Most people care about what they put into their bodies and we often get asked….
Q & A: How do I avoid processed food?
A: By fasting (not eating anything). Almost every bite of food that every human in the history of humans has eaten has been processed. How is that possible? It’s in the definition.
“Processed food” is defined by The Harvard School of Public Health as “food that has undergone any changes to it’s natural state – that is, any… washing, cleaning, milling, cutting, heating, pasteurizing, blanching, cooking, canning, freezing, drying, dehydrating, mixing, etc, etc.”
Example: If you (or someone else) wash your strawberries and cut off the green tops, then you are eating doubly processed strawberries. Mind blown! In a nutshell all food is processed because even removing the shell from the nut would be processing it.
Fear mongering processed foods is similar to telling people to limit nitrogen exposure without telling them the air they breath is 78% nitrogen. It is, at best, useless, but, at worst, harmful because people waste what little free time and energy they have chasing bullsh*t down a bottomless rabbit hole of pseudoscience.
Things That Matter
When it comes to nutrition there are things that actually matter. They’re all simple, but none of it is easy. It is the persistent difficulty of simple things (calories, fiber, etc.) that leaves us all (myself included) vulnerable to charlatans selling short cuts.
For example, I deeply resent that calories count. Someone with more degrees and vocabulary words than me said, “carbs, not calories, make people fat… you don’t have to count calories if you avoid carbs.” I am a bottomless pit, so I really liked what he was saying. Then I spent years parroting his nonsense until 2 things happened: (1) the research he funded showed that he was completely wrong, and (2) he showed is true colors by ignoring the data while attacking the scientists who carefully carried out his instructions.
Avocados and Yogurt
Avocados are less processed* than yogurt (especially fat free Greek Yogurt), but which one is a better choice? Yogurt – especially fat-free Greek yogurt – is the winner. No contest, except on the fiber front. However, it’s pretty easy to add some low fat (and therefore low calorie) fruit to your yogurt to get your fiber and protein needs met while still keeping your calories reasonable.
Nutrition per 100g FF Greek Yogurt Avocado
Fat 0.4g 15g
Protein 10g 2g
Fiber 0 6.7
Calories 59 160
*Processing differences: the avocado is going to be washed, probably ripened with ethylene gas, then cut and mixed up or spread on something. Ethylene gas is what ripens most fruits and vegetables. The avocado tree makes ethylene gas, as do fruits like apples, which is why apples accelerate the ripening of other fruits and veggies.
Fat free Greek yogurt is more complex: you get the milk, separate it from the cream, pasteurize it, cool it to 110F, mix it with a starter (usually a small bit of yogurt), then let it ferment for 1-2 days, then strain it, then pack it up. But humans have been making (processing) yogurt for 7,000 years, and somehow we survived and thrived eating this highly processed food for millennia on end.
Bottom Line
The greatest nutrition challenges facing modern, affluent humans is excess calories and too little movement. We have cheap and easy access to too much food that tastes too good (hyperpalatable). One of the most important things you can do is keep excess temptation out of your house, or it will magically jump into your mouth.
New here? We’d love to meet you! Book your free Intro Call with a member of the team now. We offer custom fit personal training for women. All of our sessions are about an hour long and will be a full body strength training session every time. The first step is to set up a quick Intro Call to see if we are what you are looking for and we will be happy to discuss processed foods more with you.
The author, Josef Brandenburg is the co-owner and a coach at True 180 Personal Training, Charlotte’s most effective personal training studio for women. We are changing the way fitness is done to get you the results you deserve!