Has your doctor told you to avoid processed foods to help with a health condition? Has a friend or health coach bored you to tears about how he’s turned his life around cutting out processed foods? If you’ve begun feeling like you’re being bombarded with the message that you should avoid processed foods, you’re not alone: This message is cropping up everywhere. The problem is, people never explain what they mean by processed foods, why you should avoid them, and—most importantly—what you should eat instead!

What prompted me to write this blog was an article in the September issue (Isn’t that the name of a film?) of Vogue Magazine by a woman with numerous health issues who consulted various nutrition gurus, all of whom told her to eliminate processed foods from her diet. Their reasoning defied logic as did the food lists they came up with—what she should eliminate and what she should eat instead.

So let’s start by answering the question, “What is a processed food?” The answer is, “pretty much everything!” The truth is, nearly all foods are processed in some way before you actually eat them. But let’s face it: Some foods are clearly more processed than others, sometimes beyond recognition. Have you ever seen even a speck of apple in the apple muffin mix you pick up from the shelf of your average supermarket baking aisle? That’s about as processed a food as you’ll find, right up there with blueberry colored and flavored breakfast cereal! On the opposite end of the spectrum, have you ever had the joy of going apple picking and eating an apple right from a tree? That might be one of the least processed foods you’ve ever eaten! Just as there is no sharp line that divides good and bad foods, there’s no hard and fast rule that separates processed foods from non-processed.

The biggest problem with telling folks to avoid processed foods is that processing includes everything from just slicing and dicing to pasteurizing, cooking, batter-frying, a, drying, and sealing it into a box). An unprocessed apple is the tastiest most nutritious way to enjoy that fruit. Yet for some foods, the most processed forms may be the most, not the least, nutritious…and the safest: Cooked tomatoes are a better source of the antioxidant lycopene than their raw precursors. Unprocessed (raw) milk is considered by most to be unsafe to drink (and illegal in some places). Unprocessed fava beans are poison…So why the advice to avoid processed foods?

The biggest reason to avoid most processed, prepackaged foods, at least the foods you find in pre-sealed boxes, cans, packages, and bags, is that, unlike their fresh counterparts, they are often high in salt, sugar, and other refined carbs (like white flour), the nutrients we tend to get too much of, . In addition, processed foods tend to be lower in the nutrients—vitamins and minerals—that are in shortest supply in our diets. You might also have seen lots of words on the internet about the “dangerous” preservatives, artificial flavors and colors, and other additives often found in prepackaged foods. This issue should generally be at the bottom of your worry list unless you’re eating nothing but processed foods.

Before I share my list of processed foods to avoid, here is a list of the less processed foods that are the ones that should make up the bulk of what you eat:
• raw and minimally cooked vegetables (including frozen and low-salt canned varieties);
• beans like lentils, white beans, and kidney beans, which make great soups and stews, either soaked and cooked yourself or canned with minimal salt;
• whole wheat bread and at least some whole-wheat pasta;
• 100% whole wheat and other high-fiber cereal;
• whole grains like brown rice, steel-cut oats, barley, and buckwheat; and some of the “new” but really ancient grains like teff, spelt, and quinoa;
• fresh or frozen fruit, or fruit that has been canned in its own juice;
• eggs, cheeses, and other dairy products;
• meats (with the exception of bacon, hot dogs, and cold cuts), and fish, including canned salmon and tuna;
• peanuts, nuts, and seeds;
• water!

Now, here are the processed foods I would most strongly suggest minimizing and why:
o White bread in plastic bags (that is, any commercial breads except 100% whole wheat or other 100% whole grain), because non-whole grain breads are devoid of fiber, high in refined white flour, and lacking in the good plant oils found in whole grains;
o Presweetened cereals, crackers, cookies, muffins, cupcakes, pies, and candy for the same reasons, plus they’re usuall loaded with sugar and salt;
o Snack foods like puffy cheese things and chips (duh!);
o Boxed and packaged mac and cheese, ramen, casserole extenders, stuffing mixes, cake and cookie mixes because they are generally lacking in fiber, vitamins, and minerals and loaded with salt and/or sugar;
o Canned soups, chili, beans, and vegetables that are not labeled as reduced sodium or lower in salt, because they’re loaded with salt;
o Frozen vegetables that contain sauces, microwave dinners, frozen pizzas, and especially frozen snacks, because they tend to be salt and calorie bombs!

One exception I tend to make to the “avoid all packaged foods made with white flour” rule is regular white (semolina) pasta. Although some manufacturers are making better whole wheat pasta than in the past, it’s still somewhat of an abomination and not much better fiber-wise than the white stuff. Therefore, when I make a pasta dish, I use half or two thirds of the pasta the recipe suggests and add at least a third more of the vegetables. You can also try to combine “white” pasta with some whole wheat pasta: you just need to check the suggested cooking times, and start cooking the whole wheat pasta first, then add the white pasta a few minutes later.

And if you think the prepackaged, canned, and frozen processed foods at “health food” stores, or the ones labeled organic or natural at your regular grocer are a healthier choice, think again! Recently a relative who is a vegetarian came to stay at our house. Because he doesn’t like to cook, he stocked up on lots of prepared vegetarian foods: frozen meat substitutes, burritos, and casseroles; vegetarian crackers, cookies, and other snacks… Take my word for it: vegetarian prepared foods are no healthier than their standard non-veggie counterparts. The average health food store is filled with overpriced, deviously named and packaged junk food. I especially suggest avoiding most gluten-free breads and pastries, which are just a concoction of weird refined grains, totally lacking in fiber. Unless you have an actual diagnosis of Celiac Disease, there’s no reason to avoid gluten, which is a protein. Another big category to shun includes veggie “meat” substitutes and vegan dairy substitutes, which are concoctions of dubious ingredients virtually devoid of nutritional value or are globs of soy protein that are often deep fried! Dairy-free nut “milks” and faux cheeses lack the protein and calcium for which we consume dairy products.

Let’s face it: we buy most of these processed foods for convenience, because we lack the time or the know-how to cook actual food. If that’s why you’re hitting the boxes and bags, ask Santa for a book like “How to Cook Everything.” Please take my word for it when I tell you I have no money on this horse, but when you eat your first bowl of homemade minestrone, you will know you’re on the path to heal