Should You Avoid Ultraprocessed Food?

Hard to avoid “processed” food.  Some of my students say that to eat healthy
one should avoid “processed” food.  But
most of the food we eat is “processed” to some extent.  Eating whole wheat bread is healthy but bread
is “processed” as they harvested the grain, milled the grain, made the flour
and then made the bread.  Cereal, even
whole grain cereal, is processed.  Canned
vegetables are processed as is canned fruit in syrup.   

But some food is “ultrprocessed” so much so that this
processing adversely affects the nutritional processing of the food.  What are ultraprocessed foods and how is the
nutritional value of this type of food affected?  Are there any consequences to your health if
you eat a lot of ultraprocessed food?

What are ultraprocessed
foods?

Not only are these foods processed but often these foods have
lots of added sugar, salt, and fat as well as preservatives and many have
artificial colors.  Foods that are
considered ultraprocessed include:

• Frozen meals : premade meals
• Processed meats: Hot dogs, cold cuts like bologna,
  sausage, bacon
• Fast food – chicken nuggets, French fries, etc
• Packaged desserts like cookies and cakes
• Salty snacks like Cheetos

I am always surprised when reviewing student’s 24-hour diet
recalls.  Many students have few, if any,
real food.  For some students, almost
everything they eat is processed or ultraprocessed.  Some have no fresh fruit or vegetables and
the “juice”, if there is juice, is often fake juice like Sunny D or they think
lemonade is “juice”. 

A study in BMJ looked at 9317 study
participants and found that ultraprocessed foods accounted for a whopping 57.9%
of the daily calories.  Most of the added
sugar in these participants diets came from these ultraprocessed foods at about
89.7%.  Probably because the ultraprocessed
foods consumed consisted of added sugar making up about 21% of the calories.  They noted this amount of added sugar is
eight times the amount in processed foods.  A conclusion of this study was that just by
reducing ultraprocessed food intake, one would reduce their added sugar
intake.   Reducing added sugars is one of
the goals of the Dietary Guidelines. 

Learn to recognize
ultraprocessed foods.  (adapted from processed
food and cheese) 

 How is the nutritional value of ultraprocessed foods
affected by the processing and additives? 

More calories eaten – Another study in Cell
Metabolism, found that people eating ultraprocessed foods ended up eating
about 500 more calories per day as compared to people eating a more unprocessed
diet.  As noted above, ultraprocessed
foods often contain more added sugar and often are low in protein and higher in
carbs and fat content. 

Weight gain – the study found that people eating an unprocessed
food diet ended up gaining about 2 pounds a month.  When they switched to an unprocessed food
diet plan, they lost about 2 pounds a month. 
What is interesting is that the study participants were offered 3 meals
a day with the SAME amount of calories. 
But, those on the ultraprocessed food diet ate about 500 more calories a
day.  There are many diets for obesity
but one way to help lose weight may be to cut back on ultraprocessed
foods. 

Health Risks – eating more ultraprocessed foods can adversely
affect your health.  A study in France, found
that people eating diets high in ultraprocessed foods had increased risk of
heart disease. 

Recommendations:

1. Choose real food over ultraprocessed food.  Make your own peanut butter and jelly
   sandwich and don’t buy Uncrustables.  Enjoy some whole wheat toast and jelly and
   skip the POPtarts.  Eat an apple or other
   fresh fruit instead of fruit Roll-ups.   
2. Cold cuts – choose fresh cut deli meat over bologna,
   salami.
3. Choose real cheese over processed cheese
   food.  If it says, “cheese food” or “cheese
   product” it is not real cheese.  In fact,
   cheese
   food might be only 51% cheese. 
4. Eat “close to nature”.  One of my students said he eats food close to
   the land.  His diet was actually very healthy
   as most of his food was unprocessed or minimally processed.  He ate the apple, not applesauce, the whole
   grain cereal, not the POP Tart. 

How much ultraprocessed food is in your diet?  Can you cut back on some ultraprocessed foods
and reach for the healthier minimally processed food?  

Choose real cheese and not cheese food or cheese product.

Sources:  ultraprocessed
foods , BMJ ,
recognize
, processed
food , cheese
, Cell
Metabolism , study
, cheese
food    Image Sources:  Ultraprocessed
food , Unprocessed
to processed foods , American
cheese