HeAlThY FoOdS MaY BeCoMe JuNk FoOdS IF....

Many of our common foods are processed foods, and some processed foods are less nutritious than the original whole foods from which they are made. Processed foods usually have sugar, salt, or fat added, and fiber is taken out of them. It's healthier to try to substitute the less processed foods instead of eating the more processed ones. Let's look at some examples! Fried Foods French fries, Instant noodles Potatoes, vermicelli, and noodles are rich sources of carbohydrate. Normally, these should belong to the "grain" group in the Healthy Diet Pyramid. However, when foods get deep-fried, additional calories from oil are added as well to the original food calories. For example, the total calories of French fries not only come from the calories of potatoes, but also the calories from oil; therefore, French fries belong to "Fat, Sugar and Salt" layer but not the "Grain" layer. Also, for instant noodles, after they are deep-fried, they may no longer be in the bottom "Grain" layer, but may be considered to be on the top of the "Fat, Sugar and Salt" layer. Nutrient comparisons for less and more processed potatoes and noodles Baked Potatoes French Fries Potato Chips Soup Noodles Instant Noodles Nutrients (100 g) (100 g) (100 g) (100 g) (100 g) Energy from fat (%) 1 49 59 9 30 Fiber (g) 2.4 0 1.3 2.7 0 Sodium (mg) (in salt) 8 60 169 21 103 Natural Healthy Food Processed Food Deep-fried drumstick, chicken wings Chicken wings and chicken legs are rich sources of protein. Normally, these belong to the "Meat" group in the Healthy Diet Pyramid. However, they have large amount of fat and oil after deep-frying. Nutrient comparisons for chicken cooked by different cooking methods Steamed chicken breast Fried chicken drumstick Fried chicken wings Nutrients (2 oz) (2 oz) (2 oz) Energy from fat (%) 18 49 59 Saturated fat (g) 0.5 0 1.3 Sodium (mg) 36 60 169 Natural Healthy Food Processed Food Preserved Foods Sausage, Chinese preserved pork sausage, preserved eggs Most of the preserved foods used salt as flavoring and as preservatives to store food a longer time. Foods like sausage, Chinese pork sausage, and preserved eggs have high sodium content. Mostly, people would assume those preserved foods are belong to the "Meat, Fish, Eggs, Beans and dairy" groups. However, sausage contains large amount of energy (76% of energy) from fat and saturated fat, as well as large amounts of salt. Nutrient comparisons for less and more processed meats Lean pork Luncheon meat Sausage Nutrients (2 oz) (2 oz) (2 oz) Energy from fat (%) 52 82 76 Saturated fat (g) 3 6.1 6.1 Sodium (mg) 35 731 734 Natural Healthy Food Processed Food Dry salted vegetables Due to their high salt content as mentioned above, these should be consumed less often and in smaller amounts than fresh vegetables. Nutrient comparisons for less and more processed vegetables Fresh vegetables Salted vegetables Nutrients (1 cup) (1 cup) Energy from fat (%) 0.035 0.083 Fiber (g) 2.5 4.9 Salt (mg) 140 243 Natural Healthy Food Processed Food Sugar-added Food Cream cake The main ingredient of a plain cake is flour, and flour belongs to the bottom layer of the Healthy Diet Pyramid - "Grain" group. However, during the making process, lots of cream, butter, sugar and oil are added, while calories are also added from "Fat, Sugar and Salt" group on the same time. Thus, cream cake is a high-energy food to be eaten less frequently. Nutrient comparisons for cream cake and plain biscuits Cream cake Marie biscuits Nutrients (1 slice) (5 pieces) Energy from fat (%) 44 23 Saturated fat (g) 2.1 1 Fiber (g) 0.4 1 Salt (mg) 0 0 Natural Healthy Food Processed Food By reading the food labels from the above foods, you can notice cream cake is high in fat and saturated fat as well as low in fiber while Marie biscuits are higher in fiber and lower in fat, and are a better choice. Next time when you shop for any food, try to read the food labels and understand the food contents; they can help you to make a wiser selection. For more about food labeling, click here Sweetened Drinks - Soda, Boxed fruit juice Though soft drinks contain water and can partially relieve thirst, their high sugar content gives you 'empty calories' with no other nutrients. So, these are basically flavored sugar water. Drink these only occasionally as they belong to the top layer of the Healthy Diet Pyramid. Choose plain water or other beverages instead most of the time. Low-fat milk is rich in calcium and non-sweetened fruit juice is rich in Vitamin C while soda has them neither. Nutrient comparisons for soda, low-fat milk, unsweetened fruit juice Soda, Low-fat milk, Unsweetened fruit juice, Nutrients (8 fl. oz) (8 fl. oz) (8 fl. oz) Kilocalorie 97 102 106 Carbohydrates (g) 27 11.7 25 Sugar (g) 27 11 24 Vitamin C (mg) 0 2.4 85 Calcium (mg) 0 300 20 Natural Healthy Food Processed Food