Page 172 - How to Be a Conscious Eater - Making Food Choices That Are Good for You

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PROCESSED FOODS:

NOT ALL BAD

ot all “processed foods” are unhealthy. They often get
a bad rap because they get grouped together with ultra-
Nprocessed foods, which tend to be detrimental health-
wise, or nutritionally empty at best. But they include any food
that has been altered in some way from its original state,
through means like drying, canning, freezing, milling, and
pasteurizing. And plenty of items that have been “processed”
to some degree can, without question, be considered beneficial
to health. Olive oil; frozen vegetables; chopped fruit; breads,
pastas, and crackers that are 100 percent whole-grain; canned
tomatoes, chickpeas, beans, sardines, tuna, salmon, and other
fish (when they don’t have too much sodium); fermented foods
like yogurt and kimchi; and all the nut butters are processed
foods that are truly good for you. Alcoholic drinks of all sorts
can be considered processed foods as well, and surely they’re
one of our species’ greatest innovations.
However, we know that the healthiest foods tend to be
whole foods. They don’t require us to decode labels and claims
because they don’t have any. Fresh fruits and vegetables aren’t
swathed in signage. They don’t shout their vitamin profile or
their high fiber content. They don’t tout their cancer-fighting
properties or their low calorie count. For better or worse, whole
foods rely on knowledge we bring into the store rather than
on information we absorb upon arrival: a personal history of
whether we liked the taste, felt good after eating the foods, or
enjoyed them paired with certain other foods; awareness of

Stuff that Comes from Factories 161

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