This is the first time I actually see an article that goes into "what" processed foods and ultra process foods actually mean. In the past I have mentioned that, at least in common day use, it...
This is the first time I actually see an article that goes into "what" processed foods and ultra process foods actually mean. In the past I have mentioned that, at least in common day use, it seems to have a very fluid meaning.
In 2009 Dr Monteiro came up with a classification system, called Nova, that sorts foods into four buckets depending on the degree of processing they undergo.
The first group includes minimally processed foods like fruit and milk.
The second covers basic ingredients like butter and sugar.
Next are foods like canned vegetables, bread, and cold cuts.
The last group, UPFs, represent heavily processed items like fizzy drinks, sugary cereals and frozen pizzas. These are made with ingredients not typically found in a home kitchen, such as hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, flavouring agents and emulsifiers. UPFs are made industrially by breaking down whole foods into components like sugars, proteins, starches, and fibre. These are chemically modified and reassembled along with additives like artificial colours and sweeteners to make the food more appealing.
I still think this is a bit vague, but it is clear that the fourth and last group are those that are problematic. What I am missing here is if it is the processing itself that is bad (which is implied by the name) or the ingredients used as part of that processing. I guess the combination of those is what makes it a UPF? But now I am wondering how a freshly baked pizza compares to a frozen pizza. Both are not exactly healthy to begin with, but I am more or less wondering if there truly is a difference between the two.
I think it’s very hard to separate the class and money dimensions from the actual impact of the UPFs. My bet is that there’s very little about the food mechanistically, but the flavor profiles,...
I still think this is a bit vague, but it is clear that the fourth and last group are those that are problematic. What I am missing here is if it is the processing itself that is bad (which is implied by the name) or the ingredients used as part of that processing. I guess the combination of those is what makes it a UPF? But now I am wondering how a freshly baked pizza compares to a frozen pizza. Both are not exactly healthy to begin with, but I am more or less wondering if there truly is a difference between the two.
I think it’s very hard to separate the class and money dimensions from the actual impact of the UPFs. My bet is that there’s very little about the food mechanistically, but the flavor profiles, consistency, and balance of fats + carbs + salts in these foods are just more addictive and/or less satiating than less processed or home cooked food which is where more of the issues come from. The article called this making the foods “hyper-palatable” but I think what’s actually at work is that they’re super consistent. Every bite tastes the same as the one before it. Compare this with buying organic berries where one can be tart and another one sweet, one can be mushy and another firm. All in one basket. The experience of eating is just a lot less mindless when it’s a variety like that.
Another the article does not mention, which I find surprising, is any references to dietary fiber. Processed foods tend to have a lot less. Fresh foods, especially fruits and veggies, have quite a bit and this is a big part of what contributes to both satiety and slowing down absorption so even a very sweet fruit isn’t just hitting your metabolism all at once.
Both are not exactly healthy to begin with
Honestly it’s just bread + vegetables and/or meat + cheese. Having it assembled in a pie doesn’t make it much less healthy than having those ingredients next to each other on a plate. What generally makes it unhealthy when you order out is the volume of cheese, the oil in the dough, and the amount of sugar (a shockingly high amount in the tomato sauce for some reason). But if you do it Neapolitan style with a fairly dry and crispy crust and smaller but much tastier amounts of mozzarella it’s really not that bad for you.
Yeah all good points as far as I am concerned. Just wanted to touch a little bit on the context of why I mentioned pizza. You are right that it isn't outright bad for you. I was more or less...
Yeah all good points as far as I am concerned. Just wanted to touch a little bit on the context of why I mentioned pizza.
But if you do it Neapolitan style with a fairly dry and crispy crust and smaller but much tastier amounts of mozzarella it’s really not that bad for you.
You are right that it isn't outright bad for you. I was more or less thinking about the fact that, for a meal, the proportions aren't right. Because the main ingredient is bread, it is heavy on carbohydrates and light on most other things, including dietary fiber.
So maybe not bad, but not really a balanced meal either.
Yeah, my previous conception of "processed foods" was way broader than what the UPF label identifies. I thought the anti processed foods thing extended to things like flour and white rice. Which...
Yeah, my previous conception of "processed foods" was way broader than what the UPF label identifies. I thought the anti processed foods thing extended to things like flour and white rice. Which as an Indian was a hard pass for me.
I think the examples of high fructose corn syrup and adding a bunch of sugar to stuff to make it "palatable" are good for qrapping your head around the idea. You dont feel like youre eating a lot of sugar because it doesnt taste super sweet, but there's acrually a ton of sweetener in stuff just to make it taste average.
If anyone wants to dive deeper, there is an open access archive for industry documents made public through the university of California San Francisco library that has processed foods as one of its...
If anyone wants to dive deeper, there is an open access archive for industry documents made public through the university of California San Francisco library that has processed foods as one of its focus areas. Industry documents library UCSF
It's an interesting collection that originated with documents made public through the tobacco litigation process. There is also inside information on opioids.
There are some weird spaces on the website. One time I found a current bibliography of articles published using sources from this archive but I haven't been able to find it again.
