You really can't avoid it, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Processed food is food that differs in some way from its natural state. This includes washing, canning, freezing, or adding ingredients. Baking, cooking or preparing food is also considered processing.
Benefit: Saving
Canning or freezing some fruits and vegetables can help keep them fresh for a long time. Pasteurizing milk and cheese increases their shelf life. Similarly, vacuum packaging prevents meat from spoiling. All this also helps to reduce waste.
Benefits: healthy eating
Washing and bagging vegetables such as lettuce and spinach makes them easier to prepare and eat. Canning fruit in water or its own juice preserves freshness and nutrients. Added ingredients such as fiber, calcium, and vitamin D can also improve some foods.
Other useful semi-finished products
In addition to fruits and vegetables, convenience foods https://petruhastore.ru/product-category/semi-finished products/ foods that can be part of a healthy diet include tuna and salmon in cans or ready-to-eat pouches, yogurt, cottage cheese, and roasted nuts.
What are highly processed foods?
Highly processed or ultra-processed foods have unhealthy ingredients added to make them more palatable or extend their shelf life. These ingredients include things like salt, sugar, artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. One study found that ultra-processed foods make up about 60% of the calories in the American diet.
What to look out for: sodium
Sodium is often used to keep foods fresh. Even if you carefully add it to your food, it's probably already there thanks to the processing. Americans get about 70% of the salt they eat from processed foods and restaurant meals.
"Salty Six"
- Be especially careful with these products:
- Pizza: One slice with lots of toppings can give you half the recommended daily amount of salt.
- Bread and buns: Even if there isn't much in one piece of bread or bun, this can build up if you eat bread frequently.
- Sandwiches: One fast food sandwich or hamburger can give you a day's worth of salt.
- Cold cuts and jerky: It takes about 6 thin slices to get half the recommended daily allowance.
- Canned Soup: One cup can have half a day's worth of salt.
- Burritos and taco toppings: Salt can be added to these meats and cheeses.
What to Look for: Sugar
Like salt, sugar is usually added during processing. It is used to enhance the flavor of foods or improve texture. It shows up in the things you expect, like cereal and baked goods. But it can also be in pasta sauce. Nearly 90% of the added sugar in the American diet comes from highly processed foods.