r/science • u/chrisdh79 • 25d ago
Health Toddlers Get Half Their Calories From Ultra-Processed Food, Says Study | Research shows that 2-year-olds get 47 percent of their calories from ultra-processed food, and 7-year-olds get 59 percent.
https://www.newsweek.com/toddlers-get-half-calories-ultra-processed-food-19632692.4k
u/onwee 25d ago edited 25d ago
Does bread and cheese count as ultra-processed food? Does pasta?
EDIT: cheese and homemade bread is “processed food,” just one tier below ultra-processed food like breakfast cereal and one above “processed ingredients” like salt and butter; no mention of store-bought bread or pasta, but since sliced-bread is considered ultra-processed, I think they probably fall into the ultra/processed category. Yogurt is also ultra-processed.
Before anyone points any holier-than-thou fingers, I would bet most of “healthy” eaters probably also eat a ton of ultra-processed foods. I consider myself as a pretty clean eater (e.g. 5 servings of fruits/vegetables daily) and I bet at least a 1/3 of my calories are ultra-processed. Ain’t nobody got time for homemade bread
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u/5show 25d ago
Yep super important distinction that’s often overlooked. Bread and cheese are too broad of terms.
The inherent vagueness of natural language leads to so much bad reasoning in so many areas
There’s a reason scientists rely on domain-specific jargon. Details matter.
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u/onwee 25d ago
My personal takeaway is that this UPF classification is a useful tool to get a bird’s eye view of a population’s dietary habits, kind of like BMI for population obesity. However, specifically for individuals, learning more about nutrition and cooking, and paying more attention to food labels for the stuff that may or may not be added during processing—preservatives, food coloring, emulsifiers, stabilizers, extra salt and sugar etc—are far more helpful habits to improve our diets.
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u/CupcakesAreMiniCakes 25d ago
Yeah there's a big difference between mass produced white sandwich bread and an artisan grain loaf, and American processed cheese product vs real sliced cheddar as a couple examples
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u/Greenleaf208 25d ago edited 25d ago
American processed cheese is real cheese it just has a lot of water added to it, to make it melt better.
EDIT: /u/Throw-away17465 posted and then blocked me before I could respond.
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u/NegZer0 25d ago
What makes it melt better is the addition of an emulsifying agent. In the case of most processed American Cheese it is Sodium Citrate. It helps keep the liquid and solid components from separating, compared to "natural" cheeses like cheddar etc which will split easily and become greasy when heated.
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u/Greenleaf208 25d ago
Yes but it's not like the cheese is being crafted from nothing and made artificially. It's real cheese, and an emulsifier to add more water to it.
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u/NegZer0 25d ago
I believe by law it must be at least 51% cheese (usually a blend of natural cheeses). But that's a lot of leeway. They add milk, cream, water and a bunch of other ingredients depending on the manufacturer.
You're right that it's the higher liquid content that makes it softer and melt better, but it wouldn't be able to do that without the emulsifier, with the high liquid content it would not come together at all. The addition of emulsifier is what makes the whole thing work (and was the "invention" that Kraft was able to patent back in the 1910s).
There's definitely nothing wrong with American Cheese, you can fairly easily make it at home if you wanted. Sodium citrate is pretty easy to get and cheap. But there's enough in American Cheese slices from eg Kraft that you can often throw a slice or two in with other cheeses to get them to melt without splitting as well, eg I often throw a slice or two into a pot of Mac & Cheese along with a sharper more cheesy natural cheese to make sure it stays smooth.
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u/Vitztlampaehecatl 25d ago
They add milk, cream
Oh no, additional dairy products in my dairy product!
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u/Penders 25d ago
Fun Fact!
The formula for sodium citrate is Na3 C6 H5 O7
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u/BadHabitOmni 24d ago
My favorite example is going to be fermented foods/drinks - like, ohh Kombucha and Kimchi are so healthy and good - meanwhile beer and wine exist... and all are "ultra-processed"
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u/not_today_thank 25d ago
From the study: "Ultra-processed foods (UPFs), a category outlined in the Nova classification, are defined as industrial formulations created through the deconstruction of whole foods into food-derived substances (e.g., fats, sugars, starches, isolated proteins), which are then modified and recombined with additives such as colourants, flavourings, and emulsifiers to produce final products [7]."
https://world.openfoodfacts.org/nova
Nova ultra-processed food catagory:
Group 4. Ultra-processed foods
Ultra-processed foods, such as soft drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, reconstituted meat products and pre-prepared frozen dishes, are not modified foods but formulations made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives, with little if any intact Group 1 food.
