5 Processed Food Ingredients to Avoid

Entering the grocery store as an empowered, informed consumer

Believe it or not, processed food has been around for hundreds of thousands of years.

I’m not talking about cereals, sodas, or potato chips, but rather foods that lasted way longer than they should have due to the way they were preserved.

Although, the “processed” food of our ancestors is nothing like the processed food we see on the grocery store shelves today.

Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to avoid all processed foods. If you want olives but olives are not local to you, you will need to buy a jar of preserved olives.

If you want to take advantage of all of the amazing benefits of coconut water and are not located in a tropical climate, you will need to opt for packaged coconut water.

Not all processed foods, like jarred olives and packaged coconut water, are bad for you. There are so many nutritious foods that aren’t available locally that we still want to leverage for their health benefits.

You simply need to know what ingredients to avoid when it comes to packaged foods so you are making the best decisions for your health.

As I mentioned, our ancestors used to “process” food in order to extend its life into the months when food was scarce. Various processing methods included sun drying, pounding, grinding, salting, and fermenting.

Unfortunately, as we entered the 1800s, with industrialization, processing food on a mass scale became using the cheapest ways to do so became popular, thus, our food quality began to diminish.

Hydrogenating oils, pasteurizing dairy, and fortifying micronutrients became the norm. Now, only a few hundred years later, we see the ill affects on our health.

Processed food ingredients to steer clear of

While there are so many ingredients out there that are harmful to your health, here are some of the unsuspecting ones that may be lurking in your current pantry staples:

Citric Acid

This is an ingredient that sounds innocent, but could be wreaking havoc on your health. You would think citric acid is derived from citrus, right?

Well, it was first made in the early 1900s by Pfizer through the microbial processing of a particular strand of black mold. 99% of citric acid today is still made using black mold.

If you follow any type of naturopathic doctors, then you are probably familiar that illnesses caused by black mold are running rampant.

Black mold is one of those things that you don’t want to mess with in your home due to the adverse health affects of breathing it in. It has been associated with extreme fatigue, neurological issues, and autoimmune disease.

Soy Lecithin

Soy lecithin is made by extracting oils from soybeans using a chemical solvent called hexane. I always avoid ingredients created through chemical extraction due to the potential health effects of hexane.

If you aren’t familiar, hexane is a chemical often used in varnishes and glue. According to the EPA, inhalation of hexane can cause numbness, dizziness, and nausea. They have found long-term exposure to it to cause neurotoxic affects.

Besides the hexane being used to extract oils, the soybeans being used to create this ingredient are often GMO and inorganic. Soy is one of those crops that I recommend avoiding if not organic due to its estrogen-mimicking compounds.

Bleached Flour

Bleached flour is another ingredient where a whole food has been treated with chemicals in order to extract the desired compound. Bleaching agents such as benzoyl peroxide or chlorine dioxide is used to break down starches and proteins in flour, making it softer, whiter, and brighter.

It is one of those things that is unfortunately as bad as it sounds. Your flour is quite literally bleached with chemicals in order to produce a richer, softer cake. Always choose the cracker, pretzel, or boxed cake with unbleached flour, as this goes through a natural aging process without the use of chemicals.

Brown Rice Syrup

This is an ingredient I often see as the very first ingredient on the nutrition label of “healthy” protein bars (Go Macro bars, I’m looking at you!). If you see this listed as a first ingredient, run.

I like to think of brown rice syrup as the modern-day green washed version of corn syrup. It is quite literally the same idea, but using a different ingredient.

Brown rice syrup is made by boiling brown rice, allowing the enzymes created to break down the carbs, proteins, and fats to produce a concentrated sugar syrup. At this point all of the beneficial compounds have been heated away and you are left with the simple carbs.

While it is higher in maltose than fructose, you are still ingesting a high-processed sugary syrup. You are stripping brown rice of all of the good properties that allow the human body to properly digest it, leaving only the bad.

Natural Flavors

Don’t let the term “natural” ever fool you. In the context of food, natural holds no weight. Natural flavors are compounds that derive their aroma or flavors from plant or animal sources. It doesn’t mean that chemicals aren’t involved to manipulate that ingredient past its original flavor.

Preservatives, emulsifiers, and solvents can be used in conjunction with plant or animal sources in order to create a “natural” flavor. In the end, these aren’t much different than the artificial flavors you see in other processed foods. They are just more deceiving!

Your next grocery trip…

While I recommend sticking to the outside perimeter of the grocery store, as this is where the fresh foods tend to live, you can now walk into the aisle of any grocery store, knowing what not to buy.

I get it- shopping for “healthy” foods can be overwhelming. A good rule of thumb is to stick to products with only a few ingredients. You should be able to pronounce all of these ingredients! And, if you see any of the ingredients above listed on a label, look around for a better alternative.

The more you look at labels and understand what you are consuming, the easier navigating the grocery store will become.

Take action: Go into your pantry and read the labels of the staples that you buy all of the time. Is there citric acid in your favorite tomato sauce? Does the crackers you feed your kid use bleached flour? Next time, instead of buying these brands again, search for a better alternative.

Don’t hesitate to ask us about any specific products, brands, or ingredients. We are here to empower you as a consumer!

Good luck!

Madison