Hi Nora,

The term "processed" means the food has been changed from it's natural state.  For example, a piece of fruit, such as an apple is "unprocessed", while sweetened applesauce is processed. 

In the case of carbohydrates, the natural state is usually whole grain, which mean it includes the bran, germ, and endosperm.  When grain is processed the bran and germ are removed.  So, whole wheat bread contains the whole grain (all three layers), while white bread is "processed" and only contains the endosperm.

Examples of processed carbohydrates:  white bread, white rice, pastries, all purpose flour, baked goods, enriched pasta that is not whole grain, snack crackers, scalloped potatoes in a box, etc.

The degree of processing differs, such as the applesauce example above is not highly processed versus corn turned into high fructose corn syrup that goes into soda.

All the best,

Lisa Nelson, RD, LN

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