Read [this article](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/07/01/health/worst-ultraprocessed-food-early-death-wellness) and though I’m scientifically literate and understand how scientific research can be overdramatized by the media, I’m worried. How I avoid ultra processed food, it is apparently everything. Ugh
In: Biology
The best description I’ve heard is that an “ultra processed food” is any item that requires ingredients, chemicals or processes that you could never replicate in a normal kitchen. So a good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you could recreate it more or less exactly at home.
In the article you shared there is a link to the NOVA food classification system that some of the researchers in the study helped to co-author.
While some of the explanations and answers shared here are useful, none of them are going to be as useful as the definition the authors of the study themselves were using – you have to be “on the same page” as them if you want to use the information they’ve provided to you correctly.
According to the definitions they were using, ultraprocessed food is food that is composed either entirely or mostly of ingredients that were extracted from foods, food constituents such as modified starch, or ingredients that had to be created in a laboratory such as artificial colors or flavors. They list several examples. It’s basically anything nonperishable, anything that is pre-prepared like frozen meals / pizza, pretty much all breads and baked goods that are made commercially, and most dairy products including “dairy drinks like chocolate milk”, flavored yogurts, ice cream, and any cheese that isn’t “freshly made”.
Even baby formula is listed as ultra-processed.
So… lots of things.
Ultra processed foods are a poorly defined category. Each study will likely define it differently. One way to think of it is any food that is made up of more than 80% processed ingredients. Processed ingredients include mechanically separated meats, grain meals, high fructose corn syrups, etc. but again that is one of many potential definitions.
However be wary of any article claiming x leads to y. The human body is a complex thing. Many different factors can lead to all the issues the article describes. Not the least of which is obesity and diabetes. It’s entirely possible the sheer calorie density of ultra processed foods make weight gain more severe leading to all the problems of overweight individuals.
Bear in mind that the mechanism of action by which ultraprocessed food harms you is *overeating*, at least according to an NIH randomized controlled trial conducted at the NIH Clinical Center. “This is the first study to demonstrate causality — that ultra-processed foods cause people to eat too many calories and gain weight,” said Dr. Kevin D. Hall, a senior investigator with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
There isn’t a commonly accepted definition. It completely depends on the study you are reading. The paper itself will define the term, but articles won’t tell you most of the time. The ones I’ve read usually include “made in a factory” as one of the criteria for ultra processed food. So beware what you take away from these articles. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter if I take my orange to a factory before I juice it.
To the more general “what do I believe in health reporting?” implied question – nothing. There’s a lot of people trying to sell things and this is not a place where you find reliable information in the media. There is far too much misinformation even among well meaning people. Trust your doctor, and try not to stress over it too much.
Eat more veggies. Eat less packaged meals. Eat a variety of things.
Ultra process does not really have a specific scientific definition . The fear mongering over processed foods is a bit ridiculous. Just generally be aware of the ingredients in your food and The levels of things such as sugar sodium calories etc and you’ll be fine
Google is your friend Just read the backs of boxes and if you see any ingredient that you don’t know what it is Just look it up. Often times some scary sounding ingredients are really just the scientific name for a completely harmless and natural substance, But there are some ingredients out there that are still allowed to be placed in food despite having evidence that they can be less than ideal for the human body so just try to do your research and use more reputable sources of nutritional science
For example many food dyes like red 40 have some research suggesting that they could affect things such as the development of children’s brains which has led them to being banned in several other countries but they are still allowed for sale in others so just do your research and look into the ingredients of food products you consume often
If you look at the ingredient list and it reads less like things in your pantry and fridge and more like what you’d expect labels on containers in a science lab say then it’s ultra processed.
Basically if it has something like butylated hydroxytoluene as an ingredient it’s “ultra processed”
Here’s how you make ‘ultra processed’ foods. A food company effectively disassembles different food types into raw components. They then build it back up by adding in components that are the most cost effective and the ones that humans find most tasty/satisfying (AKA addictive).
It’s like baking a loaf of bread except instead of grinding the wheat and adding yeast and a few seasonings, you take all the wheat, break it down, sell off everything but the carbs, add in a butt load of salt and substitute high fructose corn syrup for the sugar for cost reasons. Yeast is also too expensive so you substitute a petrochemical alternative, it’s not shelf stable so you add an artificial preservative so that it can last months etc, etc, etc.
To the consumer, your ultra processed bread substitute has better mouth feel, is ultra delicious and lasts forever. You can eat it all day and you love it. It’s designed to be delicious. You and your taste buds crave it. Unfortunately, to your bodies actual needs, it’s nothing but empty carbs mixed with a week’s worth of sugar and salt… all while missing essential vitamins and nutrients that have been stripped away.
A good rule of thumb I learned along the way was to imagine reading the ingredients to your grandmother. If you can’t easily pronounce the ingredients (in your mind), or if you think the list of ingredients would confuse your grandmother, then guess what- you’ve got an ultra processed food product in your hands.
The below is based on the NOVA classification system. The level of processing simply says what happens to our foods after they are “separated from nature, and before they are consumed”.
The four groups are:
>**GROUP 1. UNPROCESSED (NATURAL) FOODS** — Obtained directly from plants or animals and are not different from how they’re found in nature.
>>Ex: fruits, vegetables, nuts
and
>**GROUP 1. MINIMALLY PROCESSED FOODS** — processes that may take away part of the food, but you still wouldn’t add anything (oils, salts etc) to it.
>>Ex: removing inedible parts, drying, fermentation
>**GROUP 2: OILS, FATS, SALT, AND SUGAR** — products taken from natural foods or from nature by processes such as pressing, crushing, and refining to season and cook.
>>Ex: Sunflower oil, honey, butter, coconut fat
>**GROUP 3: PROCESSED FOODS** — products manufactured by industry with use of foods from group 2, or added to group 1 to preserve or make more edible.
>>Ex: pickled vegetables, tomato paste, bacon, salted nuts.
Now this is what you’re asking about, OP:
>**GROUP 4: ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS** — are industrial formulations, or produced in laboratories to be kind of addictive to the reward system of our brains.
>>Ex: fatty, salty, savory, sweet snacks, ice cream, chocolate, carbonated soft drinks
So, again, the more happens to our food before we eat it, the more that food is thought to be processed. As we see, just adding salt makes something go from Group 1, to Group 2.
To oversimplify: the less manipulated, the lower the group, the healthier the food.
**Adapted from the following four-page reference sheet:**
https://ecuphysicians.ecu.edu/wp-content/pv-uploads/sites/78/2021/07/NOVA-Classification-Reference-Sheet.pdf
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