I wish I had been eating late-night Taco Bell and guzzling six-packs of Mountain Dew. It would have explained why waking up felt impossible, why my brain was as hazy as Dorinda Medley’s after making it nice in the Berkshires, and why the button on my jeans could have passed for a belly button ring because it was lodged so tightly into my stomach. The reality? My issue wasn’t fast food or sugary drinks—it was my overly engineered diet. Show I didn’t understand how “sluggish,” “brain fog,” and “bloat” were part of my vernacular. Didn’t that happen when you eat unhealthy? I ate avocados! And kale! I prioritized low-glycemic fruits. My morning greens-based smoothie had coconut milk, collagen, maca, ashwagandha, and vegan protein powder in it. I didn't drink coffee—instead I opted for brain boosting matcha spiked with some almond milk. Dairy, sugar, and gluten were reserved for going out to eat. My diet read like a Fitfluencer’s IG feed (except without all that #ad money). The only bad eating habit I could point to was cleaning out a jar of almond butter a week. Aggressive, sure, but unhealthy? Eye roll.
 Processed foods are not just microwave meals and ready meals. A processed food is any food that has been altered in some way during preparation. Food processing can be as basic as:
Not all processed foods are unhealthy but some processed foods may contain high levels of salt, sugar and fat. Examples of common processed foods include:
Not all processed food is a bad choice. Some foods need processing to make them safe, such as milk, which needs to be pasteurised to remove harmful bacteria. Other foods need processing to make them suitable for use, such as pressing seeds to make oil. Ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat are sometimes added to processed foods to make their flavour more appealing and to extend their shelf life, or in some cases to contribute to the food's structure, such as salt in bread or sugar in cakes. Buying processed foods can lead to people eating more than the recommended amounts of sugar, salt and fat as they may not be aware of how much has been added to the food they are buying and eating. These foods can also be higher in calories due to the high amounts of added sugar or fat in them. Find out more about calories. You have no control over the amount of salt, sugar and fat in processed food but you do have control over what you to choose to buy. Reading nutrition labels can help you choose between processed products and keep a check on fat, salt and sugar content. Most pre-packed foods have the nutrition information on the front, back or side of the packaging. If the processed food you want to buy has a nutrition label that uses colour-coding, you will often find a mixture of red, amber and green. When you're choosing between similar products, try to go for more greens and ambers, and fewer reds, if you want to make a healthier choice. There are guidelines to tell you if a food is high or low in fat, saturated fat, salt or sugar. The guidelines, which are for adults, are: Total fatHigh: more than 17.5g of fat per 100g Saturated fatHigh: more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g SugarsHigh: more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g SaltHigh: more than 1.5g of salt per 100g (or 0.6g sodium) If you are trying to cut down on saturated fat, try to limit the amount of foods you eat that have more than 5g of saturated fat per 100g. Red and processed meat can be high in saturated fat. We are advised not to eat more than 70g a day. If you're pregnant, find out what food you should avoid.
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Page last reviewed: 10 January 2020 |
How to stop eating processed food
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