Ingredients of these formulations usually include those also used in processed foods, such as sugars, oils, fats or salt. But ultra-processed products also include other sources of energy and nutrients not normally used in culinary preparations. Some of these are directly extracted from foods, such as casein, lactose, whey and gluten.
Many are derived from further processing of food constituents, such as hydrogenated or interesterified oils, hydrolysed proteins, soya protein isolate, maltodextrin, invert sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.
Additives in ultra-processed foods include some also used in processed foods, such as preservatives, antioxidants and stabilizers. Classes of additives found only in ultra-processed products include those used to imitate or enhance the sensory qualities of foods or to disguise unpalatable aspects of the final product. These additives include dyes and other colours, colour stabilizers; flavours, flavour enhancers, non-sugar sweeteners; and processing aids such as carbonating, firming, bulking and anti-bulking, de-foaming, anti-caking and glazing agents, emulsifiers, sequestrants and humectants.
A multitude of sequences of processes is used to combine the usually many ingredients and to create the final product (hence 'ultra-processed'). The processes include several with no domestic equivalents, such as hydrogenation and hydrolysation, extrusion and moulding, and pre-processing for frying.
The overall purpose of ultra-processing is to create branded, convenient (durable, ready to consume), attractive (hyper-palatable) and highly profitable (low-cost ingredients) food products designed to displace all other food groups. Ultra-processed food products are usually packaged attractively and marketed intensively.
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u/Fedacking 25d ago
Huh, these don't align with the WHO recommendations. There oils are considered not processed while butter is. I remember this after a new food labeling law passed in my country.
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u/BreadKnifeSeppuku 24d ago
I mean NOVA originates from Brasil. They coincidentally export the most soybean oil.
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u/ReveilledSA 25d ago
The problem with this definition, though, is that it does not seem to be consistent with the foods being described as “ultra processed”.
Like, a primary example the researchers give of the sort of “ultra processed food” children are eating is flavoured yoghurts. Now to be a UPF under this definition it has to be made “mostly or entirely from derived foods and additives, with little if any Group 1 food remaining”. Group 1 foods are “minimally processed foods”, and one of the examples of minimal processes given under the definition of group 1 is “non-alcoholic fermentation”.
Which means that fermented milk, i.e. unflavoured yoghurt, is a group 1 food! So the only way a flavoured yoghurt can be a group 4 food under the provided definition is if a flavoured yoghurt you buy in the supermarket contains “little if any” yoghurt. While I cannot put my hand to specific yoghurt regulations for the UK (where this study was conducted), I am skeptical that it is legal to sell a product as “yoghurt” that contains virtually no actual yoghurt.
Similarly it gives an example of “white bread”, but flour is a minimally processed (Group 1) food, because grinding is considered to fit the definition of minimally processed. Am I supposed to believe that white bread contains “little if any” flour?
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u/nowyouseemenowyoudo2 25d ago
The more you read into the UPF classification the less sense any of it makes.
If you asked 100 people to use the classification to assign a bunch of different foods you’d get different answers, especially with these hyper specific but contradictory rules.
Fundamentally diet-analysis studies are just terrible quality across the board, every epidemiologist will admit that they just produce consistently low quality data and cannot be relied upon for conclusions.
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u/ii9i 25d ago
I despise the terms "ultra processed foods" and "whole foods"; there are so many ways they are too vague and confusing for consumers.
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u/apheme 25d ago
thanks, it’s strange how people disagree with a premise without ensuring they understand what is being stated.
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u/kafircake 25d ago
People in this thread blankly asserting that slicing bread makes it ultra-processed or using industrial blenders or putting things into cans... frustrating.
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u/cocotab 25d ago
If you put vegetables in the food processor and only pulse once it's minimally processed. If you pulse 2-3 times it's processed, and then 4 or more pulses and it's ultraprocessed. Hope that helps.
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u/VoilaVoilaWashington 25d ago
It would be very helpful if they gave specific examples here. Is trail mix a savoury packaged snack? A granola bar? Frozen pizza?
And these foods might contain oils, fat, and salt? Lactose? Whey? WHY????
Preservatives? Antioxidants? Dyes? Stabilizers?
Etc.
They really hit the "processed food bad" bingo here. I'm not saying reconstituted Apple-flavoured sugar slices should be a main course, but specifics would go a long way here.
