What is the difference between processed and natural foods?

Processed foods are, well, processed. As intelligent as we are; as scientifically and technologically advanced as we have become; and as motivated as we are for self-improvement as a species, we have not even come close to matching Mother Nature's ability to nourish us. The foods we create in the laboratory are not as nutritious as those grown on a farm. When hospitalized patients can't swallow and must be given long-term supplementation directly into their stomach or blood, they may develop kidney, liver, metabolic, and gastrointestinal disorders because the nutritional mixture that we are able to manufacture is inadequate. Ultimately, food is the most nutritious when it is carefully looked after, grown, and cultivated, particularly fruits and vegetables. For example, corn, tomatoes, grapes, cucumbers, and just about every other vegetable and fruit we now take for granted, would not exist in its current form without human intervention.

Processed foods typically have more sugar, fat (typically of the bad, omega-6 type), and chemicals than fresh foods, and fewer vitamins and minerals. Many of the chemicals in processed foods may seem to be benign, but they may prove one day to be dangerous. We simply, and perhaps ominously, do not know yet.