What Makes A Food Processed?

What Makes a Food Processed?

  The world of food can be so confusing at times. There was a time when it was clear what food was – it came directly from nature – whether foraging, hunting, or farming.

Now there are so many things we eat that don’t resemble a natural food.

Michael Pollan has a famous quote, he said:

  • Eat Food – Not too much – Mostly Plants

And in his famous book, In Defense of Food, he defines what food should be. He says, “Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”

And, we can all agree that some things are obviously not recognizable by our great-great-grandmothers: candy bars, fast food, and sports drinks.

We can also say that many of the common health issues we face today: heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, cavities, etc. didn’t exist at anywhere near the rates before industrially processed foods became available.

But, where do we draw the line? How do we define processed? How processed is processed? And what the heck is ultra-processed?

Allow me to let you in on the internationally recognized classification system. And we’re going to go through it step-by-step with an apple.

Unprocessed

According to NOVA, the official definition of unprocessed or natural foods is:

“The edible parts of plants (seeds, fruits, leaves, stems, roots) or of animals (muscle, offal, eggs, milk), and also fungi, algae, and water, after separation from nature.”

This is like eating a whole apple right off the tree – clearly unprocessed.

Minimally processed

Minimally processed foods are:

“natural foods altered by processes such as removal of inedible or unwanted parts, drying, crushing, grinding, fractioning, filtering, roasting, boiling, pasteurization, refrigeration, freezing, placing in containers, vacuum packaging, or nonalcoholic fermentation. None of these processes adds substances such as salt, sugar, oils or fats to the original food.”

So, with our apple example, once you cut the apple’s core out and put the slices into a container to bring with you for your afternoon snack, you are processing it – minimally. You can even peel and boil that chopped apple to make applesauce. And, as long as you don’t add anything else (like cinnamon), it’s still considered minimally processed.

Processed

Processed foods, on the other hand, are relatively simple products made by adding sugar, oil, salt or other processed ingredients to unprocessed foods.

“Most processed foods have two or three ingredients. Processes include various preservation or cooking methods, and, in the case of bread and cheese, non-alcoholic fermentation. The main purpose of the manufacture of processed foods is to increase the durability of unprocessed foods, or to modify or enhance their sensory qualities.”

So, if you take that applesauce, add cinnamon, and/or use it in a recipe, you technically have processed the apple.

This can still be a healthy choice, as you’ll see in the next definition of ultra-processed.

Ultra-processed

Here’s where things get interesting and scary!

Ultra-processed foods are:

“Industrial formulations typically with five or more and usually many ingredients. Such ingredients often include those also used in processed foods, such as sugar, oils, fats, salt, anti-oxidants, stabilizers, and preservatives. Ingredients only found in ultra-processed products include substances not commonly used in culinary preparations, and additives whose purpose is to imitate sensory qualities of [unprocessed] foods … or to disguise undesirable sensory qualities of the final product. [Unprocessed] foods are a small proportion of or are even absent from ultra-processed products.”

So, pre-packaged apple strudel with a long shelf life is very much an ultra-processed food. If you took a look at the ingredient list of pre-packaged apple strudel (one with a long shelf life), you would see added sugars, oils, preservatives, and flavor enhancers. And we can argue that the healthy apple is a small (very small) proportion of the strudel.

Conclusion

There is a clear delineation between unprocessed (the apple) and ultra-processed (the pre-packaged strudel with a long shelf life) foods. An apple is nowhere near what a mass-produced apple strudel is. But, there are a couple of different categories in between these – namely minimally processed and processed.

It’s clear that unprocessed (apple) and minimally processed (plain applesauce) foods are almost always quite healthy and nutritious. It’s also clear that ultra-processed food is not so healthy.

Now that you know the definitions of these foods, I think you’ll agree with me that the commonly used term processed is often referring to the industrial ultra-processing of foods.

 

Recipe (minimally processed): Slow-Cooker Applesauce

Serves 16

4 lbs apples, washed and chopped
¾ cup water

Instructions:

Place apples and water in a large pot.

Bring to a boil and simmer until apples are soft about 20 minutes.

Blend or mash the apples into desired consistency.

Serve & enjoy!

 

Tip: Add some cinnamon for extra flavor and use the applesauce to make overnight oats.

 

References:

The post What Makes A Food Processed? appeared first on No Limits Fitness.

About No Limits

No Limits Fitness provides step-by-step programs to help busy adults get the body they’ve always wanted, without restrictive diets or time-consuming workouts, so they can lead more fulfilling lives. Life is a much better experience in a strong, healthy body!

