To wonder how anyone can live on so much processed food?

[MummyMumMumMummy]

Let me start by saying I’m not by any means a health freak. I have periods where we’ll have frozen pizzas, frozen beige food and cans of beans for dinner.. but it makes me feel so so rough!

For example, in the last week we’ve eating frozen pizza, a McDonald’s, a night of cheese and biscuits, and we’ve had beans on toast, ready meals like lasagna or currys. This is just down to using what left in the house before doing a food shop and I feel awful. I feel slow, my anxiety is high, I have aches and pains and I just feel generally ‘bleurgh’

This happens every time I swap out out usual cook from scratch lots of veg type meals to these ready made quick and processed foods.

but my point is; does anyone else feel this way?

I have friends who quite consistently live on beige food and ‘hate’ veg. DH before we started dating would literally only eat beans on toast and frozen pizza. He still enjoys them from time to time but even he prefer home cooked meals with lots of veg now.

I’m not in any way judging anyone’s diet, I don’t care what you eat it doesn’t affect me. I just wonder whether other people feel such a strong physical sense of being healthier in mind and body (that sounds super green!) when they eat more organic, fresh foods?

To be clear, also this in the same article.

‘However, several other major types of UPF previously seen as harmful: sweets and desserts, ready meals, savoury snacks and plant-based alternatives to meat products also got the all-clear. They are “not associated with risk of multimorbidity”, said the authors.’

Bit more than a ‘straw’.

I’ve been eating super healthily recently and I feel bloody awful - I can’t seem to digest the salad/raw vegetables very well and I’m so bloated my waistline has disappeared. I swear if I fell over I would bounce!

I article titled "Some ultra-processed foods are good for your health, WHO-backed study finds"
I will concentrate not on "it will not give you 2+ life shortening diseases" but on the actually good for health part.

If you haven’t already OP, you should read Ultra Processed People - it basically proves a lot of what you’re saying.

Our UPF intake is fairly low I think, I do notice I feel crap if I have a few days on the bounce of very processed foods. Sometimes it’s just the way life is.

I wanted to edit but too late. I just had a look at The Lancet and study was about multimorbidity, not whether it's ok generally or not or "single morbidity" .

"Findings
After a median of 11.2 years of follow-up, 4461 participants (39% women) developed multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases. Higher UPF consumption (per 1 standard deviation increment, ∼260 g/day without alcoholic drinks) was associated with an increased risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.12). Among UPF subgroups, associations were most notable for animal-based products (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.12), and artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.12). Other subgroups such as ultra-processed breads and cereals (HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.94, 1.00) or plant-based alternatives (HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.91, 1.02) were not associated with risk."

"Interpretation
Our findings suggest that higher consumption of UPFs increases the risk of cancer and cardiometabolic multimorbidity."

However, obviously it's about higher consumption, not about having some if it as part of overall good diet. That's just normal balance.

Guardian really made up an interesting title there...

I don't notice a difference, but I do have an active lifestyle (I'm a dog walker) which I think makes a difference as well. When I'm off work and walking less, I definitely feel more sluggish, even though my diet and sleep etc. stay the same.

As with all things, it depends what kind you are eating. There is nothing inherently "wrong" with a pizza, which, for example, could be a sourdough base, with tinned tomatoes, morzarella and olives, olive oil, herbs, that is actually NOT UFP. Or a ground mince burger, in a ciabatta roll, with lettuce and tomatoes. Again, not particularly UFP.

Absolutely same for me

DH and I definitely notice the difference.

We eat 90% homemade fresh food.

We were literally having this exact conversation this morning after we had busy weekend and ended up having a few take aways and some more 'convenience' ready made food.
I also notice the difference if we eat out a lot like on holiday.

@MummyMumMumMummy I'm with you, feel much better physically and mentally when I eat well. More so when I cut out sugar!

I think you need to define what you mean by a processed food. Chicken nuggets could be fresh mini fillets rolled in breadcrumbs made from the crust of an organic sourdough loaf. My "home made" bolognese will be fresh mince, carrots onions and celery but I'll use a couple of cartons of passata, stock cubes and some pesto out of a jar - does that mean its processed? If I make chilli I'll use tinned beans (no way am I cookin kidney beans - it scares me) and I may well serve it with microwave rice or shop bought tortilla wraps - at what point does a meal become processed?

I wonder if it's maybe a bit like drinks vs non-drinkers?

I'm like you, I feel physically rubbish when I eat any amount of processed or ready-made food, even things like pre-made pita bread or supermarket biscuits (I think I have a proper intolerance to it gut-wise and many preservatives give me v bad IBS symptoms). It's a shame because much of it is delicious and I'm a total sugar-addict...

And I also have some friends who don't seem to feel any bad effects from ready-made food at all, even though it's maybe 80% of their diet. Which I feel quite jealous of.

But then, I think about alcohol-drinkers - I can barely handle any alcohol and again feel v physically ill with even 1-2 drinks, but I have mates who can sink 8 pints and wake up fresh as a daisy the next and never really get hangovers and never ever get headaches.

It must be something to do with genetics or the way your body processes different chemicals, if it follows similar logic to alcohol drinkers vs non alcohol drinkers.

I was born in the 70s and was raised on home cooked food from scratch

I wonder if it's maybe a bit like drinks vs non-drinkers?

