When we think of processed or refined foods we typically think of white sugar and white flour…foods that are currently defined as ‘bad for you’.
The current nutrition wisdom is that a diet high in processed and refined foods is bad for you, can decrease your health, and lead you to an early grave.
While it’s always fun to label something as the ‘Darth Vader’ of foods…let’s take a closer look and processed and refined foods.
A quick google search would tell you that processed foods are to be avoided AT ALL COSTS.
you will find statements like this:
The more a food is processed, the fewer nutrients remain. In some cases, additives or preservatives are added and can act as toxins in the body.
Wikipedia describes “processed food” as any food that is changed from its natural, raw state. And while this sounds ‘bad’ (funny how that happens), let’s take a look at 5 examples of EXTREMELY processed and refined foods:
- Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
- Protein powders
- Fish oil
- Powdered green drinks
- Egg whites
I’m sure that we could argue about the degree to which these foods will benefit your health, however I am equally sure that we can agree that these foods are not completely bad for you, and will most likely NOT lead you to an early grave.
The truth is, processing has made the world’s food supply much safer to eat.
I live in southern Ontario, where 2008 was a particularly bad year that included a listeria outbreak, multiple salmonella outbreaks and an e. coli outbreak.
These outbreaks are typically prevented from well controlled food processing techniques.
Processing kills pathogens, and extends the shelf life of food. Processing even increases the bioavailability of some nutrients, such as lycopene, found in tomatoes.
The bottom line is that most of us could benefit from eating a little less sugar, and more fruits and vegetables. However, the hysteria building around the words ‘processed’ and ‘refined’ is unfounded, and is one more thing that we are being asked to obsess over in our already overly complicated world of nutrition advice.
Do your best to eat high quality foods, but be wary the extremist view of avoiding ALL processed or refined foods.
BP
Tags: nutrition advice, processed foods, refined foods
Hi Brad…that’s why I like your program and your blog so much. It’s called COMMON SENSE which is SO lacking in today’s political correctness and obsessive cultural. I have been doing your program for a short time now (3 fasts) but it has totally encouraged my ability to control food. The days I fast keep me eating well on the days I don’t. Also, I have read all of the posts from the beginning of your blog and I am learning a lot. Thanks so much for already helping me lose 2.2 pounds!
Ar
Thanks SO, SO much for the common sense expressed so well here in your blog, Brad. It is too easy to fall for the “clean eating” and good food/bad food mentality that is ubiquitous in North America – I know because I found myself caught up in it, mostly out of habit of seeking to be as healthy as possible. Health is not just what you eat, it is a combination of many factors, including your mental state and attitude.
While reading a junk science article totally unrelated to diet, I found a site tcsdaily.com (Technology Commerce Society Daily). Great articles, and I found some kind of “anti-diet” ones. As I read them, they almost went the other way saying you can be fit and fat, that obesity isn’t the danger we are told, etc. While some of the argument is like what you say here – eat what you enjoy, add some veggies, and move – the articles could be a justification for no caring anymore or doing anything for your health. The articles pointed to studies counter to ones stating obesity is at the heart of many health problems. My own doctor (when I lived in Texas) told me about his successes with overweight patients: get them to lose weight, and they come off the diabetes medications. There really is a correlation (causation even?) between overweight and health.
The whole point is for every argument/study out there, there is at least one counter one, nulling all results and confusing the heck out of the public. Your blog is a welcome breath of fresh air that tells us it isn’t that hard to be healthy, and part of that is letting go of the worry.
Please keep up the great work!
K
I had my first fast (in a long time) on Thursday, and I’m so glad I did. It’s really a monkey off my back. I had a psychological block that was preventing me from not eating until dinner, but I overcame it once, and I know I can continue to do this for the foreseeable future. Unlike Ar, it hasn’t kept me from eating less on other days! Of course, it’s my responsibility to eat sensibly, but it should help over time. This will be my main focus, and struggle. But it’s great just to get the first one out of the way!
