TSSD #01: What You Need to Know About Healthy vs. Highly Processed Food

Read time: 3.6 minutes 

Navigating the noise around processed and ultra-processed food makes eating a healthy meal feel almost too stressful to bother, so I completely understand.

But nearly 58% of calories eaten in the US come from Ultra-processed foods, making them the primary energy source in this country.

The worse news is that higher consumption of ultra-processed food is associated with a 79% and 30% substantial risk of obesity and abdominal obesity, increasing the risk factor for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnoea, Type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal conditions and cancer.

Do I have your attention yet?

Knowing what foods get grouped as ultra-processed can help us prioritize our focus for better nutrition and overall health.

The Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, designed the NOVA Food Classification system, which helps people group foods according to the processing they experience. 

The four groups are:

1. Unprocessed and minimally processed,

2. Processed culinary ingredients,

3. Processed,

4. Ultra-processed,

Use this checklist to spot the difference between minimally processed, processed, and ultra-processed foods and discover a calming sense of understanding around food labeling.

Group One: Unprocessed & Minimally Processed

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods are whole-foods with intact vitamins and nutrients, often in natural or nearly natural conditions. These foods are taken directly from plants or animals and do not get altered following their removal from nature.

Minimally processed foods get modified by removing inedible parts, drying, fermentation, crushing, roasting, boiling, freezing, or pasteurizing to make them appropriate to store and safe to ingest.

That process does not add oils, fats, sugar, salt, or other substances to the original food.

Group Two: Processed Culinary Ingredients

Processed culinary ingredients are products extracted from natural foods or nature by pressing, grinding, crushing, pulverizing, and refining.

Moderation is the key here before they are labeled "nutritionally unbalanced". But some can be highly processed, such as rancid vegetable oil, or derived from low-quality sources, damaging our health. Try and choose high-quality culinary ingredients.

Group Three: Processed

Processed foods change from their natural state by adding salt, oil, sugar, or other enhancer substances. Processed foods often have two or three ingredients.

It can be easy to forget that freshly made, crusty artisan sourdough and canned chickpeas are still processed, containing multiple ingredients, but that doesn't necessarily make them "bad." 

Group Four: Ultra-Processed

Ultra-processed foods include substances extracted from other foods, such as fats, starches, added sugars, and hydrogenated fats. They may also contain synthetic additives like artificial colors and flavors or stabilizers. These foods include soft drinks, frozen meals, processed meat, fast food, packaged cookies, cakes, and salty snacks.

Studies show that nutrient availability in the small intestine is affected when food is ultra-processed because the food's plant properties and animal cells get altered. Destructive health issues arise when ultra-processed foods replace unprocessed and minimally processed foods that contain vital nutrients for your health. It can be easy to spot ultra-processed foods because they usually contain numerous ingredients you'd never use in your kitchen. But repeatedly, ultra-processed foods get disguised in everyday foods we take for granted.

How To Quickly Identify Ultra-Processed Food

A helpful way to identify an ultra-processed product is to check if its list of ingredients contains items characteristic of the ultra-processed food group (four). But you can use this checklist to identify them faster: 

⃝.    Does it list salt or sugar as the second ingredient in a long list of unrecognizable ingredients?

⃝.    Does it contain high-fructose corn syrup?

⃝.    Does it contain hydrogenated oils?

⃝.    Does it have aggressive branding and marketing throughout the store?

⃝.    Does it contain additives designed to make the final product palatable or more appealing (such as   flavors, flavor enhancers, colors, emulsifiers, emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners, and anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling, and glazing agents)?

Ten Healthy Swaps For Ultra-Processed Food 

• Swap sugary breakfast cereals for rolled oats.

• Swap sweetened yogurt for plain or Greek yogurt.

• Swap frozen pizza for homemade pizza.

• Swap chicken nuggets for homemade crumbed chicken. Swap sausages for lean meat.

• Swap frozen sweet potato wedges for fresh sweet potato cut into wedges, sprinkled with paprika, and baked in the oven.

• Swap potato chips for plain air-popped popcorn.

• Swap soft drink for mineral water infused with a squeeze of lime, lemon or crushed strawberries or raspberries.

• Swap mayonnaise for avocado with a squeeze of lemon.

• Swap muesli and energy snack bars for mixed unsalted nuts.

Summary

Aim to consume mostly natural and or minimally processed foods (group one) and freshly made meals.

Be wary but not fearful of processed foods (groups two and three), and always read food labels now that you know the dynamic range of good and bad foods in that group.

Avoid or limit ultra-processed foods (group four) when possible to have the most positive impact on your health and longevity.

Take inventory of your food stock and pantry right now. If you noticed more Ultra-processed foods than you would like, discard half of it and bring in more of group 1.

This process takes time but when you are intentional about healthy habit changes, your lifestyle will be a reflection of your daily progress.

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