Processed Food Debate

Discussions question why processed and ultra-processed foods are considered unhealthy, debating definitions of processing, its inherent effects, and distinctions from minimally processed options.

➡️ Stable 0.7x Health
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#1048
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Keywords

e.g BMJ UPF www.bmj i.e REFINED USA S2 PROCESSED processed processed food foods food ultra processing ingredients meat sugars diet

Sample Comments

symlinkk Aug 14, 2021 View on HN

Why? Why is “processed” automatically bad?

sabbaticaldev Sep 14, 2024 View on HN

this is processed food. Processed food is fine. Ultra-processed food is processed food put into a plastic bag, shipped far away to be consumed 6 months after it was produced.

sosborn Nov 9, 2020 View on HN

What inherent trait of "processing" makes a food unhealthy?

sprayk Dec 13, 2022 View on HN

what is the difference between a processed food and an unprocessed food? what degree of processing makes a food ultra-processed? what ingredients should I be looking for and why? what is so nutritious about potatoes, and why does frying change anything? what is special about seed oil?

slampig Feb 20, 2018 View on HN

Why would eating processed food be bad? What does it matter if the ingredients are recognizable.

cja Nov 4, 2013 View on HN

Only if all you consume is heavily pre-processed.

theshrike79 Jul 30, 2022 View on HN

Is "highly processed" always the same as "bad"?

chrisBob Sep 3, 2019 View on HN

What is it exactly about "processed foods" that make it bad for you. Is it just that they tend to be the ones with high sugar and fat content, or is there something about the processing of processed foods that is unhealthy?

exe34 Sep 2, 2025 View on HN

#shutupandtakemymoney(if you knew how most processed food were made, you wouldn't touch anything other than fresh vegetables).

cameronh90 Aug 10, 2021 View on HN

"Clearly then, mere act of processing something doesn't make the thing bad for you."It bothers me too, but I think the problem right now is they don't exactly know what part of the "ultra processed" foods is harmful yet.