How Bad are Processed Foods - Expert Reveals Side Effects

Table of Content

• What are processed foods?

• What is Considered as Processed Food?

• Are processed foods bad for you?

• Reasons why processed foods are bad for your health

• Take-Home Points

• FAQ on How Bad are Processed Foods

Introduction 

In today's world, infections don't make us as sick as our diet and lifestyle do. Are you surprised to know that ? Well, you shouldn't be because you are consciously choosing to harm yourself. A healthy diet and way of life are what maintain us in good health. Unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice but to include regular exercise and decent eating habits into our busy workdays and sedentary lifestyles to maintain our health.

A balanced diet can help you stay at a healthy weight and reduce your risk of contracting particular diseases. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and dairy products with reduced or no fat make up a balanced diet. Lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts are also included. Saturated and trans fats, salt, and added sugars are all restricted in a balanced diet. Additionally, eating foods with little processing is emphasized.

In the recent decades, the use of processed food has increased substantially.The proportion of industrially processed foods in the world's food supply has grown lately. This change in pattern was later found to be linked to an increase in the incidence of non-communicable diseases and obesity in many nations. An association between diets rich in processed foods and health issues among people has been suggested by earlier studies. High-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, flavorings, and emulsifiers are just a few of the substances included in processed foods that are frequently used in industrial food production. Compared to cooking a meal from scratch, processed foods turn out to be less expensive and more convenient. But they frequently contain large amounts of fat, sugar, salt, and calories. In this article we will tell you how these processed foods are making you sick.

What are processed foods?

Any food that has undergone a modification from its original state is referred to as processed. Foods that have been preserved, chopped, washed, heated, pasteurized, cooked in a can, frozen, dried, dehydrated, blended, or packaged fall under this category. Additionally, it can refer to food that has been supplemented with salt, sugar, fat, nutrients, tastes, or salts.

Processed foods account for between 25% and 60% of daily caloric consumption, according to studies of household expenditures, supermarket sales, and dietary intake conducted in Europe, North America, Canada, New Zealand, and Latin America.

Foods do not always become unhealthy when they undergo mechanical processing, such as grinding beef, boiling vegetables, or pasteurizing meals. Processing does not typically reduce the food's nutritional value if no additional chemicals or additives are added.However, there is difference between mechanical processing and chemical processing.Chemically processed foods frequently have minimal nutritional value and only contain refined components and artificial ingredients. They frequently contain extra chemical sweeteners, colors, and flavorings that might be harmful for the health.

What is Considered as Processed Food?

Common processed food examples include:

• Cereals for breakfast

• Cheese

• Canned fruits and vegetables

• Bread 

• Savory snacks like sausage rolls, pies, and pasties

• Meat products like bacon, sausage, ham, salami and paté  

• Ready to eat meals

• Cakes and cookies 

• Beverages, including packaged milk or soft drinks

Are processed foods bad for you?

Processed foods tend to taste good and are often inexpensive. In Fact most of the processed items are even easy to cook or just packed items that don't need cooking and thus are an easy packet of energy for anyone in this rat race world. But the question that arises now is that if these processed foods are healthy for us? 

It's not always a terrible idea to eat processed foods. Some foods need to be processed in order to be safe, such as milk, which needs to be pasteurized in order to get rid of dangerous bacteria.The preparation of other foods, such as pressing seeds to produce oil, is necessary before they may be used.

In some circumstances, ingredients like salt, sugar, and fat are added to processed meals to improve their flavor, lengthen their shelf life, or, in some cases, to contribute to the food's structure (such as the use of salt in bread or sugar in cakes, to give the dish more substance). In comparison to whole meals, processed foods also have lower levels of vitamins and dietary fiber. These tend to make processed foods less healthy options, or in some cases, even dangerous for us. 

You'd be shocked to know that in a significant study² conducted with over 100,000 participants, it was discovered that eating 10% more ultra-processed foods was linked to a 10% or greater increase in the chance of developing cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular diseases. The researchers came to this conclusion after taking into account dietary intake of saturated fat, salt, sugar, and fiber. Another sizable study⁶ with nearly 20,000 participants indicated a relationship between eating more than four servings of processed food per day and an elevated risk of all-cause mortality. The risk of dying from any cause rose by 18% with each additional serving.

