Process this!

My father, who is almost 90 years old, helps out with the food prep by cutting vegetables.  A couple of months ago, when I was in India, one of those mornings when he was engaged in this work, for which he uses a dangerously rickety knife, well, that knife sliced a little bit of his skin.  After he cleaned it up, I put a finger cot on it, and he resumed the knife work.

A few minutes later, he wondered where that finger cot went.  We then located it among the wastes, thankfully.  I reminded my father about the health risks--to himself and to others.  For a good measure, I added, "paatti always said that you never know what went into the cooking in the hotels.  The chef may not have even washed his hands."

When we process and cook our own meals, then we know exactly what we are doing.  Chances are that this is the best way to practice sanitas per escam.  It is not only about the hygiene, but also about the amount of salt, sugar, fat, and whatever else is added.

One would think that this is common knowledge. Common sense.  But, we humans are not always about being sensible.  We then want science to tell us what is correct!

Over the past 70 years, ultra-processed foods have come to dominate the U.S. diet. These are foods made from cheap industrial ingredients and engineered to be super-tasty and generally high in fat, sugar and salt.
The rise of ultra-processed foods has coincided with growing rates of obesity, leading many to suspect that they've played a big role in our growing waistlines. But is it something about the highly processed nature of these foods itself that drives people to overeat? A new study suggests the answer is yes.

Next research question for scientists: Is the Pope catholic?

And ultra-processed foods include more than just the obvious suspects, like chips, candy, packaged desserts and ready-to-eat meals. The category also includes foods that some consumers might find surprising, including Honey Nut Cheerios and other breakfast cereals, packaged white bread, jarred sauces, yogurt with added fruit, and frozen sausages and other reconstituted meat products. Popkin says ultra-processed foods usually contain a long list of ingredients, many of them made in labs.

Seriously, a gazillion-dollar scientific study is needed to tell us this?

The convenience of inexpensive ultra-processed foods comes at a high hidden cost.  If only people will put their kitchens to use by cooking their own meals--without slicing their fingers!