[A12-B]

"Processed" is just a buzzword. Any food put into a package can be considered 'processed'. There are thousands of chemicals used in food processing for different purposes. Are they all bad for you? Because that is what the statement suggests.

It's not very helpful in finding out why people are actually unhealthy

[Zanni]

Not really. Meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and most nuts are unprocessed, and there are people who argue that's exactly what you should eat and nothing more.

[Cthulhu_]

Aren't most nuts roasted? I mean that's the same as cooking vegetables basically, so it should be fine. A lot of nuts do have added salt though, or caramelized sugar for extra goodness.

[Ma8ee]

It depends on which shelf in the store you look for them. In the snacks section, they will be roasted and salted or sweetened or both. But you can find pure nuts in other sections, often among baking goods or close to the fresh vegetables section.

[A12-B]

You might be surprised to learn that those things are very often processed, even if you get them from your local markets.

[ssijak]

No it is not a buzzword. We all know what "processed" in this content means. Nitpicking on if putting plastic packaging around an orange should be called processing is not valuable and you know it and you also know that putting fresh produce in a package without doing anything else is not "processed" in a negative way we are talking about.

[A12-B]

It is still a buzzword, because there are still too many possible scenarios even when taking out the 'plastic packaging = processing' part. Using salt to preserve vegetables is processing the same way using sorbic acid to preserve cheese is processing. You have to be specific.

Which one of these is unhealthy? Eh, doesn't matter, it's processed therefore it's bad.

[quantumsequoia]

> We all know what "processed" in this content means

I don't think we do. What criteria exactly determine if a food is "processed"? It's a vague word that leaves a lot open to interpretation

[wombatmobile]

The negative form of processed foods contains additives such as sugar which makes you fatter.

Other additives make the food last longer, which might be OK, so long as they don't have other harmful side effects.

The main negative about processed food is added sugar.

The reason food manufacturers add sugar to products is that it makes them addictive, so people finish the box, can or bottle and buy another one. Manufacturers test products to get the level of sugar just below the maximum before it makes products taste sickly sweet. At this threshold, the sugar makes the product addictive.

The main reasons sugar is a negative for consumers is that when metabolised, sugar goes straight to body fat. Wham. Pow. Fat. Just like that. Sugar is like nothing else for body fat.

Another reason sugar is a negative is that it makes you feel unbalanced. At first it gives you a rush of energy. When your body detects the excess sugar in your bloodstream, your pancreas secretes insulin to absorb the glucose. Your glucose levels spike up then down, and with it, your mood and energy level.