Why processed food is good

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Learn more about this course. The benefits and drawbacks of food processing What are the benefits of food processing? In this article, the advantages and disadvantages are summarised. I learnt alot. Hopefully, I 10 Apr, Hopefully, I will upgrade the course. Visit the course. Great Course 05 Mar, The course is Great Course 31 Mar, Choose more unprocessed and minimally processed foods. Cook more meals at home.

You can find lots of great recipes and brush up on your cooking skills online. It can save you money and be a great family bonding time. Some examples: Make your own simple vinaigrette instead of buying bottled salad dressing.

Add fruit to plain oatmeal, cereal and yogurt instead of buying the sweetened or flavored kind. Slice up leftover roasted chicken or make a light tuna salad for sandwiches instead of using processed deli meat. Snack smarter. Think crunchy unsalted nuts and seeds, cut-up veggies, fruits that hit the sweet spot, and easy homemade popcorn.

Last Reviewed: Nov 1, First Name required First Name Required. Last Name required Last Name Required. This doesn't necessarily make the food nutritionally balanced, however.

Processing can also help to preserve food and make it more accessible. Fermenting cheese, for example, keeps it stable for longer, and in some cases, reduces the amount of lactose , making it more accessible to people with mild lactose intolerance.

In the past, the main reason food was processed was to increase its shelf life. For a long time, preserving food by adding ingredients such as sugar or salt was crucial in order for people to survive winter, says Gunter Kuhnle, food and nutritional food sciences professor at the University of Reading.

We couldn't survive on grains alone. Adding heat — also a minimal process — makes a lot of foods edible, such as potatoes and mushrooms. Many of us will choose to buy fresh vegetables, but they can sometime lose much of their goodness if kept for days in our fridge Credit: Getty Images. And while some processing can make a food less nutritious, it can still make food more accessible. Bacon, for example, doesn't improve health, but it gives more people access to meat by preventing food from spoiling.

Processed food also tends to be cheaper, as it can be produced with lower costs. Research has found that healthier foods are three times more expensive than foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat, which are mostly highly processed foods. But highly processed food — which is made from substances derived from foods and additives — is generally not good for us. Studies have shown that food additives can alter our gut bacteria, and cause inflammation in our bodies, which is linked to higher risk of heart disease.

Also, research shows that people have a tendency to overeat ultra-processed food. Studies have shown that people who eat ultra-processed foods consume more calories overall and gain more weight, and have higher risk of developing heart disease. One small study from found that when people ate meals consisting of processed foods for two weeks , they ate more calories per day than they did when they ate meals consisting of unprocessed foods for two weeks.

They also gained an average of two pounds on the ultra-processed diet. Processed food, which can often have high levels of added fat, salt and sugar, is generally not as good for us as unprocessed Credit: Getty Images. Already a member? Login ». As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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