The truth about processed foods

🍽️ Not all processed foods are harmful—but the type of processing matters. There’s a big difference between a frozen bag of spinach and a sugary cereal bar shaped like spinach.

🧪 Here’s a quick guide to help you tell the difference:

Unprocessed or Minimally Processed: Whole foods in their natural form or lightly altered (washed, chopped, frozen). Think fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, nuts.
Processed Culinary Ingredients: Extracted from natural foods through simple methods like pressing or refining—examples include olive oil, butter, salt, sugar.
Processed Foods: Made by combining whole foods with culinary ingredients. Examples: canned beans, plain yogurt, whole-grain bread.
Ultra-Processed Foods: Industrial products made with additives, seed oils, artificial flavors, and refined starches. Think: packaged snacks, sugary cereals, frozen meals. These often spike blood sugar, increase cravings, and disrupt hormone signaling over time.

🌡️ Ultra-processed foods are designed for taste and shelf life—not health. They’re linked to insulin resistance, inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction.

🔧 Tip: Choose foods that are closest to their original form with simple, recognizable ingredients. Read labels and cook at home when you can.

At Vagal, we teach you how to spot ultra-processed foods and build meals that support your hormones and metabolism.