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Do you eat bread? Bread is processed. Cheese is processed. Ground beef is processed too. "Processed food" is bad when it means "remove all the fiber and most o

Do you eat bread? Bread is processed. Cheese is processed. Ground beef is processed too. "Processed food" is bad when it means "remove all the fiber and most of the protein and keep the carbs, saturated fats, sugar, and salt in proportions 10x higher than in while foods" -- the tasty unhealthy parts, and then don't even balance it on with a vegetable on the side. The problem with processed food is that it makes it easy to get a terrible balance of macros with too much of the wrong parts. It's not bad to build whole foods from components.

vr46 5y ago
I specifically stated highly processed foods as I’m aware that many foods are processed in order to extend their shelf life, rather than exist in the first place (e.g. we bake all our own bread, biscuits but it’s not realistic to make Mars Bars at home) so I’m really looking at foods that only exist due to refined processing techniques that alter the food in various ways. Highly processed foods - in my book - exist primarily for taste and texture, not for nourishment, and my concern is the same about anything that burns money and time trying to replicate meat or eggs. I admire the Adrià brothers when they created liquid olives but pushing culinary boundaries for a select few is not the same as putting food in a supermarket for mass consumption. As you say, it’s easy to get the wrong balance with processed foods - but I don’t see nutrition getting a higher priority than taste and texture!
- spicymaki 5y ago
  Bread is a great example of a processed food. Depending on the bread you are extracting out fiber (enriching), adding in elements to modify texture (yeast or baking soda/powder), restoring nutrients (B vitamins), oils, enhancing shelf life with enzymes, vinegars (acetic acid), pectins, securing in freezer burn resistant plastics. The level of processing is up to you and your preferences, same thing for vegans.

vr46 5y ago

I specifically stated highly processed foods as I’m aware that many foods are processed in order to extend their shelf life, rather than exist in the first place (e.g. we bake all our own bread, biscuits but it’s not realistic to make Mars Bars at home) so I’m really looking at foods that only exist due to refined processing techniques that alter the food in various ways. Highly processed foods - in my book - exist primarily for taste and texture, not for nourishment, and my concern is the same about anything that burns money and time trying to replicate meat or eggs. I admire the Adrià brothers when they created liquid olives but pushing culinary boundaries for a select few is not the same as putting food in a supermarket for mass consumption. As you say, it’s easy to get the wrong balance with processed foods - but I don’t see nutrition getting a higher priority than taste and texture!

spicymaki 5y ago
Bread is a great example of a processed food. Depending on the bread you are extracting out fiber (enriching), adding in elements to modify texture (yeast or baking soda/powder), restoring nutrients (B vitamins), oils, enhancing shelf life with enzymes, vinegars (acetic acid), pectins, securing in freezer burn resistant plastics. The level of processing is up to you and your preferences, same thing for vegans.