Most processed foods are predigested

Reading time: 2 minutes – Futurism, Spotted on CNN

As CNN tells us, many ultra-processed foods are made through a process that can be described as “pre-digestion.” Indeed, many processed grain-based foods (such as chips or pizza dough) have been created. “Like a mother bird before chewing the food of her young.”Futurism explains.

But what does the term “predigested” mean? It is actually chemical digestion. To make cheaper products, basic foodstuffs such as corn, wheat and potatoes are broken down into their molecular components: starchy flour, protein isolate, fat and oil. This is what manufacturers call “mush”.

Then they add artificial colors, flavors and emulsifiers, and then these preparations are shaped to take the shape of any food. A burger bun, ice cream or granola bar all have the same basic ingredient list.

Very fast digestion

“It’s a food illusion,” Chris van Tuleken, a virology expert and associate professor at University College London, says, “But it’s very expensive and difficult for a food company to produce real, whole food, and it’s very cheap to destroy real food, turn it into molecules, and then reassemble it into what they need.”

These industrial products are much easier to digest than others, but the problem: this is not at all how our digestive process should work. According to preventive medicine expert David Katz, these types of foods bypass your stomach’s stretch sensor, which tells your brain you’re full.

Before these receptors are triggered, “You’ve taken in twice as many calories as you should”, Katz said. This is why you can eat an entire bag of chips without feeling full. So lightness is just an illusion, and the problem should not be taken lightly: ultra-processed food makes up 31% of the French plate.