How do processed foods differ from unprocessed foods in terms of nutrition?

Food processing is like the behind-the-scenes magic in the culinary world. It's the series of actions to transform raw ingredients into the yummy stuff we find in grocery stores. From washing and chopping to cooking and packaging, it covers everything. So, when you see that bag of frozen veggies, or your favorite cereal in a box, or even a can of soup, that's the result of some food processing magic. It can be as simple as freezing or drying, or a bit more complex like canning or baking

Processing and unprocessed food are much nutritious dense than ultra processed food When you make food fresh you get the best quality and unique ingredients with good nutrition But when buying can food is nothing more then bad quality low nutrition value

The processing of food has been done for thousands of years. Some level of processing is often needed to make foods palatable. The amount of processing may determine whether the impact on human health is potentially harmful. Research has increasingly been finding that foods which are processed with synthetic ingredients DESIGNED to make them “hyper” palatable or ‘super delicious’ are considered ultraprocessed and are potentially harmful. These are thought to hi-jack brain signals to make people eat high amounts of them. They also tend to have lower amounts of water to increase shelf life. This also means they tend to melt in your mouth quicker, whilst also being higher in calories. So you wind up eating a lot of high kcal foods unknowingly.

Processing can be a nutrient superhero or a bit of a villain. Freezing and canning are like capes, preserving nutrients. But heat and light in processing can sometimes make nutrients exit early. Fiber can take a hit, and some processed foods get a nutrient boost, while others are more like nutritional wallflowers.

Different processing techniques will have a different effect on nutrients, I will confine myself to the ones mentioned in this article: -Heating: reduces nutrient content, but it can make them more accessible. -Freezing: locks in nutrient profile at the point of freezing, -Drying: depends a lot of how it is dried. Some people argue that drying pasta at high temperatures with short-time is no bueno. -Fermenting: makes the food more nutritious due to change of nutrient profile and the creation of probiotics. -Canning: similar to cooking, except that not only the heat-labile nutrients decrease, but also the change of nutrient over-time... Given that I am limited to 750 characters, I must stop, as you can see it is based on a case by case.

Ultra-processed foods, which are associated with the most harms, tend to have a higher amounts of saturated and total fats, more refined carbs and lower high quality proteins. Your body generally wants to have ~15% of your energy as protein. So, having lower amounts may cause you to want to eat more. Vitamins may be added back in ways that don’t really work. For instance, the fiber structure can be broken down. This means you will be hungry sooner. Gums and emulsifiers that are also found in many ultraprocessed foods can also impact the absorption of nutrients. All together, the changes to nutrients in ultraprocessed foods likely means that there will be disturbances in your gut microbes that contribute to whole body health.

Preservation Groove: Some processing methods, like freezing or canning, can keep the nutrient party going. It's like a jam that doesn't lose its flavor. Heat and Light Harmony: But, the nutrient dance floor can get a bit crowded with heat during processing. It might lead to nutrient loss, and light can be like a spotlight stealing the show. Fiber Funk: Processing can sometimes tone down the fiber vibe, especially in refined grains. Fiber is like the cool rhythm that you don't want to lose. Added Ingredients Remix: Fortification is like adding a remix to the track—some processed foods get a nutrient boost. But, not all processed foods are nutrient headliners; some are more like opening acts with little nutritional value.

Food processing is important - some hypothesise that, thanks to the discovery of fire, we were able to access more nutrients which allowed us to shrink our intestinal system in favour of our brain. Also, plants need to be processed (fermented, boiled, soaked, etc) to mitigate anti-nutrients that can be toxic to humans in larger doses. However, the buzzword today is ultra-processed food. With each extra level of processing, nutrient content and availability goes down. UPF is generally high in refined grains of dubious origin and variety, and are both low in water, retain more water in the body (hence dehydrating the body) and are higher in deuterium (overloading our natural deuterium management system and clogging up our mitochondria).

Processed foods can be a great way to incorporate more veggies into your diet. Canned beans make a convenient and quick protein source. Frozen veggies save on prep time and are packaged at the peak of freshness to preserve nutrients (sometimes even a better choice than the "fresh" produce that's been sitting out for a week). The key is to avoid the ultraprocessed foods - typically identified by the long list of ingredients, some of which are not recognizable in the natural world.

Take 5 min to read the label. Don’t rely on the beautiful pictures on the product package. Be skeptical of claims about natural. Have you ever bought “natural flavoring” from a grocery store shelf?

There are many nutrition priorities to consider that have significant evidence of both the benefits and harm to our health far beyond processing. Here's a few pointers: - the importance of fibre is massively overlooked. Most of us don't get enough of it. - we are flooded with products that are high in saturated fat, salt & added sugars - which increases our risk of diet-related diseases like diabetes & heart disease. - protein is often used to market products to us but actually most of us get more than enough. A significant proportion of us actually get too much. For optimum health, take every opportunity to cram more fruit, veg, pulses, seeds and nuts into meals, whether fresh, frozen, tinned or other forms of simple processing.

Again, it’s the ultra-processing, not the regular processing to food that’s the greatest challenge to health. It’s big business. Demand the right to healthier choices.