Processed food dey put different kain of pictures of food wey no dey healthy plus snacks wey dem produce for factories for pesin mind.

But our intervention really fit make some food beta for us?

Di language wey dem dey use describe di wey we dey chop get big power to determine how we take dey see dat food.

Terms like "organic," "artisanal," "homemade" and "handpicked" fit tempt pesin pass di ones like “canned”, “rehydrated” or “lyophilized”.

Anoda word wey fit ginja our appetite na "natural," as we dey mostly associate "processed" foods wit long lists of ingredients wey we no fit pronounce.

But wen e come to our health, natural always beta pass processed?

In fact, just becos food dey natural no automatically mean say e good for you Christina Sadler, director of European Food Information Council and researcher for University of Surrey, tok.

In fact, natural foods fit contain toxins, and small processing actually fit make dem safer.

Kidney beans, for example, get lectin wey fit make pesin vomit plus diarrhea.

To remove dem, just soak dem overnight, dem cook dem inside boiling water.

Processing dey also allow you consume cow milk safely.

Dem don dey pasteurize milk since 1800 to kill harmful bacteria. Before dem bin dey distribute dem locally becos pipo bin no get fridge.

“For cities dem bin dey milk cows everyday and pipo go carry di milk come sell give dia neighbours,” John Lucey, professor of food science for University of Wisconsin-Madison, say.

“As cities grow, milk move far away further away and come dey take longer to reach pipo wey need am, dis come dey allow pathogens to multiply.

Plenty evidence dey to show say some organism inside milk fit dey harmful, and dis lead to di evelopment of milk heating devices and di invention of pasteurization, wey Europe and USA sharply adopt.

Di reason for milk pasteurization - a form of processing – na so di milk go fit last longer and dem go fit transport am far away from farms.

“Dis na one of di greatest public health success stories of di last century,” Lucey tok. "Just before World War II, about one quarter of all food- and water-borne disease na from milk. Today, dis na less dan 1 percent.”

Processing fit also help preserve nutrients for di foods we dey chop.

For example, freezing, wey dem dey consider as minimal processing, dey allow food and vegetables retain nutrients wey odawise fit make am rotten as e dey inside fridge.

“Most times dem dey put vegetable for freezer as soon as dem harvest dem, instead of picking and transporting dem put dem for shelves, make e lose im nutrients,” Sadler say.

For 2017, one group of researchers buy fresh vegetables from different shops come analyze di nutrients inside, including vitamin C and folic acid, on di day wey dem buy am and five days later, afta dem store am for refrigerator.

Wen dem compare di one wey dem put for freezer and di one wey dem put for fridge, dem find say dem get almost di same nutrient contents.

In some cases, frozen vegetables bin get higher levels dan dia refrigerator-stored rivals.

"E get misconception say frozen food no good like dia fresh counterparts, but dat no be true really," Ronald Pegg, one professor of food science and technology for University of Georgia, say.

Processing dey also add vitamins and minerals, like vitamin D, calcium and folic acid, to some processed foods, including breads and cereals.

Dis effort don help reduce several nutrient deficiencies for di general public.

However, dis no necessarily mean say di food dey nutritionally balance.

Processing also fit help preserve food and make am more accessible. Fermenting cheese, for example, dey make am stable for longer and, in some cases, reduces di amount of lactose, making am more accessible to pipo wey get mild lactose intolerance.

Before before, di main reason why dem bin dey process food na to increase dia shelf life.

For a long time, preserving food by adding ingredients such like sugar or salt bin dey necessary for pipo to survive di winter, Gunter Kuhnle, wey be professor of food and nutritional sciences for University of Reading tok.

“Di transformation allow us to dey wia we dey today becos e save us from starving,” im explain. “Many food need processing before we fit eat am, like bread. We no fit survive on grains alone.

Adding heat — na also minimal process — dey make am possible to fit eat am, like potatoes and mushrooms.

Many of us dey choose to buy fresh vegetables, but some times dey fit lose most of dia quality if we keep am for fridge for several days.

