Is Processed Food Evil?

As a dietitian, I can’t count the number of times people have come up to me telling me all about their new found nutrition miracle knowledge. From fad diets to fat burning pills, I have heard everything that can fit into a category I call “Hope in a Bottle or Book.” Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge believer in food and the efficacious use of dietary supplements for disease prevention (not to mention of course athletic performance and just feeling better) but, come to me with some scientific evidence and correctly defined nutrition terms and I’ll listen (vs. just giving a head nod in hopes the subject changes sooner rather than later).

So the topic I keep seeing lately is a misunderstood category called “processed food.” In fact, twitter is a tweet lately with dire warnings about what processed foods can do to your body, both inside and out. So, let’s first define processed foods and then take a look at whether or not you need to make a mad dash to the doctor after realizing you’ve consumed copious quantities of processed foods all these years (oh but wait, if only you could sprint, I bet those processed foods are weighing you down!).

According to the Food and Drug Administration, a processed food “means any food other than a raw agricultural commodity and includes any raw agricultural commodity that has been subject to processing, such as canning, cooking, freezing, dehydration, or milling.” There you have it folks, unless you are on a Raw Food Diet, you eat processed food every single day! Even if you eat a “clean diet” (that’s a topic for another blog post), if you cook your meat or tofu or freeze your vegetables or mill your own flaxseed, you have just *gasp* processed food yourself!

So is processing bad? Processing itself is not only not bad but it is oftentimes essential for good health.  Here are just a few examples:

  • cooking meat kills potential bacteria preventing food born illness
  • many agricultural products cannot be consumed until processed – grains for instance
  • canning and freezing are methods that keep food longer until consumption
And, there are many foods that are better processed. Take tomatoes – the antioxidant lycopene is more bioavailable in cooked vs. raw tomatoes and cooking eggs prevents a protein in egg whites, avidin, from binding the B vitamin biotin (cooking also kills salmonella bacteria). In addition, there are a plethora of functional foods out there that are developed specifically for improving health, helping people maintain weight, improving sports performance and more. I could go on and on with examples but as you can see food processing is an essential part of healthy dining and our vast world of food and nutrition. So, don’t be swayed by people who speak evil when it comes to processed foods. If you are looking for sound nutrition advice, make sure the person you are listening to has a RD or MD after their name or at least a degree in nutrition, nutrition biochemistry, endocrinology or something along the lines of the advice you are looking for (i.e.  muscle physiology for information on building muscle). After all, you wouldn’t go to an architect for physical therapy advice would you? For more information on processed foods, check out this tool kit created by the International Food Information Council Foundation. And, for a list of nutrition blogs by category, check out the Nutrition Blog Network my colleague Janet Helm, MS, RD, put together.

4 thoughts on “Is Processed Food Evil?”

  1. Hi Joy,
    I would avoid the HCG diet. According to the limited research on this diet, there is no difference between HCG injections and injections of saline. Plus, even the doctors prescribing it do not know how it works.

    If you are on a limited budget you can make every dollar count by clipping coupons (or googling coupons for whatever you’d like to buy – many are on the internet – including coupons for oil changes), shopping the circulars and buying in season produce. If you match up your coupons with the rebate circulars at the CVS stores (and similar stores near you) you can get many items (though many are non-food items they’ll help with your overall budget) for next to nothing or free. Coupon Mom’s website (www.couponmom.com) posts these every week.

    Marie

  2. Thank you for sharing this. My husband is throwing around the idea of starting this HCG diet (or something like that) and it says you have to throw out all processed food & sugar. We are not only on a limited income but started wondering what they would look like. Your article and links were helpful. We have a 4 year old son as well. This Mom’s Guide (http://www.1dental.com/moms-guide/) says tooth decay is the most common illness among children because of how much sugar they consume. When I started looking at what we feed him, I realized what he’s eating is a result of what my husband and i enjoy eating. We need a change!

  3. Great post Marie! We’ve heard so much negativity about processed foods that we put together a tool kit to define what they and help people understand the variety of benefits processing offers such as the ones you mention. Check it out and feel free to pass it on to your clients the next time someone thinks they should avoid all processed foods:

    http://www.foodinsight.org/understandingourfood.aspx

    -Eric Mittenthal
    Media Relations Director
    International Food Information Council Foundation

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *