The Dark(er) Side of Ultra-Processed Foods

"But what do we mean by processed food? Unfortunately, many studies refer to a somewhat cumbersome and outdated classification system called Nova invented in 2009 by Brazilian researchers. There are four categories of the Nova system: Minimally processed. Culinary ingredients. Processed foods using the first two categories. Ultra-processed foods, using industrial emulsifiers, colorants, and thickeners. The Nova system is easy to understand, but not especially scientific, since it says nothing about the nutritional content of the food, which may be far more important than processing."

"A better approach may be identifying hyperpalatable foods (HPFs), which includes foods with high levels of fat, sugar, carbs, and salt. HPF products are pushing other foods off the shelf, increasing by 20% over the last 30 years. These foods are also ultra-processed, so we'll accept that term in this post. Why do we process food? What's wrong with fresh food? From the customer's perspective, a lot of fresh food requires cooking."

Ultra-processed foods commonly contain industrial additives and ingredients that increase palatability and may be addictive. The Nova classification divides foods into minimally processed, culinary ingredients, processed, and ultra-processed, but does not account for nutritional content. Hyperpalatable foods high in fat, sugar, refined carbs, and salt have grown substantially and overlap with ultra-processed products. Processing often removes natural fiber from foods. Dietary fiber is essential for maintaining beneficial gut microbes. Loss of these microbes is linked to obesity, metabolic diseases, inflammation, and other chronic conditions. Convenience, lack of cooking skills, and perishability of fresh foods drive reliance on processed options.

Read at Psychology Today