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Are Processed Foods Bad For You?

By: Mike Ramsey

Many fitness "experts" have created an entire industry by making you afraid of eating "processed foods." What exactly is a processed food? Is it white bread? Pizza? PowerBars? What are some unprocessed foods? Whole grain bread? Sweet potatoes? Chicken breasts? I've got some news for you and the "experts". Here are some examples of ways you can process foods from their most natural state:

• Harvesting grain, fruits, or vegetables
• Milling grain into flour, making juice out of fruit; or freezing vegetables
• Commercially raising livestock (If this isn't processing, I don't know what is).
• Cutting the meat produced by the above into what you see in the supermarket
• Cooking
• Chewing

All of the above are methods of processing foods. There is no difference in the fuel value to the human body between 100 grams of raw potato and a bottle of 100 grams of complex carbohydrate drink you can find at your gym or health food store (such as SNS Ultra High Carb). There will be, of course, a difference in the vitamin and mineral content, but many people argue that our food supply is critically short of those nutrients, even from raw fruits and vegetables.

So next time you are trying to find something healthy to eat, don't get caught up in trying to avoid processed foods, just get something low in fat, with a little protein, and as high in complex carbohydrates as possible. If you can't prepare a meal in advance, pick up a meal replacement powder or grab an energy bar. Your head won't explode, and you won't blow up like a pig, either. Choosing foods should be easier than most "experts" would like you to believe.

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