The direct effects of processed foods on health shouldn't be the only concern raised in eating them: they are thought to be desensitizing our taste buds, as well.
The high levels of sodium, sugar, and/or fat in processed food can reduce your ability to taste these flavors naturally. Almost all foods contain sodium in their natural state, for example, but your taste buds are less likely to notice and appreciate that if they are accustomed to always having salt added in.
That means the more you indulge in anything from a bag of chips to a convenient frozen dinner, the less taste you have for whole, fresh foods. To exaggerate that into a larger political context, it's another means by which giant food corporations can expand their dominance of the food market.
The Telegraph reports that in England, concerns are on the rise about this effect specifically on culinary traditions: "regional tastes are in danger of going extinct as fewer people are able to appreciate the subtleties of flavours in fresh, seasonal products."
But considering Americans eat 31 percent more processed food than fresh food—more than any other country in the world—it sounds like a problem people in the U.S. should be talking about as well.
Child nutrition is important, since that's where lifelong eating habits are formed, and the more processed foods someone eats when they are young, the more they will crave sugar, salt, and fat as they grow older.
The Telegraph quotes Fiona Reynolds, director of the National Trust, which is looking into the issue: "Taste is something we're losing, because too many of our meals are packed with additives and flavourings. And because many of us don't see food production for ourselves, we're losing contact with where food comes from - and its distinctive taste."
If not for the health hazards of the chemicals and genetically-modified ingredients in 80 percent of processed foods in the U.S., how about cutting out processed foods for the sake of your taste buds and ability to just enjoy real food?
