When it comes to foods people eat on an everyday basis, chances are the average consumer will have a good amount of processed food in their possession. While processing food does not necessarily make it unhealthy, there are methods of processing that certain foods undergo which actually do make them unhealthier to consume. This blog post covers a few processed foods found to be unhealthy, explains the features of the process that makes them unhealthy, and how you can avoid these foods and incorporate other foods into your diet.
When referring to processed foods, we usually like to think about prepackaged meat products due to their prevalence in places that sell food products. While this is true, “processed foods” is actually an umbrella term that applies to any food that has undergone some form of processing before being put on shelves. The NHS of the United Kingdom lists some forms of processing, including freezing, canning, baking, and drying. Processing foods can serve different purposes, such as to make foods taste better, change their texture or color, or to improve shelf life so they are sold for longer periods of time. Amy Smith of Medical News Today talks about the difference between mechanical processing (grinding, heating, pasteurizing) and chemical processing (added chemical flavoring agents, colors, sweeteners), noting that mechanical processing does not necessarily make foods unhealthier.
Not all forms of processing are intrinsically harmful to our health. Pasteurization is an example of this, as it extends the shelf life of certain foods and even eliminates pathogens. However, there are certainly processed foods to look out for that present more harm to our bodies than benefit. The additives used in chemical processing, mentioned earlier by Smith, are often times extremely refined or artificial and add little to no nutritional value. She calls foods that are chemically processed “ultra-processed foods,” and notes that they tend to be inexpensive and taste good most of the time. Such foods can include frozen meals, chips and other snacks, packaged bread, cereals, sodas, and other foods that can be prepared relatively fast. These foods usually contain high amounts of unhealthy additives such as saturated fat, added sugars, and high salt content while having very little nutritional value. Said additives, consumed in excess, can cause a variety of long-term health problems, including high cholesterol, diabetes, or high blood pressure to name a few. Smith also referenced a study done by scientists at the BMJ on over 100,000 adults, which found that eating 10% more ultra-processed foods was associated with a 10% increase in the risk of acquiring certain heart diseases due to the high fat and cholesterol content of said foods. Some ingredients to look out for in processed foods include high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, high carbohydrate count, high calorie count, high saturated fat, any level of trans fats, and low counts of nutrients or fiber. While processed foods are okay to consume once in a while, it is important for the individual to look for foods with high nutritional value (vitamins, protein, fiber, iron, calcium, etc.) to counter said foods to ensure they are getting the nutrients they need in a meal.
To reiterate, while not all processed foods are innately harmful to our health, there are certain forms of processing that provide no nutritional value, and can even add ingredients that pose a detriment to our health on top of the low nutritional value of the foods being processed. It’s always essential to be careful with what you eat, as many of us tend not to pay attention to the value of what we’re consuming. Looking past the high availability of processed foods can help open our eyes to healthier products that do much more good for our health than what we’re used to consuming.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/what-are-processed-foods/
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