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Processed food is the problem. Period. Try eating a totally 100% unprocessed diet (except you cooking or combining unprocessed ingredients into a meal) and see

by ssijak 6y ago

Processed food is the problem. Period. Try eating a totally 100% unprocessed diet (except you cooking or combining unprocessed ingredients into a meal) and see what happens. We would have maybe 2% obviously overweight people. Combine that with a minimal physical exercise, compared to sitting all day, driving to work, even driving in stores, and you would put that percentage at <1%.

A12-B 6y ago
"Processed" is just a buzzword. Any food put into a package can be considered 'processed'. There are thousands of chemicals used in food processing for different purposes. Are they all bad for you? Because that is what the statement suggests. It's not very helpful in finding out why people are actually unhealthy
- Zanni 6y ago
  Not really. Meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and most nuts are unprocessed, and there are people who argue that's exactly what you should eat and nothing more.
  - Cthulhu_ 6y ago
    Aren't most nuts roasted? I mean that's the same as cooking vegetables basically, so it should be fine. A lot of nuts do have added salt though, or caramelized sugar for extra goodness.
    - Ma8ee 6y ago
      It depends on which shelf in the store you look for them. In the snacks section, they will be roasted and salted or sweetened or both. But you can find pure nuts in other sections, often among baking goods or close to the fresh vegetables section.
  - A12-B 6y ago
    You might be surprised to learn that those things are very often processed, even if you get them from your local markets.
- ssijak 6y ago
  No it is not a buzzword. We all know what "processed" in this content means. Nitpicking on if putting plastic packaging around an orange should be called processing is not valuable and you know it and you also know that putting fresh produce in a package without doing anything else is not "processed" in a negative way we are talking about.
  - A12-B 6y ago
    It is still a buzzword, because there are still too many possible scenarios even when taking out the 'plastic packaging = processing' part. Using salt to preserve vegetables is processing the same way using sorbic acid to preserve cheese is processing. You have to be specific. Which one of these is unhealthy? Eh, doesn't matter, it's processed therefore it's bad.
  - quantumsequoia 6y ago
    > We all know what "processed" in this content means I don't think we do. What criteria exactly determine if a food is "processed"? It's a vague word that leaves a lot open to interpretation
    - wombatmobile 6y ago
      The negative form of processed foods contains additives such as sugar which makes you fatter. Other additives make the food last longer, which might be OK, so long as they don't have other harmful side effects. The main negative about processed food is added sugar. The reason food manufacturers add sugar to products is that it makes them addictive, so people finish the box, can or bottle and buy another one. Manufacturers test products to get the level of sugar just below the maximum before it makes products taste sickly sweet. At this threshold, the sugar makes the product addictive. The main reasons sugar is a negative for consumers is that when metabolised, sugar goes straight to body fat. Wham. Pow. Fat. Just like that. Sugar is like nothing else for body fat. Another reason sugar is a negative is that it makes you feel unbalanced. At first it gives you a rush of energy. When your body detects the excess sugar in your bloodstream, your pancreas secretes insulin to absorb the glucose. Your glucose levels spike up then down, and with it, your mood and energy level.
Chris2048 6y ago
I'm a bit dissatisfied with the phrase "Processed food". I mean, what does that mean? I guess it implies added sugar/salt etc, but does it need to? By definition: A processed food is any food that has been altered in some way during preparation. Food processing can be as basic as: freezing. canning. The problem, I guess, is how manufacturers choose to process (with cheap, unhealthy additives as possible); Such that you have to buy natural just to avoid these unbeneficial decisions. In fact, I think we shouldn't even distinguish between processed/non-processed, but instead judge foods on their relevant aspects. An example of this is battery-farmed vs free-range cornfed chicken are both non-processed.
- snalty 6y ago
  Is peanut butter that is nothing but blended peanuts considered processed?
  - Foobar8568 6y ago
    You may have peanut butter with 7-10% of hydrogenated oil. In my local stores in Switzerland we only find those, we ended up making it ourself.
    - WalterBright 6y ago
      The local grocer has a machine with a hopper full of peanuts. Push the button and it squirts out peanut butter into your container. It's cheaper, too, than the jarred peanut butter. No downsides there!
  - NullPrefix 6y ago
    Gray area. Peanut butter that is not from 100% peanuts is definitely processed food.
- Cthulhu_ 6y ago
  Yeah it's too broad a term, to the point where it becomes a weasel word like "toxins".

