Processed Foods

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi Jordan,

I have a few questions about processed foods that I’m curious about after reading some of your content: 1. Are non-meat processed foods something that should be limited? I eat canned beans and protein bars several times a week in an effort to hit my protein and fiber targets, and I’m curious if that is likely to have adverse health effects.
2. Is canned fish (not smoked, but containing salt) a problem in the same way as processed red meat? Your article from last year primarily refers to “processed red meat”, but some of the sources seem to be referring to “processed meat” more generally.
3. Do you have a sense of how the downsides of processed meat trade off against the downsides of insufficient protein intake? I have a family member who gets a decent portion of her protein from sandwich meats (ham, turkey, chicken, etc.) Would you recommend that she stop eating those, even if it means that her protein intake drops significantly? Thanks for any insight you can offer!

2

Shem,

  1. The level of processing foods have is typically further down my list of things I would actively manage unless it begets a dietary pattern or behavior that is detrimental. I have no problems with canned food or protein bars in the context of an otherwise health-promoting diet.

  2. You mean like tuna? If it’s not processed red meat, then I don’t have the same concerns over limiting it from a ASCVD or CRC standpoint. Depending on the actual food however, you may want to limit it for other reasons- mercury in the case of tuna.

  3. It’s context dependent based on the individual. I don’t think processed meats should comprise a substantial portion of a person’s diet and would replace them with lean proteins that aren’t processed, given that it’s unlikely someone will just eliminate a food and not replace it with anything.

-Jordan

3

Thanks for the response. 1. Excellent; that’s good to hear.
2. I was thinking more of canned salmon and sardines, but I assume the same principle would apply?
3. Realistically, this individual is more likely to replace the processed meats with something like additional bread or cheese that has lower protein content. Is that still an overall win from a health perspective?

4

Ideally, no- they wouldn’t. If counseling someone on this particular behavioral change, I would try to replace processed meats with lean unprocessed proteins. If you’re forcing me to decide between two relatively poor choices, I don’t know that it matters.

5

Fair enough; I wasn’t sure if there was an obviously worse choice there.Thanks for the insight!