Comparing these two unrelated substances may, on the surface, seem somewhat unnecessary. However, that could not be further from the truth. During my research, I discovered some very interesting and enlightening information. In establishing this comparison, first let’s get clarity on the actual definition of each.
Processed Food
The United States Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, Section 201, Chapter II defines processed food as: any food other than a raw agricultural commodity and includes any raw agricultural commodity that has been subject to processing, such as canning, cooking, freezing, dehydration, or milling.Examples of processing include:
- Roasting your freshly caught fish over a campfire.
- Boiling your potatoes
- Milling any type of flour
- Packaging food products in plastic wrap
The examples of processing in the definition are sparse, but it is clear. Everything other than raw agricultural produce is processed in some way.
Marijuana
Street and recreational drug - comes from the marijuana plant: the hemp plant cannabis sativa. The pharmacologically active ingredient in marijuana is tetra-hydro-cannabinol (THC).
Pharmaceutical product, Marinol, which contains synthetic THC, is available as a prescription medication. It comes in the form of a pill (eliminating the harmful and cancer-causing chemicals present when marijuana is smoked) and is used to relieve the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy for cancer patients and to treat loss of appetite in AIDS patients.
Now let’s look at the detrimental aspects of each.
Processed foods are usually loaded with added sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup. Sugar, when consumed in excess is harmful, nearly devoid of healthy calories, has no essential nutrients, and contains a large amount of energy. Many studies show that sugar can have devastating effects on metabolism, such as insulin resistance, high triglycerides, increased levels of the harmful cholesterol and increased fat accumulation in the liver and abdominal cavity.
Sugar consumption is associated with some of the world’s leading killers, including: heart disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer. Even if people are not loading sugar into coffee or cereal, they’re getting it from processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Processed foods are designed to make us eat more and more.
Our appetite gravitates towards foods that are sweet, salty and fatty, because we know such foods contain energy and nutrients that we need for survival. Obviously, if a food manufacturer wants to succeed and get people to buy their product, it has to taste good. Here’s where processing of food takes a front seat.
Massive resources are spent on making foods as desirable as possible. Many processed foods have been engineered to be so incredibly rewarding and tantalizing to the brain that they overpower anything we might have come across in nature.
There is quite a lot of evidence that the reward value of foods can bypass the innate defense mechanism and make us start eating much more than we need, so much that it starts to compromise our health. In should come as no surprise that processed foods are designed to affect our thoughts and behavior, making us eat more and more until eventually we become sick.
Good food is good, but foods that are engineered to effectively short circuit our systems against overconsumption, are NOT good.
If you look at the ingredients label for a processed, packaged food, chances are that you won’t have a clue what some of the ingredients are. That’s because many of the ingredients in there aren’t actual food… they are artificial chemicals that are added for various purposes. If you cannot understand or pronounce an ingredient on a food label, it is probably best to put it back on the shelf.
Processed foods contain chemicals.
Highly processed foods often contain preservatives (chemicals that prevent the food from rotting), colorants (chemicals that are used to give the food a specific color), flavor (chemicals that give the food a particular flavor), and texturants (chemicals that give a particular texture). Notice the common word – CHEMICALS.
Keep in mind that processed foods can contain dozens of additional chemicals that aren’t even listed on the label. For example, “artificial flavor” is a proprietary blend. Manufacturers don’t have to disclose exactly what it means and it is usually a combination of chemicals.
Of course, most of these chemicals have allegedly been tested for safety. But given that the regulatory authorities still think that sugar and vegetable oils are safe, I have to question their definition of “safety”.
Processed foods are extremely low in essential nutrients.
Processed foods are extremely low in essential nutrients compared to whole, unprocessed foods. In some cases, synthetic vitamins and minerals are added to the foods to compensate for what was lost during processing. However, synthetic nutrients are NOT a good replacement for the nutrients found in whole foods. Remember, natural and whole food contain the original design of nutrient in their natural synergistically working manner.
We need fiber. The fiber that is found naturally in foods is often lost during processing, or intentionally removed. Therefore, most processed foods are very low in fiber. Most of the fiber has been taken out and the ingredients are refined, isolated nutrients that don’t resemble the whole foods they came from.
Processed food can cause you to burn less calories.
Food manufacturers want their processed food products to have a long shelf life. They also want each batch of the product to have a similar consistency and they want their foods to be easily consumed. Producers want foods to be easy to chew and swallow, making them very appealing.
