IF IT’S IN A PACKAGE, IT’S PROCESSED –
May 7, 2021 – Scientists already knew prior to this study that the Western diet of heavily processed foods was linked to health issues.
“Broad changes in societal dietary habits, especially consumption of processed foods that are frequently rich in fats and simple carbohydrates but lacking in fiber are widely believed to have contributed mightily to the increased incidence of chronic inflammatory diseases that has accompanied industrialization,” the authors write at the start of their paper.
By contrast, non-processed foods are those which are closer to the form in which they would appear in nature such as vegetables, fruits and meats. Gewirtz elaborated on the broader problems with processed food, which refer to any kind of food that is created from highly refined ingredients.
As Gewirtz explained, processed foods are less healthy because of “natural components of unprocessed foods that they lack” as well as because of additives that are often “synthetic” and do not normally appear in foods. “Our research shows that one key component of fruits and vegetables that is lost in processing is fiber,” He added. Gewirtz also noted that many processed foods contain emulsifiers, which further harm the body.
