With so much conflicting information regarding nutrition and health, it’s often difficult to discern good advice from bad. An example of this is the query of processed foods – healthy? Or not healthy? In 2010, 84.8% of foods bought by South Africans were formally processed. The posed question is therefore an important one.
Key though, is to understand the term ‘processed’. According to the USDA, food processing includes washing, cleaning, milling, cutting, chopping, heating, pasteurising, blanching, cooking, canning, freezing, drying, dehydrating, mixing, packaging and other procedures that alter food from its natural state. For the regular consumer, processed foods refer to anything out of a box, bag or package.
Food processing has a bad reputation that is not always justified. In reality, some extent of food processing is required in order to render certain foods edible. For example, many whole grains would not be edible if they weren’t processed to some extent. Some forms of processing do not affect food nutrient levels at all, but rather help to extend shelf life, safety properties and palatability of the food. Tinned and frozen vegetables are a valuable source of micronutrients and still contribute to your 5-a-day requirements, even though they are processed. In fact, processing has allowed us to improve the nutrient credentials of certain foods through fortification of important nutrients.
That said, the processing of foods can be harmful if nutritious components of the food are removed. For example, changing brown rice to white rice involves the removal of the outer husk of the rice grain, removing all of the dietary fibre, and destroying almost all of the B-vitamins contained in the original whole grain. In addition, many processed foods have additional fat, salt and sugar added to them. These energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods include confectionery, fizzy drinks, and many takeaway meals.
The best way to assess whether a processed food is good for you is to read the product label and nutrition information table. Choose foods that are:
• High in fibre: ≥ 6.0 g per 100 g (Foods containing ≥ 3.0 g per 100 g are a source of fibre)
• Low in sodium: ≤ 120 mg per 100 g
• Low in sugar: 4.0 to 8.0 g (1-2 teaspoons) per 100 g
• Low in saturated fats: ≤ 1.5 g per 100 g
• Trans-fat free: ≤ 1.0 g per 100 g
Tip: when evaluating the health credentials of a food product, also check the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in descending order of inclusion. Thus if sugar, sodium or fat appear in the first three ingredients, the product will usually be high in these.
You might also want to read this article on top tips for food safety.
Did you know?
Pick n Pay is committed to promoting health and wellbeing among South Africans, and employs a Registered Dietitian to provide free nutrition-related advice to the public. Contact Leanne Kiezer via the Pick n Pay Health Hotline on 0800 11 22 88 or healthhotline@pnp.co.za to start your nutrition conversation.
You can also visit www.adsa.org.za to find a dietitian in your area who is registered with the Association for Dietetics in South Africa (ADSA)