What are Processed Foods?

by Mandy
(Shelby, NC)

What are processed foods? I'm assuming you mean boxed, bagged & canned foods? Sorry, I am just not very knowledgeable in this stuff and I am trying to learn. Are freezer vegetables okay or not? Not even really sure if they have organic freezer vegetables, just curious?

I know have asked you what your diet consisted of before, but if you don't mind me asking.... what does your breakfast, lunch & dinner look like?

Are you on a specific schedule when you eat? Do you eat every couple hours? What do you snack on? Do you eat cereal ever or desserts ever? Just trying to get an idea of what this healthy eating style looks like exactly.

Thanks for taking the time to read all of my questions, not to mention answer them! It truly means a lot to me! :)

Mandy


ANSWER


Hi Mandy,

I broke up your post into several pages - one for each question. Your other questions can be found here:

Buffered Vitamin C Crystals

Immune System Supplements and Whole Food

So onto your question above - What are processed foods?

Well, they are foods that take raw ingredients (whole foods) and transform them into a product with a long shelf-life. Anything that comes out of a box, package, can, or bag is processed.

There are some healthy processed foods, but as a whole they are bad for your health.

Cheese comes to mind as a healthy processed food, as long as it is real cheese like cheddar or swiss, not "cheese" like Velveeta or cheese from a can.

Frozen vegetables are processed too, but generally "lightly." If the ingredients are just vegetables, they are fine. The freezing does destroy some nutrients, but your body can still benefit from them. If the veggies come with some kind of sauce, then we almost always enter unhealthy territory.

Basically, the vast majority of unhealthy processed foods will be in the middle of your average grocery store. That's because they can remain fresh without any kind of refrigeration.

They can sit on grocery store shelves for months, sometimes even YEARS, without going bad.

Most of these products contain empty calories because vitamins and minerals are destroyed in the processing process.

They also generally contain a high amount of salt, trans fat, sugar (generally high fructose corn sugar) and chemical preservatives and flavor enhancers.

The best thing to do is look at the ingredient label of these products. If you find a huge long list of ingredients you can't identify, that's not good. Actually, that's not food. :)

As far as my diet is concerned, I listed the majority of what I eat on Healthy High-Calorie Foods.

I follow the Warrior Diet style of eating. Basically it consists of giving your digestion a break during the day and eating your main meal at night.

I eat easily digestible foods during the day, like fruits, vegetables, or an occasional boiled egg or raw milk.

My main meal generally consists of a large salad with homemade dressing, grassfed or pastured meat(beef, turkey, chicken, or pork) and complex carbs.

I would not recommend it for someone trying to gain weight.

I like it because I can extend my natural body detox period through most of the day. It also helps me maintain my weight, since my real job requires me to sit almost all day.

Hopefully this has been helpful.

Best regards,

Melissa
Approach Wellness