Reasons why processed foods are bad for your health

The question arises, if bad, then why? What is it in processed food that is making it bad for your health? Here is a list of a few major reasons why processed foods are bad for you. 

1. Processed foods have added sugar 

In addition to high fructose corn syrup, processed foods frequently have extra sugar. Despite being high in calories, added sugar lacks any necessary nutritional elements. Compulsive overeating may result from regularly consuming too much added sugar. Inflammatory illnesses, type 2 diabetes, and obesity are just a few of the health issues it is connected to.

The majority of the added sugar in the diet comes from processed foods and drinks. The use of sugar in soft drinks tends to be far higher than consumers realize, making sweetened beverages a particularly major source.

It's simple and effective to change the diet to be healthier by reducing added sugar intake, such as by switching to sparkling water from soda.

3. Processed Foods Contains Artificial Ingredients 

Ingredients listed on the back of processed food packaging frequently contain a lot of strange compounds. Some of these are synthetic compounds that the manufacturer adds to the meal to improve its flavor.Artificial ingredients of the following sorts are frequently found in highly processed foods:

• Artificial coloring

• Chemical flavoring

• Texturing additives

• Preservatives, which prevent food from spoiling quickly

Additionally, dozens of other chemicals may be present in processed foods that are not disclosed on their labels.

An example of a proprietary blend is "artificial flavor." It usually refers to a combination of compounds, but manufacturers are not required to explain exactly what that means.Although the majority of food additives have undergone official safety testing, doctors and researchers still have reservations about the usage of these substances.

4. Processed foods includes high Refined carbohydrates 

Any diet must contain carbohydrates as a necessary ingredient. However, whole food carbohydrates are better for your health than refined carbohydrates. Refined or simple carbohydrates are readily broken down by the body, causing a surge in blood sugar and insulin levels. When these levels subsequently decline, a person could feel lethargic and have cravings for food.

Consuming refined carbohydrates is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes because they frequently increase and drop blood sugar levels.Foods with a lot of processing often include a lot of refined carbs.

Carbohydrates from healthy sources include:

• whole grains

• vegetables

• fruits

• beans and pulses

5. Processed foods are low in nutrients 

When compared to whole or minimally processed foods, processed foods have very low concentrations of vital elements. Manufacturers occasionally add synthetic vitamins and minerals to products to make up for nutrients lost during manufacturing. However, compared to processed diets, whole foods offer additional beneficial ingredients.

For instance, fruits, vegetables, and grains contain beneficial plant components that have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticarcinogenic properties. These include carotenoids, tannins, anthocyanins, and flavonoids. Eating whole, minimally processed meals is the greatest approach to consume all of the vital nutrients.

6. Processed foods high in trans fats

Foods that have undergone extreme processing frequently include large amounts of unhealthy, cheap fats. As an example, they frequently include refined vegetable or seed oils, which are affordable, and long-lasting. By adding hydrogen and turning liquid vegetable oils into solids, manufacturers produce artificial trans fats.

Body inflammation is exacerbated by trans fats. Additionally, they cause a decline in "good" cholesterol and an increase in "bad" cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL).

Consuming trans fats is linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. For instance, a 2019 study found that a 2% increase in trans fat intake was associated with a 23% increase in cardiovascular risk.

Avoiding processed meals is the greatest approach to prevent trans fats and refined oils. These can be swapped out with healthier options like coconut oil or olive oil.

Take-Home Points

That processed food that you bought yesterday at the supermarket might taste good or cook early, but there are high chances that it might make you ill in the long run. Yes, it's true that not all processed foods make you sick, but do you really want to take a chance? Now you know what to check on those labels when buying processed foods. The best is to switch to fresh and natural food and avoid any kind of processed food. It's true that in today's world, processed foods  have become common worldwide but you can always replace them with healthier a

References

• Trans fatty acids and lipid profile: A serious risk factor to cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes

• Ultra-processed food intake and risk of cardiovascular disease: prospective cohort study

• Ultra-processed food and adverse health outcomes

• Eating highly processed foods linked to weight gain

• Eating processed foods

• Association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and all cause mortality: SUN prospective cohort study