• Home
  • Mail
  • Tumblr
  • News
  • Sports
  • Finance
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Answers
  • Groups
  • Mobile
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content
    • Mail
    Lifestyle Home
    Follow Us
    • Style
    • Beauty
    • Wellness
    • Pop Culture
    • Shopping
    • News
    • Horoscope
    • Video
    • NowWith

    Study Reveals The Horrifying Amount Of Processed Food We Buy

    Yahoo Health•March 31, 2015
    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    A new study reveals just how many of our calories come from highly processed foods — and it’s not pretty. (Photo: Getty Images)

    Between sitting through health class as a kid, reading the news, and watching episodes of The Biggest Loser, we’re all aware that highly processed foods aren’t great for our bodies. But being aware that processed foods are bad and actually avoiding them are two different things, as new research points out.

    According to a multi-year analysis of U.S. grocery store purchases, highly processed foods make up 60 percent of the calories in the foods that we buy. Not only that, researchers found, on average, those processed foods are higher in fat, sugar, and salt than other foods we purchase.

    These findings are evidence that highly processed, unhealthy foods are a “dominant, stable part of U.S. purchasing patterns,” study researcher Jennifer M. Poti, PhD, research assistant professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, says in a statement.

    For the study, “highly processed” foods were defined as those containing multi-ingredient, industrially prepared mixtures, such as soda, cookies, chips, white bread, candy, and prepared meals. Foods such as fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, milk, eggs, dried beans, and fresh meat were considered “unprocessed” or minimally processed.

    Related: 10 Tips For Eating More Real Food

    Researchers asked more than 150,000 households from 2000 to 2012 to use barcode scanners to record all of the food and beverages they bought from grocery stores for at least a year. While investigators acknowledge that some produce without barcodes may not have been scanned, many were scanned via UPC codes on stickers on loose fruits and vegetables, as well as the pints and bags that the produce was packaged in. Most households were part of the study for four years and, altogether, bought about 1.2 million products.

    While processed foods aren’t always bad, highly processed foods can be problematic, says Karen Ansel, RDN and co-author of The Calendar Diet: A Month By Month Guide to Losing Weight While Living Your Life. The main issue: They’re usually stripped of important vitamins, minerals, and fiber during processing. Fiber slows down digestion and helps you feel fuller longer, but highly processed foods, which are often lacking in fiber, are digested quickly so you don’t feel full for as long as you would if you ate whole or minimally processed foods. “Over time, eating too many processed foods can lead to weight gain and rob you of important nutrients that you need,” Ansel tells Yahoo Health.

    According to the study, frozen meals and ready-to-heat foods were some of the biggest calorie culprits, making up more than 15 percent of the overall calories purchased at the grocery store — a potentially “dangerous” statistic, according to Samuel Accardi, lead dietitian for nutrition intelligence company Mind+Matter. While some low-calorie, low-sodium frozen meals can help someone stay on track nutritionally when they’re pressed for time, others, like a personal-sized chicken pot pie, can contain 900 calories and more than 50 percent of a person’s sodium intake for the day.

    Related: Is There an Upside to Processed Food?

    Most people are probably going to eat some processed foods, acknowledges Accardi, but he says it’s still best to aim to buy as many foods as possible in their natural state and prepare them yourself, like buying a raw chicken breast and cooking it instead of purchasing pre-sliced and pre-cooked chicken meat. Lunch meat in particular should be avoided due to its high sodium content, Accardi says, as well as any foods that contain hydrogenated oils. “These are the ‘trans fats’ that people are so afraid of because of their adverse health effects,” he tells Yahoo Health. 

    Have a thing for chips, ice cream, and soda? Ansel says it’s possible to wean yourself off of them by adding in more of the good stuff. “The more often you eat whole or minimally processed foods, the faster you’ll lose your taste for highly processed foods,” she says. “After a while, you won’t even want to eat them.”

