03/26/2026
As Nutrition Month comes to an end, our dietitians have one last nutrition myth to bust! This one is about misinformation about processed foods. Processed foods have a bad reputation, and we often hear people think that they are “bad”. This is not necessarily true.
Processed foods are foods that have changed from its natural state. For example, if you take fresh potatoes, dice them, put them in a can and add a salt solution, that is now a processed food. An ultra processed food would be if you took those fresh potatoes and made them into potato chips.
Frozen, canned or dried foods are convenient options, especially when fresh food is out of season, costly, unavailable or takes too long to prepare. When choosing processed foods, aim to make a better choice by choosing foods like little/no added salt, saturated fat, and sugar. Rinsing canned foods, like canned beans, removes some excess salt as well. Aim to limit or avoid ultra-processed foods since larger amounts may increase your risk for health concerns like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer.
