Whole Foods vs Processed Foods: What’s the difference?
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
What does it mean to be a “whole” vs a “processed” food?
It’s a great question that doesn't always have a straightforward response. Tons of foods are technically processed, including foods that have been cooked, canned, frozen, packaged, or preserved. Anytime you cook, bake, or prepare a food, you are technically "processing" it.
So are all processed foods bad? Absolutely not! Foods range in their amount of processing and this can affect their healthiness as well.
Minimally processed foods:
Are often just prepped for convenience, and their nutritional content is mostly unchanged. This includes bagged spinach, cut veggies, and dry roasted nuts.
May also be preserved to maintain quality and freshness, as seen in frozen fruits and canned salmon.
Heavily processed foods:
Are often high in calories and low in nutrients, making them a poor choice for your health.
Are usually high in sugars, refined grains, fats, preservatives, and salt.
Examples include: chips, crackers, cookies, candy, white bread, pastries, hot dogs, sausages, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, frozen packaged dinners, sodas, sweetened drinks, sweetened breakfast cereals, meal replacement shakes, boxed pasta products, ice cream, margarine, etc.
When you're checking food labels, here are a few things to watch out for:
Added sugar
Added salt and high sodium content
Industrial seed oils (i.e. canola, corn, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower, and safflower oil)
High-fructose corn syrup
Ingredients that are unfamiliar and/or unpronounceable
Diets high in processed foods can negatively affect your health.
Studies have found that higher intakes of highly processed foods can lead to increased risks of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune diseases, colorectal cancer, anxiety, and depression.
Here are examples of healthy and wholesome foods to include in your diet:
Vegetables and fruit (fresh or frozen)
Whole grains: brown rice, quinoa, oats, buckwheat, farro, barley, bulgur, millet, black rice, wild rice, popcorn, etc.
Beans and lentils
Meat, poultry, eggs, and fish
Nuts and seeds
Milk, plain yogurt, and cheese
Healthy fats: olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, butter, ghee, animal fat (i.e. lard, tallow, duck fat)
Herbs and spices
Unsweetened tea and coffee
One final note…
Don’t forget to enjoy the foods you love in moderation! While we've established that highly-processed foods aren't great for your health, that doesn't mean you should never have ice cream again! (I would never survive...) It simply means to enjoy your favorite snacks and sweets on occasion, and eat a balanced diet of whole foods most of the time.
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