The nutrition advice to "avoid processed foods" is commonly being tossed out by well-meaning individuals. This advice leads one to ponder two questions, "What is a processed food?" and, "What does it mean to my health if I avoid them?" Whole wheat bread, string cheese and frozen broccoli are all processed foods. Should these be avoided? Is it possible to have unintended health consequences by avoiding all foods that have been processed by the food industry?

Processed foods are defined as 'value-added products- raw commodities transformed through the use of materials, labor and technology.’ If a product requires any degree of processing, it is considered a processed food, whether it is something minor like freezing vegetables or more complex, such as producing snack foods. Many processed foods serve important functions for health, such as fortification of a food to enhance its nutritional profile or pasteurization to make a product safe from potentially harmful microorganisms. In fact, processing foods has eradicated certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies and also led to preventing very serious food borne illnesses. On the other hand, there are also processed foods that have low nutritional value due to processing. As a result, it is essential to teach consumers how to navigate through the continuum of processed foods and select more choices that are nutrient dense and fewer that are low in nutrients and high in fat, sugar and salt. Nutrition professionals are uniquely able to help consumers make food choices to meet their health goals and align with their personal values. And of course consumers won't eat anything that does not meet their criteria for acceptable taste.

To learn about more suggestions for educating clients about processed foods, please view our recent Health Connections Newsletter titled, "Processed Food": A Continuum of Choices. You can also subscribe to receive this quarterly newsletter for free!

Ashley Rosales, R.D.

Project Manager