    Read This Next: 7 Unhealthiest Foods On The Planet

    Let’s keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Health on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    What to Read Next

    • Walmart greeter with cerebral palsy told he'll lose his job if he doesn't agree to new physical demands

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Mom records heartwarming video of police officer playing with dolls with girls who 'were afraid of cops'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Amal Clooney Wore Naked Shoes to Meghan Markle's Baby Shower

      Who What Wear
    • Family alleges basketball fans yelled 'monkey' and the N-word at their son during high school game

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Beyoncé and Jay-Z Just Made a Powerful Statement About Meghan Markle

      Vogue
    • The $5 Joanna Gaines Decor Idea We'll Be Copying This Weekend

      PureWow
    • Customer allegedly writes, 'Build the f***ing wall now!' on Mexican restaurant receipt

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Why Millennials Aren't Using Top Sheets on Beds

      House Beautiful
    • Kim Kardashian West Is Debuting a New Collection of Sunglasses—and They’re All Less Than $100

      Vogue
    • Joanna Gaines's Favorite Decor Trick Is So Easy to Copy (and Can Completely Update a Room)

      PureWow
    • Jameela Jamil slams the late Karl Lagerfeld for body-shaming: 'A ruthless, fat-phobic misogynist'

      MAKERS
    • A Man Sold His VCR on eBay and Received a Thank-You Note That Will Make You Cry

      House Beautiful
    • This Comfortable Thong Is Sold Every 10 Seconds — And It’s Miraculously On Sale Right Now

      InStyle
    • Is Kim Kardashian Helping Fast Fashion Sites Knock Off Her Designer Looks?

      Harper's Bazaar
    • 'I felt publicly humiliated': How not being able to buckle her seat belt on a plane inspired Joanna Pearson to lose 215 pounds

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Dunkin' employee saves man's life after he has a heart attack at rest stop

      Yahoo Lifestyle

    Why vote for Sanders when you can have Elizabeth Warren instead?

    anonymous: Exactly. elizabeth warren will help give President Trump over 400 EC votes in 2020.

    Join the Conversation
    1 / 5

    2k

    • High school accused of body-shaming cheerleaders with 'Big Booty' and 'Big Boobie' awards

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Ariana Grande's New Friend Is Literally the Last Person You'd Expect

      InStyle
    • Jennifer Lopez Practiced Pole Dancing For Her New Movie And A Rod Caught It All On Camera

      Delish
    • Teen in viral video sues Washington Post for $250 million

      Reuters
    • Elderly Man Buys Used VHS Player on eBay, Goes Viral for Tear-Jerking “Thank You” Note

      Best Life
    • Is One of Meghan Markle's Baby Shower Guests Giving a Hint About Whether It's a Boy or Girl?

      Cosmopolitan
    • Beyoncé and Jay Z Appear to Have a Custom Queen Meghan Markle Portrait

      Marie Claire
    • Sarah Hyland Cracks Joke About Khloé Kardashian's Alleged Cheating Drama with Tristan Thompson

      People
    • The Gross Thing in Your House You Should Be Cleaning Every Spring (but Probably Aren't)

      PureWow
    • Apparently Lady Gaga and Christian Carino's Body Language Showed They Felt Obligated to Be Together

      Cosmopolitan
    • The Boots Meghan Markle Just Wore in NYC Are Worth Every Cent—Here's Why

      Who What Wear
    • Is My Ground Beef Still Safe to Eat if It Has Changed Color?

      Meredith Videos
    • Woman tells Spanish-speaking Mexican restaurant employees: 'Get the f*** out of my country'

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Fans Think Lady Gaga's New Tattoo Is a Secret Tribute to Bradley Cooper

      Country Living
    • Miley Cyrus Can’t Stop Sharing Wedding Photos (And We Fully Support It)

      the knot
    • Beyoncé Congratulates Meghan Markle on Her Pregnancy

      Harper's Bazaar