Good for you, Jordan. We can do this and I do think it will get easier as we just incorporate it into our lifestyles. I like the fact that it’s so flexible. For example we go out for breakfast after church and today we went to a place we don’t ordinarily go to. We had a nice breakfast and I decided that this would be a good time to fast 24 hours until tomorrow’s lunch. Bought some nice tea and I’ll be good to go! Next week it will be a different 24 hours depending on our schedules. Never been on a program that was so liveable! Have a good week, Jordan.
Ar
I wish we had our own ‘Pilon’ down in the states. Our nutrition experts haven’t caught up to the new realities of the food marketplace. There are some excellent frozen products out there with no artificial anything. I think they are called Kashi. My wife loves them. Just basic ingredients without the sugar or sodium.
But if you ever listen to, say, Dr. Oz (who’s frequently on Oprah), there can be nothing in a can or that’s processed that’s good for you.
I hope Brad’s ideas spread geometrically because ESE really is healthy. There’s so much interest out there when I tell people what I’m doing. Even my mom is going to start fasting!
Hi Brad
This is my third week. The fasting is getting easier and I am feeling good. I am trying to eat lean and healthy on my non-fasting days. Do I have to worry at all about not eating enough? I am probably eating around 1300 calories on my non-fasting days and still getting half of that on my fasting days, fasting from 1pm. to 1pm. Thanks so much! I think that Eat Stop Eat will really work for me. My favorite part is how wonderful my post fasting meal smells and tastes. I really look forward to it.
Thanks, Ar. I had my second fast yesterday (Monday) and it was so easy! I was barely hungry. That was probably partly due to eating too much over the weekend; my body just didn’t need much food. LOL! But this is an easy way to eat less, regardless. I have eaten better today (breakfast and lunch,) so hopefully fasting can help “reset” my food intake, so to speak. I definitely feel more in control of my eating. That’s my issue. It’s not really hunger or even cravings, it’s just that once I start eating, I just eat and eat and eat. This may help with that. I just need to be in control and stop eating whenever it’s appropriate to do so. So far so good!
I see you mentioned ‘eat less sugar’ toward the end of the post and I have a question about that. I’m reading that the RDA for sugar is 40g or less per day. Ok, fine. I’m also reading that we need to eat a lot of fruits and veggies. Ok, fine. Well I make a smoothie every morning consisting of only fruits, orange juice and milk but it comes out to 40g of sugar per drink. I’ve cut out most other extra sugar such as pop and candy but I still average just under 70g per day.
Is it really reasonable to suggest 40g or less of sugar a day and also suggest a high fruit diet?
ps – I’m not looking to lose weight, just to eat healthier.
Hi Ar,
Great work!
BP
Hi K,
The issue is also the definition of words.
For instance, to a degree you can be “fit and fat” when ‘fit’ means having a high degree of endurance in a given sport.
I have seen overweight people complete triathlons. They did not break any time records, but they completed the invent (Which is still very impressive).
However, when it comes to health there is almost always a health benefit to losing excess weight (so ‘fit’ and ‘healthy’ actually have different meanings). You certainly do not need 6 pack abs to healthy, but for an obviously obese person, there is an undeniable benefit to weight loss.
BP
Hi Jordan,
Congrats on your first fast.
BP
Hi KB,
the amount of calories you eat really depends on your current weight and your goal weight.
My recommendation would be to make sure on your non fasting days that you are happy with how much you are eating..remember you are using the fasting days to create your deficit, you shouldn’t have to (within reason) be fasting AND dieting at the same time.
BP
Hi Jhet,
As far as I know there is not RDA for sugar.
and 40 is very low…sounds more like a bodybuilder / ketogenic diet type advice. Even 70 grams of sugar in a day is very low.
So yes, stick with high fruits and vegetables, lots of variety..this will force you to lower your sugar intake…but I doubt you need to go to 40 grams a day for successful weight loss.
BP
So far I have not found anything on the actual government site giving a recomondation for sugar consumption either. Several blogs have quoted an RDA amount of 40g per day but I don’t know where they are getting the info from.
@Brad Pilon
Ok, I found out where people are getting the 40g or less RDA of sugar. It was suggested by the USDA and some other health experts that they set up an RDA of 40g for added sugar (not the sugar in fruits etc).
@Brad Pilon
HI Jhet,
Thank makes a lot more sense.
BP
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