by ssijak 6y ago

A12-B 6y ago

"Processed" is just a buzzword. Any food put into a package can be considered 'processed'. There are thousands of chemicals used in food processing for different purposes. Are they all bad for you? Because that is what the statement suggests. It's not very helpful in finding out why people are actually unhealthy

Zanni 6y ago
Not really. Meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and most nuts are unprocessed, and there are people who argue that's exactly what you should eat and nothing more.
- Cthulhu_ 6y ago
  Aren't most nuts roasted? I mean that's the same as cooking vegetables basically, so it should be fine. A lot of nuts do have added salt though, or caramelized sugar for extra goodness.
  - Ma8ee 6y ago
    It depends on which shelf in the store you look for them. In the snacks section, they will be roasted and salted or sweetened or both. But you can find pure nuts in other sections, often among baking goods or close to the fresh vegetables section.
- A12-B 6y ago
  You might be surprised to learn that those things are very often processed, even if you get them from your local markets.
ssijak 6y ago
No it is not a buzzword. We all know what "processed" in this content means. Nitpicking on if putting plastic packaging around an orange should be called processing is not valuable and you know it and you also know that putting fresh produce in a package without doing anything else is not "processed" in a negative way we are talking about.
- A12-B 6y ago
  It is still a buzzword, because there are still too many possible scenarios even when taking out the 'plastic packaging = processing' part. Using salt to preserve vegetables is processing the same way using sorbic acid to preserve cheese is processing. You have to be specific. Which one of these is unhealthy? Eh, doesn't matter, it's processed therefore it's bad.
- quantumsequoia 6y ago
  > We all know what "processed" in this content means I don't think we do. What criteria exactly determine if a food is "processed"? It's a vague word that leaves a lot open to interpretation
  - wombatmobile 6y ago
    The negative form of processed foods contains additives such as sugar which makes you fatter. Other additives make the food last longer, which might be OK, so long as they don't have other harmful side effects. The main negative about processed food is added sugar. The reason food manufacturers add sugar to products is that it makes them addictive, so people finish the box, can or bottle and buy another one. Manufacturers test products to get the level of sugar just below the maximum before it makes products taste sickly sweet. At this threshold, the sugar makes the product addictive. The main reasons sugar is a negative for consumers is that when metabolised, sugar goes straight to body fat. Wham. Pow. Fat. Just like that. Sugar is like nothing else for body fat. Another reason sugar is a negative is that it makes you feel unbalanced. At first it gives you a rush of energy. When your body detects the excess sugar in your bloodstream, your pancreas secretes insulin to absorb the glucose. Your glucose levels spike up then down, and with it, your mood and energy level.

Chris2048 6y ago

I'm a bit dissatisfied with the phrase "Processed food". I mean, what does that mean? I guess it implies added sugar/salt etc, but does it need to? By definition: A processed food is any food that has been altered in some way during preparation. Food processing can be as basic as: freezing. canning. The problem, I guess, is how manufacturers choose to process (with cheap, unhealthy additives as possible); Such that you have to buy natural just to avoid these unbeneficial decisions. In fact, I think we shouldn't even distinguish between processed/non-processed, but instead judge foods on their relevant aspects. An example of this is battery-farmed vs free-range cornfed chicken are both non-processed.

snalty 6y ago
Is peanut butter that is nothing but blended peanuts considered processed?
- Foobar8568 6y ago
  You may have peanut butter with 7-10% of hydrogenated oil. In my local stores in Switzerland we only find those, we ended up making it ourself.
  - WalterBright 6y ago
    The local grocer has a machine with a hopper full of peanuts. Push the button and it squirts out peanut butter into your container. It's cheaper, too, than the jarred peanut butter. No downsides there!
- NullPrefix 6y ago
  Gray area. Peanut butter that is not from 100% peanuts is definitely processed food.
Cthulhu_ 6y ago
Yeah it's too broad a term, to the point where it becomes a weasel word like "toxins".