A single Pringles potato chip, a highly processed food. Dark blue background.
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

Unlocking the Secrets: The Surprising Truth About Pre-digested Food

Michael Hunter, MD
BeingWell
Published in
4 min readMay 10, 2024

--

DO YOU OVERINDULGE IN CAKES, CHIPS, or other highly processed foods? I sometimes do.

I know such foods are not my healthiest choice, so why do I persist? It’s not always because the treats are extraordinarily tasty.

I will cut to the chase: You and I might consume pre-digested food.

The secret sauce? Our failings (when it comes to overprocessed foods) may be a product of how manufacturers create these foods.

Manufacturers

You probably think these foods are addictive because of how they are made.

I know that was my first thought.

A new study suggests that we are right.

Multilayered carrot cake, with a cylinder of chocolate atop it. Make cakse are highly processed.
Photo by Anthony Espinosa on Unsplash

Predigestion

I recently learned about a manufacturing process that appears to “pre-digest” raw ingredients. CNN informs us that this creates highly processed foods.

In basic terms, these processed foods might mess with our body’s natural cues that signal fullness.

--

--

Michael Hunter, MD
BeingWell

I have degrees from Harvard, Yale, and Penn. I am a radiation oncologist in the Seattle area. You may find me regularly posting at www.newcancerinfo.com