What Is Processed Food? February, November, As we June, March, To more precisely identify the processed foods of most concern, scientists came up with a system that groups foods into four categories. Sodas, packaged cookies, instant noodles and chicken nuggets are some examples of highly processed foods. But also included are products that can seem wholesome, like breakfast cereals, energy bars and some yogurts.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found people ate an average of extra calories a day when fed mostly processed foods, compared with when the same people were fed minimally processed foods.
The 20 participants were allowed to eat as much or as little as they wanted, and were checked into a clinic so their health and behavior could be monitored. In another study based on questionnaires, researchers in France found people who ate more processed foods were more likely to have heart disease. A similar study in Spain found eating more processed foods was linked to a higher risk of death in general.
When fed minimally processed foods, people in the clinical trial produced more of a hormone that suppresses appetite, and less of a hormone that causes hunger. Sometimes, however, convenience can mean large amounts of hidden sodium , fats , and sugar.
A variety of different techniques are used to process food. Foods can go through various levels of processing. On one end, vegetables may only be cleaned, cut, and portioned before being sold in bags. The most highly processed foods, however, will contain a lot of extra sugar, salt, oil, and calories. A good example is frozen pizza. Additives such as salt and fat are there to make the food safe for consumption.
When it comes to sticking to a healthy diet, though, the pros of these additives may not outweigh the cons. Watch out for terms such as dextrose , maltose , trans fats , and hydrogenated oil. Items loaded up with these ingredients can provide you with almost twice the daily recommended amount of sodium and sugar. Bacon contains high levels of sodium, which can lead to high blood pressure.
However, the sodium is just the beginning. Saturated fat is linked to heart disease and obesity. Danger also lurks in virtually all store-bought bacon because of the amount of preservatives it contains.
Preservatives have been linked to various health concerns, from headaches to cancer. This is because of the amount of nitrates they contain. The study deemed them as bad as cigarettes. A closer look: Each slice of pan-fried bacon contains an astounding milligrams mg of sodium. Just one piece of bacon would account for 8 to 13 percent of your intake.
Try this instead: Avocado is a great alternative. It contains healthy fats and proteins. It also has a hearty rich flavor like bacon. You can substitute avocado almost anytime you would use bacon. Try having avocado and eggs. Instead of a traditional BLT, make a sandwich using avocado, lettuce , and tomato.
Shop for avocados. Consider the granola bar. Avoid them because of their high amount of simple carbohydrates and their long ingredient lists filled with difficult-to-pronounce words. Try this instead: Some store-bought granola bars, such as KIND bars, are made with slightly less sugar. However, you may be better off making your own. Experiment with a few different recipes. To control the amount of sugar, you can sweeten your bars with stevia. Also check out this low-carb granola bar from the blog Sweetashoney.
Each bar only contains 1. This extra salt and sugar can lead to weight gain, diabetes , and high blood pressure. Their sticky, sugary goodness also makes them the enemy of healthy teeth. A closer look: One ounce oz. A 1-oz. If you eat more than a handful of flavored nuts, you could end up consuming more fat, sugar, or salt than you might have bargained for.
The food may include the addition of other ingredients such as preservatives, flavors, nutrients and other food additives or substances approved for use in food products, such as salt, sugars, and fats. The Institute of Food Technologists includes additional processing terms like storing, filtering, fermenting, extracting, concentrating, microwaving, and packaging.
Types of food processing A popular system to classify processed foods was introduced in , called the NOVA classification. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods Unprocessed foods include the natural edible food parts of plants and animals. Minimally processed foods have been slightly altered for the main purpose of preservation but which does not substantially change the nutritional content of the food. Examples include cleaning and removing inedible or unwanted parts, grinding, refrigeration, pasteurization, fermentation, freezing, and vacuum-packaging.
This allows the food to be stored for a greater amount of time and remain safe to eat. Many fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, meats, and milk fall into this category. Processed culinary ingredients Food ingredients derived from a minimally processed food by pressing, refining, grinding, or milling. They are typically not eaten on their own but used to prepare minimally processed foods.
Examples include oils from plants, seeds, and nuts, or flour and pastas formed from whole grains. Processed foods Foods from either of the two previous groups that have added salt, sugar, or fats. Some canned fruits and vegetables, some cheeses, freshly made bread, and canned fish are examples.
These foods usually are made from at least ingredients and can be readily eaten without further preparation. Several processing steps using multiple ingredients comprise the ultra-processed food. It is speculated that these foods are designed to specifically increase cravings so that people will overeat them and purchase more. They are typically ready-to-eat with minimal additional preparation. Not all but some of these foods tend to be low in fiber and nutrients. Examples are sugary drinks, cookies, some crackers, chips, and breakfast cereals, some frozen dinners, and luncheon meats.
One study using data from the U. Decoding the ingredients list on a food label Being aware of specific ingredients in a food is a good general practice for everyone but may be especially useful for those with food allergies or intolerances, diabetes, or digestive diseases. In many cases, the longer the ingredients list, the more highly processed a food is.
However, an ingredient that is not recognizable or has a long chemical name is not necessarily unhealthful. When scanning the Ingredients listing on a food package, consider the following: The ingredients are listed in order of quantity by weight. This means that the food ingredient that weighs the most will be listed first, and the ingredient that weighs the least is listed last. For example, alternative terms for sugar are corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, agave nectar, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, coconut sugar, dextrose, malt syrup, molasses, or turbinado sugar.
Other terms for sodium include monosodium glutamate or disodium phosphate. If the food is highly processed, it may contain several food additives such as artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
Their ingredient names may be less familiar.
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