In the 1973 movie “Soylent Green,” detective Frank Thorn (Charlton Heston) investigates the Soylent Corporation, a rations manufacturer, only to find that the wafers they make for a starving population (the year is 2022) aren't made from soy plus lentils (hence soy-lent), they're made from ... processed people.

Okay, that’s an extreme example. But we've told you repeatedly that highly processed foods are not something you want to eat.

Still, if you've been buying bacon and lunch meats that proclaim “no nitrites or nitrates added,” or that say they're “uncured” and you thought that meant they're better for you than conventional versions of those products — well, say soy-long to that illusion.

That labeling is downright misleading.

A recent Consumer Reports (CR) study found that “no nitrites” doesn't actually mean there's “no” nitrites.  What it means is that nitrates and nitrites used to preserve and flavor the food come from celery and other natural sources, not synthetic sources like sodium nitrite.

And when CR tested 31 packaged deli meats, they found the “nitrite free” chicken, ham, roast beef, salami, and turkey had around the same amount of those chemicals as conventional products.

Why does this matter? Added nitrites have been linked to increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. In fact, a study in the journal JNCI Cancer Spectrum estimates that more than 14,500 cancer cases annually are linked to eating processed meats.

So when you're making lunch, choose lean, fresh poultry and seafood, along with vegetables like edamame (soy) and cold lentil salad or a hot soup.