Why Is Processed Food Bad?

A friend was wondering whether it was bad to eat soy patties for lunch every day. This led to a discussion of ingredient lists on packages and concerns about processed food. You hear it all the time—heck, I say it here all the time: Home-cooked foods beat prepared or convenience foods any day of the week.

But why, my friend wanted to know, are processed foods bad? Can’t we just check the list of ingredients? If there are too many chemicals that we’ve never heard of, we are wary. But maybe if the ingredients listed on a label are all natural, the processing isn’t such a big deal.

Or is it?

My friend pointed out, correctly, that processing is often a good thing:

• Cooking makes foods tasty and easier to digest.
• Processing, like canning or drying, helps foods last longer.
• Processing can eliminate pathogenic bacteria, as when milk is pasteurized.

So a certain amount of processing can work in our favor, although these benefits may also come with lower nutritional value. Still, the real problem is when foods get over-processed.

Here are some things that might affect your convenience food before it gets to your plate:

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