The term “processed” encompasses such a wide array of foodstuffs that, with most of our current hustle-and-bustle lifestyles, it would be nearly impossible to eat a healthy diet without them. If the food we are eating is not in roughly the same state as it was when leaving the farm, then it has been processed in some way.
Whole grain pasta, canned light tuna, and even frozen vegetables all have had some degree of processing to make for convenient, healthy cooking. Milk is pasteurized in order to reduce the risk of food-borne illness, making it safer to consume. Grain products have, since 1998, been fortified with folic acid to correct for nutritional deficiencies in the population and as a result have reduced the incidence of neural tube defects in Ontario by half since that time. Homo milk may be skimmed to remove much of the fat and saturated fat, yielding healthier milks and dairy products for consumption. These examples of processing have all made for an overall healthy food supply.
Other processed foods, however, specifically the ones we normally think of when we hear the word “processed,” have been altered in such a way as to have far more calories and far fewer nutrients. The addition of sugar, fat, and/or salt, crowds out the good stuff, leaving us with empty calories and a deficient diet. I’m sure we all know which foods I’m talking about: deep fried foods, chips, cookies, doughnuts, croissants, pastries etc. Is there room in a healthy diet for this stuff? Very little, honestly. And that too, if we’re doing a good job of eating nutrient-packed foods the rest of the time. Make a point of eating all whole grains (nothing white!), getting those 7-10 servings of fruits and vegetables in daily, and make sure your diet isn’t loaded with added sugars, like highly sweetened breakfast cereals or sugar laden yogurts. Then yes, I’d say you could justify those treats.
To summarize, unprocessed and minimally processed
foods are what should be making up the bulk of our diets. These are the foods with the maximum amount of nutrients and fibre, and with minimal amounts of added sugars, fats and sodium. If you want to eat the other stuff, I challenge you to earn it!
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