3 ms·

I have always found it so weird to go to a supermarket when you have a (somewhat) "clean" diet. I go from veggies and fruits to meat and dairy and then I'm out

I have always found it so weird to go to a supermarket when you have a (somewhat) "clean" diet. I go from veggies and fruits to meat and dairy and then I'm out again. 95% of the shelves I don't even look at. Also, the definition of (ultra) processed food isn't so hard: just buy original food, not extrapolations of that. Buy veggies and potatoes, not chips. Buy meat, not sausages or burgers. Buy an apple and yoghurt, not the yoghurt you can buy off the shelf. Just basic ingredients.

sigwinch 11mo ago
What about cocoa powder (which is fermented and dried and separated at least)? And coffee? Does it matter whether you buy beans and grind them yourself, or offload that grinding to a processor person?
- RamblingCTO 11mo ago
  Honestly, you all are just trying to pick me apart when we all know what to buy and what not to buy. Of course cocoa powder (raw) and coffee is ok. You can look up the research on these ingredients beforehand. Some foods need processing to become edible. Salt is also somewhat processed. But there's industrial salt with additional ingredients and then there's sea salt. Do your own research and apply common sense. Easy
  - sigwinch 11mo ago
    Based on your post, I assumed you avoided grain, as part of a diet. I know a few people who cannot touch the stuff. But the article is about these different graduations of processing. And I couldn’t tell if your diet also avoided those. I don’t know anyone who categorically avoids cocoa or coffee.
    - RamblingCTO 11mo ago
      Imagine life without coffee or cocoa ... Gotta have some pleasures in life!
Tadpole9181 11mo ago
Aren't you breaking your rule in one of your examples? Don't buy yoghurt, buy dairy. Just basic ingredients.
- RamblingCTO 11mo ago
  I mean raw yoghurt. Not flavored yoghurt. Not sure if there's an extra name for that in english, I'm not a native speaker. There's skyr and greek yoghurt without any additions and then there's the rest of the isle that's just yoghurt with flavours and sugar.
stvltvs 11mo ago
Buy wheat berries, and not whole wheat bread? The UPF category isn't helpful to the person at the grocery store trying to decide what's to buy because it significantly overlaps with very healthy foods. Loose terms like junk food and whole foods are more helpful because they don't come with the patina of scientific rigor, you can use personal judgement about what fits in those categories.
- RamblingCTO 11mo ago
  I can only repeat myself: you guys are trying to pick me apart while you know exactly what I mean. Sometimes hard definitions won't cut it and you have to use common sense. 80-90% clean is sufficient. Some things need to be processed to be edible. Wheat is one of those. And wheat is typically trash. It's cheap carbohydrates. Also: I don't buy bread typically. Sometimes, rarely, wholegrain sourdough bread. But I'm also german and have access to "healthy" bread. Life is really simple: veggies, fruits, raw meat (no sausages and not that much red meat), dairy (you can buy UHT milk obv.) but not much cheese, wholegrain carbs if you must (pasta is ok, rice also). Some processed foods are ok: cocoa, coffee beans, see salt, yoghurt, kimchi (check label), tofu (occasionally), olive oil etc. etc. As basic as possible with pre-checked exceptions. This isn't something you can define in a clear cut manner. And it also depends on the country. The thing is that if you only skip junk food you'll still eat sooo much junk.

sigwinch 11mo ago

What about cocoa powder (which is fermented and dried and separated at least)? And coffee? Does it matter whether you buy beans and grind them yourself, or offload that grinding to a processor person?

RamblingCTO 11mo ago
Honestly, you all are just trying to pick me apart when we all know what to buy and what not to buy. Of course cocoa powder (raw) and coffee is ok. You can look up the research on these ingredients beforehand. Some foods need processing to become edible. Salt is also somewhat processed. But there's industrial salt with additional ingredients and then there's sea salt. Do your own research and apply common sense. Easy
- sigwinch 11mo ago
  Based on your post, I assumed you avoided grain, as part of a diet. I know a few people who cannot touch the stuff. But the article is about these different graduations of processing. And I couldn’t tell if your diet also avoided those. I don’t know anyone who categorically avoids cocoa or coffee.
  - RamblingCTO 11mo ago
    Imagine life without coffee or cocoa ... Gotta have some pleasures in life!

Tadpole9181 11mo ago

Aren't you breaking your rule in one of your examples? Don't buy yoghurt, buy dairy. Just basic ingredients.

RamblingCTO 11mo ago
I mean raw yoghurt. Not flavored yoghurt. Not sure if there's an extra name for that in english, I'm not a native speaker. There's skyr and greek yoghurt without any additions and then there's the rest of the isle that's just yoghurt with flavours and sugar.

stvltvs 11mo ago

Buy wheat berries, and not whole wheat bread? The UPF category isn't helpful to the person at the grocery store trying to decide what's to buy because it significantly overlaps with very healthy foods. Loose terms like junk food and whole foods are more helpful because they don't come with the patina of scientific rigor, you can use personal judgement about what fits in those categories.

RamblingCTO 11mo ago
I can only repeat myself: you guys are trying to pick me apart while you know exactly what I mean. Sometimes hard definitions won't cut it and you have to use common sense. 80-90% clean is sufficient. Some things need to be processed to be edible. Wheat is one of those. And wheat is typically trash. It's cheap carbohydrates. Also: I don't buy bread typically. Sometimes, rarely, wholegrain sourdough bread. But I'm also german and have access to "healthy" bread. Life is really simple: veggies, fruits, raw meat (no sausages and not that much red meat), dairy (you can buy UHT milk obv.) but not much cheese, wholegrain carbs if you must (pasta is ok, rice also). Some processed foods are ok: cocoa, coffee beans, see salt, yoghurt, kimchi (check label), tofu (occasionally), olive oil etc. etc. As basic as possible with pre-checked exceptions. This isn't something you can define in a clear cut manner. And it also depends on the country. The thing is that if you only skip junk food you'll still eat sooo much junk.