Transcript Processed Foods The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Processed Foods
The Good, The Okay, and The Ugly
BY: KATHRYN BOWES
Basic Information
 What is food processing?



Food processing is any food that has been changed
from it’s natural state, either mechanically or
chemically.
This means that fresh produce is also processed
foods because it has to be washed or sprayed to kill
bacteria.
This includes any meal prep you might do when
making a meal from scratch, such as slicing
vegetables or mixing ingredients.
 About 90% of the money Americans spend on
food is used to buy processed foods.

Boxed, pre-made processed foods are less expensive
than healthy processed foods, like produce, which is
why so many people buy the unhealthy foods
More Basic Info
 What makes some processed food bad is the added sugars,




added sodium, and added fats.
Water soluble vitamins are lost when companies blanch the
vegetables, which means the food item (usually veggies or
fruit) is plunged into boiling water, removed after a brief,
timed interval, and then plunged into iced water or placed
under cold running water to halt the cooking process.
Some processed foods may lack nutrient density, which causes
empty calories and isn’t healthy.
Other processed foods are fortified with added vitamins and
fiber.
There are over 6,000 additives and chemicals used by food
companies when processing and producing food.
Ways to Process Foods
 Some types of processing are canning, freezing,
refrigeration, dehydration, and aseptic (removing
contamination of harmful bacteria, viruses, or other
microorganisms) processing.
• Some foods are processed
to stabilize, emulsify,
disinfect, soften, preserve,
sweeten, hide odor, and
enhance color, texture, and
flavor.
Benefits of Food Processing
 Some benefits of food processing are
 The ability to have access to a large variety
of food products in the grocery store year
round
 Extended shelf life of foods
 Convenience of quicker prep time while
cooking
 Convenience of not having to make every
meal item from scratch
The Good
 Healthy processed foods are foods that
are minimally processed.
 Minimally processed foods can be
foods that have been trimmed, diced,
sliced, cooked (to reduce cooking
time), or cultured, and have no more
than 2 to 4 additional natural
ingredients to preserve freshness.
 Many canned and frozen foods, fruits,
and vegetables are similar to their
fresh counterparts in nutrition.
The Good
 Some examples of good processed foods are
 low-fat or non-fat milk
 100% whole grains (oats, barley, buckwheat, quinoa)
 frozen fruits and vegetables that don’t have sugar, syrup, or
sauce
 dried fruits
 oatmeal bread, whole grain bread
 frozen fish and seafood that do not have breading, canned
salmon, canned tuna
 plain Greek yogurt
 nonbreaded frozen chicken breast
 roasted nuts and seeds
The Okay
 Processed foods that are
moderately processed (raw
ingredients have been
transformed into something
new and different i.e. bread,
pasta, etc.) are okay to eat in
moderation. These are
mainly foods that are
convenient to buy instead of
making from scratch.
The Ugly
 The worst processed foods are the
ones that are heavily processed that
typically have quite a few additives
and aren’t good for your health.
 The absolute worst processed food
for your health is the frozen or
ready-to-eat meals.
 Heavily processed foods typically
are high in sugar and high fructose
corn syrup, high in sodium
(especially canned products), high
in artificial ingredients, high in
refined carbohydrates, and high in
fats and trans fats.
The Ugly- Things to Watch Out For
 Some examples of bad processed foods
are canned items high in salt, boxed
meals, ready-to-eat, shelf-stable meals,
frozen meals, frozen burgers or chicken
tenders with filler, hot dogs, packaged
cakes and cookies, granola bars with
added sugars, high-calorie snack foods-chips and candy, and cupcakes.
 Avoid items that have sugar, high
fructose corn syrup, salt, and
monosodium glutamate as one of the
first ingredients.
 One sign a food is highly processed is a
long list of ingredients that are hard to
pronounce or you don’t immediately
know what it is.
Bibliography















http://www.eatright.org/resource/food/nutrition/nutrition-facts-and-food-labels/avoidingprocessed-foods
http://diginn.com/blog/food-101-processed-food-explained-with-examples/#.V9roQvkrLtQ
http://www.eufic.org/article/en/artid/111/
http://eating-made-easy.com/food-facts/
http://share.upmc.com/2014/04/processed-foods-good-bad/
https://www.verywell.com/are-all-processed-foods-unhealthy-2506393
http://www.today.com/health/are-all-processed-foods-really-bad-you-t28986
http://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/processed-foods-to-avoid
http://www.foods4betterhealth.com/myths-and-facts-about-processed-foods-11360
http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/processed-foods/
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2013/05/14/is-all-processed-foodunhealthy
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/protein-foods-tips
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/content-categories-taxonomy/how-toguides?page=9
http://diginn.com/blog/food-101-why-processed-food-is-bad-for-you/#.V9rBYPkrLtQ
http://bodyecology.com/articles/hidden_dangers_of_processed_foods.php