Homemade vs. processed foods: Study challenges what we think is healthier

Largest part nutritionists and dietitians agree that it's OK to indulge in off-diet foods occasionally But is it better to make these indulgent foods at home rather than buy boxed or factory-processed options This includes everything from making fresh pasta at home with just flour and egg cutting out any unwanted ingredients to baking a cake from scratch instead of using a boxed cake mix SIMPLE DIETARY CHANGE COULD LOWER YOUR MENACE OF COLON CANCER SCRUTINY SAYSBryan Hitchcock chief science and hardware officer at the Chicago-based Institute of Food Technologists IFT shared thoughts in an interview with Fox News Digital While food companies have brought forward food solutions that meet the demands of modern life whether that's a pasta sauce that's ready to eat or a bread that doesn't mold there is a growing push around home-cooked being healthier he revealed For those who have the ability to cook from scratch at home Hitchcock stressed understanding how to create and consume foods that are low in sodium added sugar and unhealthy fats while delivering on taste and ensuring food safety This can be a challenge which is why consumers need clear concise scientifically-based information to make informed decisions he announced SIMPLE MEANS TO INCREASE FIBER IN YOUR DIET AND WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANTBoth at-home and manufactured foods can contribute to a healthy lifestyle he declared This is supported by fresh research that has revealed homemade foods are not nutritionally better or safer than industrially produced food items The evaluation published in the journal Food Science compared nutritional values and harmful compounds in processed and homemade food items like fish sticks tomato sauce plum cake and cereal bars using similar recipes without ingredients and technologies not available at home The findings suggested that homemade foods do not necessarily offer superior nutritional quality or lower levels of harmful compounds in comparison For more Lifestyle articles visit foxnews com lifestyleHitchcock reported food processing is merely a larger-scale version of the tools and techniques that consumers use at home such as cutting cooking washing frying and grilling except factory or industrial processing allows for much tighter control of temperature to reduce harmful chemicals and prevent the loss of nutrients He added And it offers more stringent hygiene in the storage of ingredients processing and packaging But at-home food preparation also allows consumers to control their own food experience in terms of ingredient quality selection and food prep Hitchcock noted It is critical for consumers to monitor the key nutritional parameters of the food they consume whether it's prepared at home or outside the home he explained CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTERMichelle Patidar a fitness nutrition coach and cancer recovery specialist in Chicago supported the idea of making food at home with whole ingredients The more we can pull away from packaged or ultra-processed foods the better our wellness can be she explained Fox News Digital Patidar reminded consumers they have healthy alternatives at their fingertips And you can feel good about eating real whole foods that aren't contaminated and don't have gums and emulsifiers and food dyes in them because we want to avoid that as much as attainable she noted