Also “processed” can often mean “making it fucking edible.”

Wheat is a fine example, because while it is indeed edible raw, cooking or milling wheat makes it much more digestible.

Some aspects of processed foods are just removing a step our body has to do to digest it (which requires energy).

When you digest say, processed sugar, your body has to do almost nothing to digest it compared to complex carbohydrates.

It’s a short-cut for your body to expend less energy while getting energy.

(but that’s not always a good thing)