Recent Posts

The Single Biggest Predictor of Success With Your Fitness

By Juan Perez • 03 May, 2024
Every year millions of people make the resolution to improve their fitness. It’s not exactly a secret that the majority of these good intentions will quickly turn into empty promises. When you first get started, your excitement and energy are high and it’s easy to feel like you’re in control and that your will power alone will help you through the difficult days ahead. The reality is that you’ll probably have more days when you don’t “feel” like training. This is the reason we preach Standards Over Feelings because we understand how fundamental this is for human behavior. There have been several studies on human behavior that have helped identify the single biggest predictor of success when it comes to long-term consistency with your fitness. It’s not keeping a gym bag ready and with you at all times…although this helps. Setting your gym clothes out the night before is a great idea…but it’s still not the determining factor. Surprisingly it’s not even having an accountability partner. Schedule in advance when and where you’ll do your training. Everything else is simply in support of this habit. Being accountable to someone you don’t want to disappoint is incredibly helpful, but if you haven’t taken that first step, accountability falls short. Having been that accountability piece for hundreds of people, I’ve been ignored and ghosted more times than I can count. Even my sister stopped responding to text messages and phone calls at one point. (I called our mother but apparently you can’t put an adult on restriction). Scheduling in advance WHEN and WHERE you’ll workout is the single most important step to developing consistency with your fitness. This helps you develop integrity with yourself…if you say you’ll do something, that thing gets done. Period. Show up like a boss and bosses don’t cancel. Your training is time on your calendar dedicated to getting better. The workouts on your calendar become non-negotiable. You don’t wake up and see how you “feel” because you already know there will be days you don’t “feel” like it. In advance, you schedule your training where it best fits into your life with your responsibilities. Once you’ve planned your work, you show up and work the plan. If you fail to plan the work, you’re significantly increasing the likelihood of failure. Ask someone that has been remarkably consistent with their fitness if they know when and where they’ll workout.  This has already been decided. Their feelings aren’t involved in the process. If you truly want to be consistent with your fitness, this habit is a must: Schedule in advance when and where you’ll workout.

Crunch-Free Zone: 5 Exercises For Stronger Abs

By Will Matthiessen • 19 Apr, 2024
Crunches.  The go-to core exercise for a lot of gym goers. Yet, it’s one of the worst ab exercises you can do. Shocking, I know. You’re probably wondering why it’s one of the worst. Crunches put force on your spine and oftentimes strain on your neck. They force your spine into flexion, which is generally what people are told not to do in order to protect their back. Aside from the pressure it puts on your spine, crunches don’t activate your core muscles to the extent that a lot of other dynamic core exercises do. If your goal is to have sculpted abs like a lifeguard on Baywatch, crunches are not your solution. Aside from the aesthetic aspect, a strong core is important for your body’s balance and stability, posture, and reduction of back pain and other injuries. If you want to develop a rock hard core, here is a list of exercises better than the old fashioned crunches that you can start incorporating into your workouts: The Hard Style Plank Put your forearms on the ground and your arms set shoulder width apart. Your arms should be parallel to your body. Once you’re up in the plank, imagine squeezing your elbows to your knees and your knees to your elbows. Don’t be surprised if you start shaking like a leaf as soon as you create that tension. Dead Bugs Lie on your back with your arms straight up and your hands above your shoulders. Bend your legs at a 90-degree angle with your toes facing up at the ceiling. Imagine pushing your belly button into the ground and keeping your body tight enough to where if someone was pulling on your limbs, you’d be able to resist it. Next extend your right arm and left leg at the same time, without touching the ground. Keep pushing your belly button into the ground to avoid arching your back. The right leg that is still bent should stay completely still while the other leg is in motion. Bring your arm and leg back into the start position and then switch sides. When it comes to Dead Bugs, one of our favorite sayings applies: “Slowly is holy. Faster is disaster.” If you want to increase the intensity, add a kettlebell to the stationary arm. If you want to significantly increase the intensity, press the kettlebell once you’ve reached the fully extended position. Reverse Crunches Lie down flat with your back on the floor and your legs straight down, toes pointed up. Press your lower back into the floor and pull in your belly button as you lift your legs together up off the floor. Push your heels through the ceiling at the top and slowly lower them back to the ground. Fun, right? Double Kettlebell March Hold two heavy kettlebells in the racked position. Pull your belly button to your knees and your knees to your belly button to find max tension in your core. Once you feel that tension, slowly lift one knee up 90 degrees and then switch legs. Hollow Rocks I’ve saved the worst (I mean best) for last. Lay down on the ground with your legs a little bit off of the ground as well as your shoulder blades and head. With arms extended over your head, rock back and forth like a banana rocking back and forth on a counter. Or a see-saw…take your pick. Alright, now that I’ve given you the secret sauce to getting rock hard abs, it’s time to get to work people!

How To Lose Weight Without Counting Calories

By Juan Perez • 05 Apr, 2024
One of the first recommendations you’ll hear for someone wanting to lose weight is to begin by counting calories. Although weighing your food and counting calories does work for some people, the reality is that this approach to weight loss has an astonishingly high failure rate. If this strategy is “based in science”, why does it fail more than 95% of the time? The Top 3 Issues With Counting Calories The number of calories in the foods you eat are estimates. This is where the concept of counting calories being “based in science” can be misleading. The FDA allows companies to use 5 different formulas to estimate calories and a standard deviation up to 20% is acceptable. This means that something listed as 150 calories exists on a range between 120 calories and 180 calories. How ripe is your banana? The ripeness affects caloric availability. The second issue is that as individuals we each absorb a different amount of the calories from the food we consume. Thirdly, Americans are notoriously bad at determining healthy portion sizes. Our super-sized culture has heavily influenced our concept of a normal sized portion. The good news is that there is another way to lose weight without counting calories. The Three Pillars of Nutrition Whether or not you’re a card-carrying member of Camp Calorie Counters, the foundation of your nutrition is built upon three pillars: Food Quality, Food Quantity and Food Timing. Food Quality All calories are not created equal. The popular 100 calorie snack bags do not offer the same nutritional value as 100 calories from fruits or vegetables. When the majority of your meals are composed of minimally processed single ingredient whole foods (lean protein, fruits and vegetables), you’re more likely to get the micronutrients your body needs to thrive. Food Quantity As mentioned earlier, Americans aren’t known for our skills at eyeballing healthy portion sizes. Although using a food scale to determine portion sizes can be helpful, it isn’t always practical. This is the reason we recommend learning to use your hand as a guide to determine portion sizes. You can’t take a food scale with you everywhere you go but you’re always allowed to bring your hands!
Show More
Share by: