In an age where convenience often trumps nutritional value, a growing body of research is raising concerns about the health implications of eating ultra-processed foods. These foods undergo extensive industrial processing, resulting in products that are convenient, hyper-palatable, and potentially detrimental to long-term health.
While processing itself is not inherently negative (think pasteurized milk or extra virgin olive oil), the extent of processing and its impact on nutrient density are critical factors to consider. Ultra-processed foods, which are commonly defined under a classification known as NOVA, contain additives and undergo significant alterations from their natural state. They tend to be energy-dense, nutrient-poor, and often have long shelf lives.
It’s raising concerns about their role in diet-related health outcomes such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, as our busy lifestyles may push us to reach for easy, quick, or low-cost, rather than cooking and eating more unprocessed or minimally processed foods like fruits, vegetables, eggs, nuts, or seeds.
Consider the level of food processing, the overall nutrient density of foods, and your overall dietary patterns, Passerrello suggested. Packaged cookies and sodas are energy dense but lack the nutrients our bodies need. While they may provide some energy and calories, they’re not supplying vitamins or minerals. This may lead to nutrient deficiencies over time, as well as unintended weight gain, according to Passerrello, who is also an instructor at the University of Pittsburgh.
However, there’s a spectrum. “The way our bodies respond to the calories and nutrients varies, depending on our age, activity level, and overall dietary patterns,” she says.
While the NOVA classification system provides the most common framework for understanding the continuum of food processing, several other classification systems, including one from the International Food Information Council, or IFIC, use slightly different criteria to define ultra-processed and processed foods. Generally, however, these guidelines agree that highly processed foods contain high amounts of total and added sugars, fats, and/or salt, low amounts of dietary fiber, use industrial ingredients, whether derived from foods or created in labs, and typically contain little to no whole foods.
It’s easy to find these highly processed foods on supermarket shelves:
- mass-produced bread
- carbonated drinks
- breakfast cereals
- ice cream
These are just some products that typically contain artificial
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