Most recently, there’s been a lot (more) buzz related to the potential ill effects of food processing on our health. Specifically, ultra-processed foods (UPFs). A recent study showed that UPFs make up 67% of the calories consumed by children and teenagers in the United States. Is that a risk you are willing to take as a parent?
In February, 2024, the British Medical Journal reported that eating UPFs has ties to 32 health conditions including heart disease, mental health disorder, and type 2 diabetes. The review collected data from 45 studies and involved almost 10 million participants. The reviewers relied on a classification system called NOVA (a name, not an acronym) that is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) but not by the United States Department of Agriculture.
What is NOVA? It is a classification system of processed foods that was introduced in 2009 by a team of Brazilian scientists. NOVA breaks foods into four categories: (1) unprocessed or minimally processed (2) processed culinary ingredients (3) processed (4) ultra-processed (these typically have five or more ingredients listed on the label). NOVA doesn’t categorize foods based on their nutritional content; simply on their degree of processing they undergo.
While the British researchers did not cite the specifics of how UPFs can directly affect your health, they have their theories. Firstly, that UPFs unfortunately will replace more nutritious meal options. Secondly, unhealthy additives can increase the risk of chronic inflammatory diseases. Things like nitrates (WHO has classified as a group one carcinogen) or added sugars, which are known to cause an imbalance with the intestinal microbiome and can lead to inflammation in the body. Scientists are now recognizing the critical role our gut bacteria play in boosting our immune system and helping to stave off disease. Also, excess sugars and refined carbohydrates that the body doesn’t process can cause elevated blood sugars and lead to cardiovascular disease, pre-diabetes, and fatty liver. And lastly, the impact on the food’s integrity from environmentally (unfriendly) packaging materials, such as “bisphenol, micro-plastic, mineral oil, and phthalate.” Remember all the brouhaha about those plastics in water bottles years ago? It’s still around in other food industry materials.
So, what exactly does it mean for a food to undergo processing? NOVA regards it as any form of change (physical, biological and chemical) that occurs to a food before it becomes available for consumption. Frozen vegetables and frozen pizza are both examples of processed foods. But, the latter can be further categorized as an UPF by NOVA standards. Many processed foods cost less than their fresh counterparts; some may or may not retain their nutritional value. For example, frozen strawberries might contain more vitamin C versus fresh berries because they will be picked and quickly flash frozen, while the fresh sit in a warehouse waiting to get delivered to a grocery store.
UPFs can contain additives such as dyes, flavor enhancers, anti-bulking and anti-caking agents, emulsifiers, sequestrants, humectants, hydrolyzed proteins, maltodextrin, high fructose corn syrup, and soy protein isolates. Read an ingredient label—some are scarier than those little munchkins ringing your doorbell at Halloween!
Some examples of processed versus ultra-processed foods:
Baked tortilla chips versus nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips
Bran cereal versus sugar-coated raisin bran cereal
Plain yogurt versus chocolate cookie crumbles yogurt
Canned soup versus dehydrated soup
Michael Pollan, the author of several eye opening, food industry related books—The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food, has the following advice, which is so sensible and easy to remember:
If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.
Don't eat anything incapable of rotting.
Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.
There will always be ongoing debates among public policy experts, dietitians, and the food industry on the topic of food safety. My best advice, remain knowledgable and choose wisely!
In Good Health,
Sophie
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