How to Be a Conscious Eater

38

PROCESSED FOODS:

NOT ALL BAD

N

ot all “processed foods” are unhealthy. They often get

a bad rap because they get grouped together with ultra-

processed foods, which tend to be detrimental health-

wise, or nutritionally empty at best. But they include any food

that has been altered in some way from its original state,

through means like drying, canning, freezing, milling, and

pasteurizing. And plenty of items that have been “processed”

to some degree can, without question, be considered beneficial

to health. Olive oil; frozen vegetables; chopped fruit; breads,

pastas, and crackers that are 100 percent whole-grain; canned

tomatoes, chickpeas, beans, sardines, tuna, salmon, and other

fish (when they don’t have too much sodium); fermented foods

like yogurt and kimchi; and all the nut butters are processed

foods that are truly good for you. Alcoholic drinks of all sorts

can be considered processed foods as well, and surely they’re

one of our species’ greatest innovations.

However, we know that the healthiest foods tend to be

whole foods. They don’t require us to decode labels and claims

because they don’t have any. Fresh fruits and vegetables aren’t

swathed in signage. They don’t shout their vitamin profile or

their high fiber content. They don’t tout their cancer-fighting

properties or their low calorie count. For better or worse, whole

foods rely on knowledge we bring into the store rather than

on information we absorb upon arrival: a personal history of

whether we liked the taste, felt good after eating the foods, or

enjoyed them paired with certain other foods; awareness of

Stuff that Comes from Factories 161

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