Processed Foods - A Breakdown

There’s been a lot of talk about processed foods lately, especially food additives and cleaning up our food industry in general. We’re taking all the small wins (yay no more red dye!) as we try to clean up our food industry - but we still have such a long way to go. With that said, it’s super important that we advocate for ourselves and choose the healthiest versions of the foods we love. We recently had a few conversations with clients about processed foods and some great questions came up. What is considered processed, and what is the difference between ultra-processed foods and processed foods? What’s healthy and what’s not?! These are such great questions we decided to share our answers with you all! 

What is processed food?

First of all, let’s discuss what a processed food actually is. According to the USDA, processed foods are any raw agricultural commodities altered from their original state. This includes washing, cleaning, milling, cutting, chopping, heating, pasteurizing, blanching, cooking, canning, freezing, drying, dehydrating, fermenting, mixing or packaging. So basically, anytime we cook or prepare a food outside of its natural state it is considered processed. With these standards, most of the food we purchase at the grocery store is processed, but remember, there is a scale. 

But wait, isn’t processed bad?! Not necessarily. There is a vast scale of how foods are processed and how healthy they really are. We will break down these definitions and give examples of each so you can understand how to navigate healthy eating!

So what is a non-processed food?

A food is considered non-processed if it’s in its most natural state such as a fresh apple from a tree, or a carrot from the ground. It’s hard to eat just non-processed foods. Basically, we all eat processed foods, from the free-range hormone-free chicken that we buy from the butcher to the whole grains we stock up on at the grocery store. This isn’t a bad thing. What gets dangerous is the highly ultra-processed foods that tend to permeate our grocery stores. Those are the foods we want to avoid or at least eat in moderation. 

The processed food scale:

Foods can be either non-processed, such as a fresh apple, or ultra-processed, such as a Twinkie. (Do we really consider this food, though?!). We’re going to break this down for you here!

Minimally processed.

These are foods that are almost in their most natural form but prepared for convenience or prepared to extend shelf life or to improve appearance. The nutritional content of the food isn’t altered as the food is mostly in its most natural state. These foods are the healthiest choices and should be the bulk of our diet besides non-processed foods. 

• Fresh fruits and vegetables that have been cut, washed or frozen without additives

• Whole grains that have been ground or milled (no additives or sauces) examples included rice and some pasta and ancient grains.

• Nuts and seeds that have been roasted

• Meat, poultry or fish that have been pre-cut or frozen

• Milk or yogurt that has been pasteurized for safety 

• Roasted ground coffee

• Other foods that are prepared to lock in freshness at their peak such as canned tomatoes, canned fruit/vegetables in water or natural juices or frozen fruit/veggies without sauces or additives like sugar.

These are all super healthy choices even though they’re considered processed, they’re only processed to extend their shelf life, make it safe for consumption or to make consumption easier. In fact, some of these foods such as flash-frozen fruits and vegetables retain the majority of their nutritional value more than their fresh counterparts because they’re frozen at their peak, whereas sometimes fresh fruits and vegetables that are imported and sent from various places around the world lose their nutritional value once picked. So by the time they reach the grocery store, their nutrients have been greatly reduced. 

Processed culinary ingredients

These are the foods we use to flavor or foods that aren’t necessarily eaten alone but are used as flavor enhancements. Such foods are dried spices, oils from plants, seeds, and nuts; vinegar made by acetic fermentation of wine; honey extracted from combs; and syrup from maple trees without added flavors or stabilizers (Source: https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/processed-foods/)

Processed Foods

These foods are derived from the above groups but have additives such as salt, sugar and or fat. Not all are considered harmful to our health, but it’s important we know the ingredients to ensure it’s a healthy choice. Examples included canned fish, canned fruits and vegetables, some cheeses and fresh bread. It’s important to read your labels with these foods as not all are harmful to our health, but ensure you understand the ingredients.

Highly Processed/Ultra Processed:

Now come the foods we really want to be mindful of. Once additives, artificial colors, flavors and sweeteners, emulsifiers and thickeners enter the mix, the food is now considered highly processed. These are the foods we want to be mindful of. This is where label reading comes in handy and becomes really important. Most of these foods tend to be low in nutritional value and highly palatable. One study using data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that ultra-processed foods comprised about 60% of total calories in the U.S. diet. (Source: https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/processed-foods/). Consuming these foods as the bulk of our diet can lead to serious health issues such as obesity, various heart conditions and Type II diabetes to name a few. We need to be mindful of our consumption of these foods and try to focus more on less processed options of some of our favorite foods.

 Examples include:

• Deli meats

• Sugary drinks

• Sugary cereals

• Some crackers

• Some frozen dinners and meals

• Chips/pretzels 

• Candy/cookies/cake mixes from a box

• Granola bars

• Some breads (think the ones that stay on the shelf for a while)

Let’s face it, we don’t have the time or resources to forage our own foods so most if not all of us do shop at the grocery store. In general, we must read labels when considering packaged foods at our grocery stores to ensure we’re getting healthy foods. Try to stay away from the highly/ultra-processed foods as best as you can and shoot for the minimally processed and fresh non-processed foods instead. 

Some healthy swaps include:

• Craving cookies or sweets? Make them yourself with healthy ingredients or go to your local baker and support your local shops!

• Bread? Again your local baker or make it yourself (it’s really easy and smells great!)

• Crackers: shoot for minimal ingredients here. Some of our favorites include Mary’s Gone or Simple Mills.

• Pasta: look for ancient grain pasta like quinoa pasta, lentil or brown rice pasta instead of your white counterparts that are more processed and less nutritious.

• Pre-made meals: Try to make a meal in bulk and freeze it instead or you can do meal delivery services that are far better than your frozen counterparts such as Daily Harvest or Factor.

• Chips. Just don’t ha! You can make your own pita chips by purchasing whole grain pita bread, cut them into triangles, spray olive oil and sea salt and bake! Delish and way better for you.

• Sugary drinks. Again try to just omit these from your diet but if you must have that diet soda try a flavored seltzer instead or drink electrolytes we love "Just Ingredients" flavors!

We hope this helps you navigate the grocery store better and understand what a processed food is and what foods to avoid. Have questions? Contact us at info@vos-fitness.com.