"Canned tomatoes na one example processed food wey beta pass fresh," Kuhnle say. “Dem fit harvest am later later wen di food don dey more ripe, den come process am in much gentler way.

And while some transformations fit make food less nutritious, dem also fit make am more accessible.

Bacon, for example, no dey improve health, but e allow more pipo get access to meat by preventing food from spoiling.

But ultra-processed foods – wey dem make from food-derived substances and additives – no generally dey good for us.

Studies show say food additives or some kain tins wey dem dey add for food fit change our gut bacteria and cause swelling for our body, wey link to increase chance of heart disease.

Research also show say pipo fit overconsume ultra-processed foods.

Studies don show say pipo wey dey eat ultra-processed foods dey consume more calories overall and dem dey gain more weight, and dey face risk of developing heart disease.

One small study for 2019 show say pipo wey dey eat food wey dey processed for two weeks dey consume 500 more calories per day pass pipo wey eat unprocessed foods for two weeks.

Dem also gain average of two kilos from di ultra-processed diet.

However, researchers believe say we need to understand beta how di mechanisms behind dis phenomenon dey take work.

More generally, e be like some pipo agree say e go good to do more research into how processed food dey tak affect our health.

For example, e no clear how flavour and polyphenols — micronutrients wey dey inside plants and wey dem associate wit many health benefits — wey dey for fruits dey affected by rocessing, Kuhnle say.

"E get plenty imformate on how processing affect narrower health benefits. A lot of research dey focus on single food, but pipo no dey eat just one apple, dem dey eat di whole tin. One diet of apples, smoothies and cakes.

While minimal processing get many benefits, you no fit tok di same for wetin classification systems call “ultra-processed” foods. However, scientists disagree on di definitions and terminology of wetin be minimal processing or "ultra-processing."

Earlier dis year, Sadler analyse many classification systems for processed foods.

E no fit agree on di tin wey go determine di level of processing and say di criteria for classification dey "confusing" and "no dey consistent."

Nova na di best known classification system wey dem dey use pass to classify food for research.

E dey clsssify food into three categories: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foods.

According to Nova, ultra-processed dem dey use wetin oyibo dey call fractionated ingredients make am and e contain little or no whole foods.

But definition of wetin ultra-processed foods mean depend on wia you from read am and dem be topic of debate.

"E no get any good definition of processing. Di public get di impression say, wen dem hear di word "processing", e mean say dem scata di whole food put am back togeda again, we di simple meaning fit be say dem heat am or cool am,” oga Lucey explain.

Weda public health nutrition policies suppose focus more on di degree of processing of foods instead of di nutrients wey dem contain na mata of debate.

But e get anytin wey dey naturally bad about di transformation?

One group of scientists write for one 2017 paper say: "To our knowledge, e neva get any argument to explain how, or weda, food processing somehow fit cause health risk to consumers due to negative nutrient or chemical or microbiological hazards."

E good to observe, however, say di persin wey lead di report bin serve for scientific committees for food producers Nestlé and Cereal Partners Worldwide.

While ultra-processed foods generally contain fewer nutrients dan di ones wey dem process small, fortified foods – wia dem add micronutrients during production of di food to improve public health - play important role for public health, dem tok.

While some studies show say ultra-processed foods dey make us less full and cause us to eat more, di writers of di article say dem dey also use some processing to reduce di number of calories for some food, like semi skimmed milk and low fat butter.

Some ultra-processed foods fit dey associated wit serious health effects, but make you no put all processed food for di same bag.

Frozen vegetables, pasteurize milk or boiled potatoes, for example, fit dey healthier than dia counterparts wey dem no process.

But dis na di key: all of dis food dem also dey close to dia natural form, and dat na wetin you suppose carry for mind.

As long as we fit to recognize say food wey dem process dey close to im natural form, im presence for our food fit dey even more beneficial for us.

*We originally publish dis article for May 2021 but don update am since wit di new research.