>Thomas, probably worrying excessively is just as bad for us as eating bad stuff!

Do not worry about me worrrying too much ;-))

In my young and crazy years I did drink too much (the quip about washing away brain cells definately was true back then) and in the young and stupid years I was a smoker - there might have been some overlap ;-)

The topic has become more of interest to me in the last decade, but more from intellectual curiosity and for other members of my family than from fear of dying myself prematurely. While my taste buds will never be connoiseur grade at any special area I try to have a clear picture of what I like and what smart people know about it.

I try to get better ingredients to cook by reading the culinary section of some journals but in reality give more weight the the products used in the restaurants I fancy- the ask an expert approach, as it is their biz to find good ingredients. When preparing at home I stay away from pre-processed whole dishes or even pre-marinated meat, but will use ready to use thai curry paste or similar stuff when unsure of recipe or in a hurry.

When I do not want to cook myself I go or ride to a restaurant esp. in the few cases I want something like pizza, as I know a few small places here where they make everything themsselves (as it is their main biz) not buying frozen pizza and staying away from big food chains like pizza hut except for anchoring lower end of my taste scale once or twice in a decade. Big exception from staying away from industrialized food processing are dairy products, where it is too much effort to prepare for yourself, esp for a city guy like me,and small producers are not found nearby.



>
>Seems to me there are a few sentinel issues:
>
>1) Fried food generally is less healthy than baked, steamed or microwaved.
>2) Processed meats have recent strong links to cancer: as of 2015, WHO says processed meat (chemically cured bacon, salami) has the same cancer risk as plutonium. Evidence says that 26% of colorectal cancers are caused by processed or red meat. WHO also says the red meat risk is "probable" but there's a dose association (higher quantity=higher risk) and there are health benefits from moderate consumption.
>4) Pressed olive oil has health benefits unless you push it past its smoke point.
>5) IMHO it's worth paying a few extra EU for quality oil as some of the stuff out of Spain or labeled from Italy (but actually could be produced anywhere) is of indeterminate age or condition and may not still be extra virgin when it reaches the supermarket shelf assuming it ever was- anecdotally some of it is processed out of cold press waste rather than from the first press itself. Better to get fresh oils made by somebody local taking pride in their produce IMHO. E.g. in NZ I quite like this one: http://rockhavenoil.co.nz/