--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Though you can boil, extract, and refine…" description: "\"“Though you can boil, extract, and refine living tissue to isolate the protein, carb, or fat, you do so only at the cost of everything else that held t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/catherine-shanahan-59830_life_though-you-can-boil-extract-and-refine-l_473942.jpg" --- # Though you can boil, extract, and refine living tissue to… ![“Though you can boil, extract, and refine living tissue to isolate the protein, carb, or fat, you do so only at the cost of everything else that held the cells and organs together. Yanking certain components from living systems—as we do to make flour, sugar, protein slurries, and 90 percent of…” quote by Catherine Shanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/catherine-shanahan-59830_life_though-you-can-boil-extract-and-refine-l_473942.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/catherine-shanahan-59830_life_though-you-can-boil-extract-and-refine-l_473942.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/catherine-shanahan-59830_life_though-you-can-boil-extract-and-refine-l_473942.jpg) > ““Though you can boil, extract, and refine living tissue to isolate the protein, carb, or fat, you do so only at the cost of everything else that held the cells and organs together. Yanking certain components from living systems—as we do to make flour, sugar, protein slurries, and 90 percent of what’s now for sale in the store—and expecting them to approximate their original nutritional value is like removing someone’s brain from their body and expecting it to respond to questions. That is not science; it is science fiction. So is the idea that heavily processed food can be healthy.”” [Catherine Shanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-shanahan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highly processed foods lose essential structure, making them nutritionally inferior to whole foods. **In simple terms:** Processing destroys natural nutrition. Key Takeaway Choose whole foods over heavily processed ones. Themes health nutrition food science industrial processing wellness Mood concerned informative cautious Type educational warning analytical When to use this quote - grocery shopping - meal planning - dietary counseling - food manufacturing - policy making Key Concepts Systems biology nutrient synergy food integrity Questions to Reflect On - How does processing affect nutrient bioavailability? - What policies could reduce reliance on ultra‑processed foods? A Different Perspective Processing can retain some nutrients but often reduces overall health value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Processed food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/processed-food/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [Fast food is inexpensive, convenient, and it tastes good. I'm all in favor of that. My problem is how heavily processed it is -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schlosser/fast-food-is-inexpensive-convenient-and-it-tastes-good-i-m-all-in/) [Eric Schlosser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schlosser/) > [“So there’s a membrane of—of living tissue around that star,” I say, trying to wrap my head around the concept. “A, a meat balloon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/so-there-s-a-membrane-of-of-living-tissue-around-that-star-i-say/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [Life, we learn too late, is in the living, the tissue of every day and hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-leacock/life-we-learn-too-late-is-in-the-living-the-tissue-of-every-day-and/) [Stephen Leacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-leacock/) > [Air is traditionally 'thin,' but the more we learn about our atmosphere, the more substantial it becomes. In some places it is so filled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyall-watson/air-is-traditionally-thin-but-the-more-we-learn-about-our-atmosphere/) [Lyall Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyall-watson/) > [The significant chemicals of living tissue are rickety and unstable, which is exactly what is needed for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-significant-chemicals-of-living-tissue-are-rickety-and-unstable/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Proteins are the machinery of living tissue that builds the structures and carries out the chemical reactions necessary for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/proteins-are-the-machinery-of-living-tissue-that-builds-the/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [I eat some fruit every day, but not too much and almost no processed food. I stay away from sweets, except 80 per cent chocolate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-kenyon/i-eat-some-fruit-every-day-but-not-too-much-and-almost-no-processed/) [Cynthia Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-kenyon/) > [It was very important thousands of years ago to categorize things. I can eat that plant, I can't eat that plant. Or this tribe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keegan-michael-key/it-was-very-important-thousands-of-years-ago-to-categorize-things-i/) [Keegan-Michael Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keegan-michael-key/) > [There is one thing that very reliably try to trumps the food supply and that is food demand. At the end of the day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-katz/there-is-one-thing-that-very-reliably-try-to-trumps-the-food-supply/) [David Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-katz/) > [We always get dressings and sauces on the side. However, we definitely like our glass of wine - or three sometimes. We order dessert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayna-devon/we-always-get-dressings-and-sauces-on-the-side-however-we-definitely/) [Dayna Devon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dayna-devon/) > [“Nothing says I love you like processed food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-balducci/nothing-says-i-love-you-like-processed-food/) [Rachel Balducci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-balducci/) > [My main thing is not eating processed food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-miller/my-main-thing-is-not-eating-processed-food/) [Marisa Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-miller/) > [My early childhood was notable by an absence of proper meals and highly processed food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrika-jonsson/my-early-childhood-was-notable-by-an-absence-of-proper-meals-and/) [Ulrika Jonsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrika-jonsson/) > [I've been more conscious of my salt intake, sugar intake, making sure I'm not eating as many processed foods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-denise-brown/i-ve-been-more-conscious-of-my-salt-intake-sugar-intake-making-sure-i/) [Monica Denise Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-denise-brown/) > [I avoid processed food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-hopkins/i-avoid-processed-food/) [Bernard Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-hopkins/) ## More by Catherine Shanahan > [“No combination of supplements has the right balance of bioavailable minerals and collagen-derived growth factors to fortify your body as effectively as meat on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-shanahan/no-combination-of-supplements-has-the-right-balance-of-bioavailable/) [Catherine Shanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-shanahan/) > [“Fermentation and sprouting are crucial for one simple reason: Plants didn’t evolve with the idea that they should be good to eat. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-shanahan/fermentation-and-sprouting-are-crucial-for-one-simple-reason-plants/) [Catherine Shanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-shanahan/) > [“as far as your body’s cells are concerned, healthy diets are all essentially the same, resting on the same Four Pillars: meat on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-shanahan/as-far-as-your-body-s-cells-are-concerned-healthy-diets-are-all/) [Catherine Shanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-shanahan/) > [“So the Deep Nutrition formula for weight loss is simple: Get rid of inflammation that blocks cellular communication, and eat foods that enable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-shanahan/so-the-deep-nutrition-formula-for-weight-loss-is-simple-get-rid-of/) [Catherine Shanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-shanahan/) [Explore all 5 Catherine Shanahan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-shanahan/) ## More Food quotes > [On Sundays, that's my pig out day and I do the pizza and the beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-silvstedt/on-sundays-that-s-my-pig-out-day-and-i-do-the-pizza-and-the-beer/) [Victoria Silvstedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-silvstedt/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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