That's quite an interesting comparison. I read the drinking threads on here and the amount of alcohol some people drink after work is the amount that would have me vomiting

I wish people would read your OP correctly before posting 🙄 .
I completely agree , my husband and I did a few tests on our selves and we both felt like shit after eating to much processed or sugar packed foods it really makes me feel down and have nightmares as well. Our diet is mostly plant based plenty of water and its amazing how much healthier we feel . In body and mind and it shows in our skin as well.

Honestly I think some peoples bodies can handle it better. I know people who live off pot noodles and toast barely any meat fruit or vegetables. Don't get me wrong it's not healthy but some people just aren't affected by malnutrition as quickly as others.
I've noticed if I eat a little chocolate I break out in spots the next day but some people eat shit 24/7 and have smooth baby skin? 😞 So unfair lol

Absolutely yes, can notice the difference but my pcos is exacerbated by inflammatory foods, one of the worst being rapeseed and vegetable oils.

So I suppose that veers more into an intolerance? But if I veer over about 20% of my intake being UPF, I can't sleep, I become ratty and tearful and my period goes out of whack.

I feel it almost instantly! For me, it's probably linked more instantly with feeling satisfied...I just don't get that feeling from processed food..or if I do then it doesn't last long. I'm sure there is something psychological about that but I also feel it in my gut. Studies are now showing that good gut health is extremely important for your mental health. Processed food is really bad for your gut health as doesn't feed it with the right bacteria but some people actually don't know what it's like to feel really good as they've never had good gut health. Even if they have a good diet, they may have decimated the friendly bacteria with antibiotics or something similar years before.

Can you give an example of the types of things that you eat?

I do believe that you are what you eat and if you eat lots of crap, then you feel like crap.

But I find it’s much cheaper and quicker to eat a lot of processed food and I struggle with ideas of food that are not processed.

E.g. I’m having spag bol tonight. A jar of Bolognaise sauce is less than £1 but if I was to make this myself it would cost twice as much and take twice as long to make.

You simply have psychosomatic symptoms OP... you think its bad so you manifest and feel bad. Its a form of hypochondria and its just the same way placebo effect can work.

Its like my friend who has acne and convinced herself chocolate and Dr. Pepper where the cause. She still has exactly the same acne as always but if she has even a bite of chocolate will go on and one about the 'outbreak' she is suffering when its literally the same as before the chocolate. Nothing has changed but she has convinced herself her it has, mainly it that her 'taking back control' has had an effect. It all about mental health not physical.

@Night409 Does that bolognaise sauce for £1 contain meat - or is it just a gussied up tomato sauce?

The trick to meat ragu is to make a big batch in advance to reduce time and cost.

Fry off the minced beef and set aside.

Then cook chopped onions, celery and carrots together (if you have some chuck in a handful of good fatty pancetta). Add freshly minced garlic to taste, a couple of dried (or fresh) bay leaves and some fresh thyme. I also add in some additional chopped veg like peppers, mushrooms or courgettes but many Italians would have my hide for that! When these are soft add back in the beef. Then add tinned tomatoes, a teaspoon of sugar, a good slug of red wine, some beef stock , salt and pepper to taste and cook on slow for an hour or so at least.

Apart from the beef I see this pretty much as a store cupboard meal as I always have the other ingredients knocking around.

I can manage fish and chips no problems (except for being thirsty from putting too much salt on them), but a dominoes pizza and most Chinese make me feel terrible. I think it might be the massive sugar dump then crash

I'm like that with salad after Christmas.

Celery, how do I love thee!

@Night409 example of the bad food I eat or the good food?

Bad foods: take aways/fast food, frozen pizzas, store brought read meal lasagna sometimes with garlic bread, frozen chicken nuggets/fish fingers, cans of beans/beans and sausages, spaghetti hoops, cheese and cured meats in unreasonably large quantities!

Good foods:
Slow cooked pork shoulder with garlic baby potatoes and green veg.
Chicken stuffed with a spinach and cream cheese with whatever veg we fancy usually broccoli or apparatus with baby corn.
Chilli and rice.
Baked Salmon with asparagus and cherry tomatoes.
Broccoli and smoke salmon frittata.
Salads through most of summer with either steak or Salmon.
Jacket potatoes with salad, usually tuna mayo filling.
Cauliflower rice fan fried with peri peri chicken or curried fish and peas.
Steak, greens veg and baby or boiled potatoes (peppercorn sauce)
Beetroot and goats cheese risotto.

Above are things I make on a regular basis and like eating. It’s not a super green and healthy diet, we still eat carbs, fatty meats and packet sauces but our veg portions are pretty big (I do love veg) so these meals always make me feel much better inside and out!

I just wonder whether other people feel such a strong physical sense of being healthier in mind and body (that sounds super green!) when they eat more organic, fresh foods?

Honestly, no, not really. What I eat (certainly in terms of how fresh/organic/unprocessed it is, anyway) doesn't make any discernible difference to how well I feel.

If anything, I think it's the other way around. I'm more likely to eat processed food for a week because I'm feeling like shit, rather than feeling like shit because I've eaten processed food, if you see what I mean. I usually cook from scratch - not really for any health reason, more because I really enjoy cooking and I just think my home-cooked meals are usually much nicer than ready-meals or frozen pizza. But if I'm extremely busy or stressed or depressed, that's when I'm more likely to turn to junk because I don't have the time or inclination to cook.

Exercise, however, makes a massive difference to my physical and mental health. Even my skin looks better when I'm exercising regularly. I had to stop running a few months ago because of an injury, and I was amazed at how soon the lack of exercise started to affect my wellbeing.