Why should we worry about ultra-processed foods?
Cheap, tempting, convenient, and specially engineered to taste delicious. We won't stop until the package is empty - it's hard to do. But are ultra-processed foods really bad for your gut and overall health?
We often hear that junk food, chips, soda, and ready meals are bad for us. Researchers have found a strong correlation between consumption of highly processed foods and poor health markers.
Why is food processing important for our health? Let's dive into it.
What is the purpose of food processing?
Food processing is a very general and vague term that covers all different ways of transforming raw materials into edible foods.
Sometimes processing is essential to making food palatable, digestible, and safe to eat . Cooking, for example, is the simplest and most familiar form of processing, and is not harmful in itself. In fact, unless you grow your own food, almost everything we eat has been processed to some degree.
We have baked, smoked, canned, frozen, fermented, and sweetened our food for generations. All of these procedures are necessary to prevent food spoilage, prevent foodborne illness, and improve the nutritional value of foods. There is nothing wrong with that.
What is ultra-processed food?
Ultra-processed foods are a different story.
The food industry has created highly refined foods that are designed to last forever and are dangerously addictive. These are ultra-processed, far from cooking or fermentation. Using the cheapest vegetable oils, flours and sugars, industrial additives are mixed in to transform them into something edible . Otherwise, they would be disgusting.
According to the NOVA Food Classification system, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are: industrial formulations made entirely or mostly from substances that are already highly modified such as hydrogenated fats, isolated protein, or high fructose corn syrup, along with flavor enhancers and multiple additives to make the products hyper-palatable.
Preservatives, antioxidants, stabilizers, colors and perfumes are used to create ideas of exotic fruits or nutritious vegetables that never was part of the original recipe.
Some common ultra-processed products are carbonated soft drinks, packaged snacks, candy, mass-produced packaged breads and buns, cookies, sweetened breakfast cereals, energy drinks, pizza, hot dogs, burgers, processed meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles, and desserts.
These foods are promoted by big brands that invest millions in marketing campaigns that make it difficult for us, ordinary consumers, to know the true nature of these “edible” goods.
Are ultra-processed foods unhealthy?
The problem starts when these items take over your shopping cart and become the foundation of your diet.
Excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods squeezes out the real, nutritious foods from our meals. The biggest risk is that these items are specifically designed to be highly addictive. They also make it very difficult for our brains to set limits, and we end up consuming lots of empty calories with no real nutrition.
The truth is: They are far from good for us. These products are low in dietary fiber, micronutrients, and phytochemicals, which is very harmful to overall health and also your gut.
How do ultra-processed foods affect your gut microbiome?
What you eat directly affects the composition and function of the trillions of microbes that make up your microbiome. Changes in your diet, macronutrient composition, and the introduction of new foods affect your gut and therefore your health.
Studies show that there are strong links between diet and certain gut bacteria . Looking at the amount of processed versus unprocessed foods, a diet rich in minimally processed plant-based foods is associated with beneficial gut microbes. Processed animal foods, such as sausages, bacon, and creamy desserts, are associated with more “bad” microbes.
Most importantly, highly processed plant-based foods, like juices and industrial sauces, are also linked to “bad” microbes. This highlights how important food processing is to your microbes and therefore your overall health.
How do you find ultra-processed foods?
If you see a very long ingredient list, with lots of chemical-sounding names and things you wouldn't normally use in your kitchen, it's probably a good indication that it's ultra-processed food.
Find a healthy balance
Busy schedules, work, calendars full of activities, make us need quick and easy solutions. So no need to panic! Behavioral changes take time, and that's okay.
Start simple. Try to reduce your daily consumption of ultra-processed foods and choose more natural or minimally processed foods when you can.
And remember, our daily habits can either support or threaten our health. It's not what we do occasionally, but our daily choices that really count .
Keep your gut microbes happy, well-fed, and improve your health .
Author: Cecilia Clausen (Clinical Dietitian)
