is inaccurate.

don't think it it is inaccurate. we're not talking about massive amounts of ______. we're talking in terms of everyday, normal amounts. amounts found in the dreaded processed foods.

don't think it it is inaccurate. we're not talking about massive amounts of ______. we're talking in terms of everyday, normal amounts. amounts found in the dreaded processed foods.

I don't think there are any "normal" amounts of artificial additives, as they are not normally found in the food humans have been eating since humans began eating.

At this point I thank you for the mature discussion and agree to disagree. I choose not to eat additives, at least in 90+% of my diet. You choose to do your own thing. Thankfully we both have the ability to do so.

they aren't undisputed carcinogens, though. studies have shown that they may cause cancer in animals, in large amounts -- which is the case in all of these kinds of studies. they give these lab rats so much of whatever they are testing that of course problems will occur. (same thing has been done with artificial sweeteners.) there is no evidence that says there are known problems for people. even so, the FDA limits the amount companies are able to use.

plus, since it helps prevent botulism? I'm kind of OK with that.

ETA: did a quick search. not only used to preserve meat, which I didn't know. also found in mascara, concealer, conditioner, baby shampoo, pain relief salve, sunless tan lotion, latex, condoms, beer, party balloons ...

Your edit is a straw man: I'm not putting any of those things into my stomach, so I don't care :P

no. you aren't eating them. of course. but absorption through the skin? still means it gets into your body.

and of course massive amounts of something -- pretty much anything -- is bad. the body can't handle too much. that's why it is, you know, "too much." but in realistic, normal amounts? the body will handle it just fine.

What is a realistic, normal amount of cigarettes to smoke?

And here's another thing -- the FDA establishes a "safe" limit on these chemicals, but there's no mechanism to account for the cumulative effect of getting the maximum dose in 12 different products a day.

With anything there should be balance. Excess processed foods are not good for you. I am learning that food is better closer to its natural state. Processed foods have a lot of chemicals in them to help preserve/keep them. It's funny because my hubby and I were just talking and the brain doesn't recognize some of this food ad healthy or beneficial, therefore you are getting a lot of calories, however no nutritional benefit. Ask yourself "what is the purpose of food". If the answer is nourishment, then do what you can to have a nurishing meal. It does seem that we don't have a lot of time to prepare our food, however know that fast food is more costlier than what we anticipate paying.

1. "Captain Tight" is right!
2. For a long time I lived on "calories in/ calories out" ...I lost weight and maintained it for a long period of time (the better part of 20 yrs). BUT:
3. As much as I worked out, I was not getting the results I wanted. Yes I'm 5'7" and my weight has been between 132 and 138 consistently since 1996 when I took off failed pregnancy weight...And my abs looked great and I was younger then so I didn't see why I had to do all this tootie-fruity tofu stuff til...
4. It really hit home last year that while the top part of me looked like I worked out, my legs were flabby from extra skin and cottage cheese from my inseam down to my knees. I couldn't accept that they would stay like that and did lots of research on the internet and figured I'd give cleaner (not totally but slow small changes are adding up) eating a try...
5. Between ChaLEAN Extreme and cleaner eating the cottage cheese is smoothing out after 20 yrs of feeling hopeless and helpless! The cleaner I eat, and then I have a cheat day or cheat meal, the worse I feel afterward. Between Shakeology and cleaner eating I have so much more energy, less headaches, my monthly sinus infections that came on right before the other monthly thingy magically went away and everything just works better.

I'm slowly becoming more and more convinced of the whole eating clean strategy. We were designed to eat real food, from farms, gardens..not from General Mills test tubes. And these diet foods from GNC, Special K, Atkins, et al? COMPLETE SLOP DESIGNED TO KEEP PPL OBESE AND UNHEALTHY! Then they never lose their customer base! If you eat enough foods with artificial flavoring, you really do forget what REAL FOOD tastes like!

So really it's up to you...hope you have medical insurance to pay for all the docs and meds you may be on later in life b/c of the processed foods, whether or not you effectively manage your weight. My dad is the FIRST adult-onset diabetes case I've EVER seen that was not caused by obesity!! How is that possible?? Even though he effectively managed his weight (obesity runs wild in both sides of my family) he still has a hankering for processed foods, now so-called sugar free and "healthier" ones after his triple bypass and abdominal aortic aneurysm and he still exercises at 68 yrs old and all of the surgeries, but now has Sugar Free Tasty Kakes and Egg Beaters rather than plain ole Egg Whites. I was RAISED on processed junk food and am slowly going back to real food. I'm celebrating my 40th birthday in August riding roller coasters at Hershey Park and have never felt better in my life!

What's wrong with them? Personal opinion but I think they taste like crap. I have a hard time caring what other people put into their bodies, though. You like the taste of them, I'm not going to try to talk you out of them.