Is There Anything to the Panic Over Ultraprocessed Foods?
What we know about them, what we don’t—and how to think about breakfast in the meantime.
Is There Anything to the Panic Over Ultraprocessed Foods?
What we know about them, what we don’t—and how to think about breakfast in the meantime.
The short answer is yes, you should worry about them. Are they ok in moderation? Sure. Are they ok when they are the main staple of your diet? Absolutely not.
For those that don’t know what the term means:
Ultra-processed foods don’t really contain any actual food. They are derived from food, but they have basically been stripped of all of their naturally occurring nutrients.
There are quite a few studies out there that show that while eating an ultra-processed diet people tend to eat a fair amount more calories (I’ve seen multiple places say 500 more calories) per day than when eating whole foods, or minimally processed. They also tend to gain weight (over a surprisingly short period of time), have higher incident of cardiovascular disease, had higher increase in fat and carb consumption, but not protein, and high incident of some cancers.
I’d also add that most people probably feel A LOT worse when eating ultra-processed foods. Just observation on my part, but people who eat terribly seem to lack energy, and seem to struggle more with things like sleeping, exercise, etc.
A lot of ultra processed foods are also ultra palatable foods so they’re high in fat, sugar and salt and very hard to stop eating. They’re also calorie dense so you eat past the point where you might become full with less calorie dense foods. I read this article earlier today and really liked it except that I thought the author went a little light on the judgement against this type of food manufacturing. Yes, we really do live in a world where it can be hard to both find and prepare “real” food, but the consequences of a western or specifically American diet have proven to be pretty intense.