One consequence of this is that it takes less energy to eat and digest processed foods, making it highly likely we can eat more of them in a shorter amount of time AND burn less energy digesting them than we would if they were unprocessed, whole foods.
In one very small study, 17 healthy men and women compared the difference in energy expenditure after consuming a processed vs a whole foods-based meal. They ate a sandwich, either with multi-grain bread and cheddar cheese (whole foods) or with white bread and processed cheese (processed foods). It turned out that they burned twice as many calories digesting the unprocessed meal.
Processed food can increase your risk of cancer.
As a point of significant note, The World Health Organization stated (October 2015) that “eating processed meat such as sausages and ham causes cancer”. The WHO's cancer research unit now classifies processed meat as "carcinogenic to humans" based on evidence from hundreds of studies, and linked it specifically to colon, or colorectal, cancer.
The report outlined that simply eating 50 grams of processed meat each day -- the equivalent of two slices of ham -- can increase the risk of such cancer by 18%. The organization defines processed meat as any type of meat that is salted, cured or smoked to enhance its flavor or preserve it.
Processed meat generally contains pork or beef, but may also contain poultry. The WHO now classifies processed meat in the same category as smoking and asbestos, based on its certainty of a link with cancer, but stressed that did not mean they were equally dangerous.
We must begin with the obvious – marijuana is illegal is most states. Side effects of marijuana that usually don’t last long can include: dizziness, drowsiness, short-term memory loss, euphoria. More serious side effects include severe anxiety and psychosis. Dangers in the immediate effects of marijuana include distortions of time and space perceptions and impaired coordination, all of which may be contributing to the increased risk of traffic accidents.
Particularly important for students to know about is the creation of difficulty thinking or problem solving and impairment of memory and learning. These difficulties can last for as long as four weeks after drug use.
Chronic marijuana use and higher dosages are found to correlate to greater incidence of psychosis and schizophrenia. Heavy abusers of marijuana were found to suffer damage to social life, work or career status and cognitive ability. Schoolwork and the achievement of goals were also found to suffer.
Medical marijuana can still have negative effects.
Medical marijuana is not monitored like FDA-approved medicines, thus has not been subjected to a large volume of studies. When using it, you don’t know its potential to cause cancer, its purity, potency, or side effects. Only people who have a card from a doctor can legally use medical marijuana. Doctors will not prescribe medical marijuana to anyone under 18 or others who should not use it. Caution should be advised for people with heart disease, pregnant women, and people with a history of psychosis.
The long-term effects may include decrease in motivation and harmful effects on the brain, heart, lungs, and reproductive system. People who smoke marijuana are also at increased risk of developing cancer of the head and neck.
With all the pro-medical marijuana publicity and the clamoring for decriminalization of this drug, it can be hard to remember that marijuana is indeed damaging, potentially highly addictive, and causes harmful effects (especially if smoked).
Marijuana use and addiction are most pronounced in America’s young people. Of those going to rehabilitation for addiction, 45 percent are under 21 years of age. When those 24 and younger are included, the percentage rises to 55.
Processed Food
As much as I looked, I could find NONE. It could be argued, however, that absent any real and natural food, processed food can provide some calories and nutrients.
Marijuana
Medicinal benefits of marijuana include pain relief from headaches, a disease like cancer, or a long-term condition, like glaucoma or nerve pain. Studies have suggested positive benefits with disease such as ALS or even Alzheimer’s.
Doctors also may prescribe medical marijuana to treat muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness, such as HIV, or nerve pain, seizure disorders, Crohn's disease
The FDA has approved THC, a key ingredient in marijuana, to treat nausea and improve appetite. It's available by prescription Marinol (dronabinol) and Cesamet (nabilone).
Your body already makes marijuana-like chemicals that affect pain, inflammation, and many other processes. Marijuana can sometimes help those natural chemicals work better, says Laura Borgelt, PharmD, of the University of Colorado.
Medical marijuana may used in the following ways: smoked, vaporized (heated until active ingredients are released, but no smoke is formed), eaten (usually in the form of cookies or candy), or taken as a liquid extract.
Socially marijuana is used to heighten perception, affect mood, and relax.
Though I am not promoting neither the decriminalization of marijuana nor the criminalization of processed food, I am promoting education on all fronts. Do we really understand what we are eating, smoking, or ingesting? Great food for thought, huh?
Take a Step Towards Wellness
Take a step towards wellness by picking up a free chapter of my Amazon Best Seller, The Quest for Wellness.