When we think about processed foods, we often jump to a conclusion that they’re bad for our health and of course nothing beats fresh food for sure.
We’re pretty sure you’ve probably had many people coming up to you saying that it is best to reduce your intake of highly processed foods as they’re bad for your health and of course you should focus on consuming fresh foods. While this is true, there are certain types of processed food that are acceptable.
Yes, you heard us right! We’re not saying that you should consume processed food or that it is healthy but just the idea that there are a range of processed foods that may be good.
However, note that not all processed food is good.
To help you gain a better understanding, we have listed down four categories of processed foods.
Now, are you ready to discover which type of processed foods you have consumed a lot lately? Let’s look
right into it.
First, let’s find out what counts as ‘processed foods’.
What are highly processed foods?
Nearly all foods are processed, at least to some extent. For instance, dried beans are processed to make
them storage-resistance, but this does not make them less healthy.
Before we get into what defines a food highly processed, it’s crucial to note that all foods aren’t necessarily ‘unhealthy’ just because they’ve been processed. For easier understanding, researchers from University of Sao Paulo, Brazil use the NOVA, a food scoring system and split all food into four categories based on the type of processing done.
#1 Unprocessed and minimally processed foods
Foods from this group are obtained directly from plants or animals and do not undergo any alteration like:
These foods may have only gone through procedures such as roasting, boiling, freezing, drying, fermentation or pasteurisation to increase shelf life or simply to make them safe to consume.
#2 Processed culinary ingredients
This group of foods are rarely eaten by themselves such as vegetable oils, butter, sugar, salt and maple syrup. Such foods are directly obtained from unprocessed and minimally processed foods or from nature and are altered by processes such as pressing, grinding, crushing and refining.
Foods from this category have to be processed in order to be used in cooking.
#3 Processed food
Processed Food or also known as Lightly Processed Food are foods
combined from the first two groups which are:
- Unprocessed and minimally processed foods.
- Processed culinary ingredients.
This fusing is done to create foods with long shelf lives. In addition to that, such foods often have one or more added ingredients like salt, sugar or oil. For instance, foods that are canned or frozen after harvesting includes: Tuna, Berries, Pasta sauces, Salad dressings
Other common foods such as pasta, cheese, bread and fruits in syrup are some of the examples of lightly processed foods.
#4 Ultra-processed food
These items are meant to be convenient and easy to cook with. However, they typically are high in sugar, refined grains, fats, preservatives, salt, other food derivatives and synthetic additives.
Examples are:
- Soft drinks.
- Chips, crackers and
- other type of snacks.
- Chocolate, candy and
- ice cream.
- Sweetened breakfast
- cereals.
- Packaged soups.
- Nuggets, sausages, fries and more.
For a healthy and clean diet, you should steer clear of these foods. Not only are they low in nutritional value, but ingesting too much salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats on a regular basis can put you at risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer and more.
So, are all processed foods bad?
As a matter of fact, the minute you cook something, you are already processing it. Most food requires going through some sort of processing for it to be edible. For instance, milk will need to be pasteurised. This is because raw milk can carry harmful bacteria and other germs that can make you ill.
Some processed foods like fruits in syrups are loaded with sugar and may easily put you at risk of diabetes if consumed often.
In point of fact, not all processed foods are poor choices. Having the word ‘processed’ does not mean it has been fully altered and stripped off by nutrients. Instead, it is an action taken to ensure safe consumption and longer shelf life.