A better way to assess the question is with a randomised controlled trial (rct), where researchers track a person’s food intake and control for all other variables. In one of the few such trials, published in 2019, Kevin Hall, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health (nih) in America, and his colleagues, admitted 20 adults to the nih Clinical Centre for four weeks. The participants received either ultra-processed or minimally processed foods for two weeks before swapping diet for the next fortnight. Participants in both diets had access to the same amount of calories and nutrients like sugars, fibre and fat. People were free to eat as much or as little as they wanted.
The results were striking. People on the ultra-processed diet ate about 500 more calories per day than those on the unprocessed one. They also ate faster and gained an average of 1kg (2.2 pounds) over two weeks. On the other diet, participants lost a similar amount of weight. Dr Hall says that, though the study was short and conducted in an artificial setting, the results suggest that excess amounts of salt, sugar and fats might not be fully to blame for the ill effects of processed food.
…
Dr Hall will run another study where 36 people check into his diet hotel for a month. They will be rotated through four different diets: two similar to those in his previous study and two new ultra-processed regimes. One of these is low in both energy density and hyper-palatable foods, while the other is high in energy density but low in hyper-palatable combinations. As before, all diets are balanced for key nutrients. By tracking changes in weight and other health measures, Dr Hall hopes to pinpoint whether it is high energy density, hyper-palatability or both that leads to overeating of upfs. The results of the study are expected next year, and Dr Hall is hopeful that it will help to move the conversation on upfs from opinion to science.
…
Even if the results show conclusively that processing, and not just nutrients, leads to poor health, policymakers will face another difficulty: the definition of upfs remains woolly. The Nova classification has no tolerance at all for artificial ingredients. The mere presence of a chemical additive classifies a food as a upf, regardless of the amount. This can lead to confusing health outcomes—a recent observational study from Harvard University, for example, found that whereas some upfs, such as sweetened drinks and processed meats, were associated with a higher risk of heart disease, others, like breakfast cereals, bread and yogurt, were instead linked to lower risks for cardiovascular disease. Dr Astrup warns that the current classification risks “demonising” a lot of healthy food. Insights from Dr Hall’s work could therefore help refine the understanding of upfs, paving the way for more balanced and useful guidelines.
This is the first time I actually see an article that goes into "what" processed foods and ultra process foods actually mean. In the past I have mentioned that, at least in common day use, it seems to have a very fluid meaning.
I still think this is a bit vague, but it is clear that the fourth and last group are those that are problematic. What I am missing here is if it is the processing itself that is bad (which is implied by the name) or the ingredients used as part of that processing. I guess the combination of those is what makes it a UPF? But now I am wondering how a freshly baked pizza compares to a frozen pizza. Both are not exactly healthy to begin with, but I am more or less wondering if there truly is a difference between the two.
I think it’s very hard to separate the class and money dimensions from the actual impact of the UPFs. My bet is that there’s very little about the food mechanistically, but the flavor profiles, consistency, and balance of fats + carbs + salts in these foods are just more addictive and/or less satiating than less processed or home cooked food which is where more of the issues come from. The article called this making the foods “hyper-palatable” but I think what’s actually at work is that they’re super consistent. Every bite tastes the same as the one before it. Compare this with buying organic berries where one can be tart and another one sweet, one can be mushy and another firm. All in one basket. The experience of eating is just a lot less mindless when it’s a variety like that.
Another the article does not mention, which I find surprising, is any references to dietary fiber. Processed foods tend to have a lot less. Fresh foods, especially fruits and veggies, have quite a bit and this is a big part of what contributes to both satiety and slowing down absorption so even a very sweet fruit isn’t just hitting your metabolism all at once.
Honestly it’s just bread + vegetables and/or meat + cheese. Having it assembled in a pie doesn’t make it much less healthy than having those ingredients next to each other on a plate. What generally makes it unhealthy when you order out is the volume of cheese, the oil in the dough, and the amount of sugar (a shockingly high amount in the tomato sauce for some reason). But if you do it Neapolitan style with a fairly dry and crispy crust and smaller but much tastier amounts of mozzarella it’s really not that bad for you.
Yeah all good points as far as I am concerned. Just wanted to touch a little bit on the context of why I mentioned pizza.
You are right that it isn't outright bad for you. I was more or less thinking about the fact that, for a meal, the proportions aren't right. Because the main ingredient is bread, it is heavy on carbohydrates and light on most other things, including dietary fiber.
So maybe not bad, but not really a balanced meal either.
Yeah, my previous conception of "processed foods" was way broader than what the UPF label identifies. I thought the anti processed foods thing extended to things like flour and white rice. Which as an Indian was a hard pass for me.
I think the examples of high fructose corn syrup and adding a bunch of sugar to stuff to make it "palatable" are good for qrapping your head around the idea. You dont feel like youre eating a lot of sugar because it doesnt taste super sweet, but there's acrually a ton of sweetener in stuff just to make it taste average.
If anyone wants to dive deeper, there is an open access archive for industry documents made public through the university of California San Francisco library that has processed foods as one of its focus areas. Industry documents library UCSF
It's an interesting collection that originated with documents made public through the tobacco litigation process. There is also inside information on opioids.
There are some weird spaces on the website. One time I found a current bibliography of articles published using sources from this archive but I haven't been able to find it again.
From the article:
…
…
Archive link: https://archive.is/EfaFI