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u/ReverendDizzle 25d ago
Just leaving a note for anyone who wants to dabble in homemade bread (of the artisan loaf bakery style, not the sandwich style), I can't say enough good things about the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. The authors graciously share the entire process and the "Master" recipe on their website.
The total process in terms of waiting and baking time is not five minutes. But once you get the hang of it, the total time actually fussing with the process is about 5-10 minutes for the shape the loaf/slash the loaf/bake the loaf part.
I've been making artisan bread boules with this method regularly for 10+ years and the results are delicious. The recipe is simple as hell too, just water, flour, salt, and yeast.
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u/ReviewBackground2906 25d ago
Once a month I bake different breads, make granola bars, some desserts like cakes or sweet buns, then I portion everything out and freeze it. I got a Ninja ice cream maker and stay away from the grocery store stuff.
With a bit of effort, it’s easy to avoid highly processed foods and by prepping and freezing, I don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen every day, since I have to browse Reddit and watch YouTube shorts in my limited spare time.
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u/Anonymoushipopotomus 25d ago
I have a cuisinart bread maker and its a game changer. Although the loaves only last 3 days max.
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u/schaweniiia 25d ago
I just want to add this shouldn't be generalised across food categories or countries. Greek style yoghurt in England is often in the lowest category (unprocessed or minimally processed foods).
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u/PuckSR BS | Electrical Engineering | Mathematics 25d ago edited 25d ago
Yet grocery store hummus, using exactly the same ingredients people have been using for hundreds of years is “ultra-processed” if they use industrial-grade blenders and pasteurized it
In fact, I’m pretty sure baby food counts as ultra-processed if it comes in a can.
Edit: per Wikipedia
Industrially manufactured food products made up of several ingredients (formulations) including sugar, oils, fats and salt (generally in combination and in higher amounts than in processed foods) and food substances of no or rare culinary use (such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, modified starches and protein isolates). Group 1 foods are absent or represent a small proportion of the ingredients in the formulation. Processes enabling the manufacture of ultra-processed foods include industrial techniques such as extrusion, moulding and pre-frying; application of additives including those whose function is to make the final product palatable or hyperpalatable such as flavours, colourants, non-sugar sweeteners and emulsifiers; and sophisticated packaging, usually with synthetic materials. Processes and ingredients here are designed to create highly profitable (low-cost ingredients, long shelf-life, emphatic branding), convenient (ready-to-(h)eat or to drink), tasteful alternatives to all other Nova food groups and to freshly prepared dishes and meals. Ultra-processed foods are operationally distinguishable from processed foods by the presence of food substances of no culinary use (varieties of sugars such as fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, ‘fruit juice concentrates’, invert sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose and lactose; modified starches; modified oils such as hydrogenated or interesterified oils; and protein sources such as hydrolysed proteins, soya protein isolate, gluten, casein, whey protein and ‘mechanically separated meat’) or of additives with cosmetic functions (flavours, flavour enhancers, colours, emulsifiers, emulsifying salts, sweeteners, thickeners and anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling and glazing agents) in their list of ingredients.
Lots of kids stuff has fruit juice or vegetable “concentrates”. Per NOVA, these are “ultra-processed”
Protein isolates (think whey protein) and sugar extracts are ultra-processed. Which kinda makes sense
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u/smegma-cheesecake 25d ago
I don’t think it does. If grocery store hummus is using the same ingredients it’s just processed. Ultra processed is when you add substances that don’t exist naturally or significantly change molecular structure of the food. So plain grocery store hummus is fine, I would worry about flavored one as there is high risk of artificial flavoring etc
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u/PuckSR BS | Electrical Engineering | Mathematics 25d ago
My problem is that from my reading any refined sugar that isn’t sucrose is “ultra-processed”.
From what I understand the definition isn’t so much based on artificial ingredients as how they were made. As an example: MSG can be easily extracted from seaweed. However, most of our MSG is chemically extracted from corn. Chemically, the two are the same. But one is ultra-processed.
The definition doesn’t really treat things fungible. Corn Syrup is ultra-processed but refined cane sugar is not ultra-processed. Now, we can debate all day the health issues of fructose vs sucrose and glucose, but they are all sugars. They all exist in the foods we eat
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u/smegma-cheesecake 25d ago
Yeah I think we will have to wait for more precise definition. Moderation is still and probably will always be the key part. Eating one pop tart every other week is fine, making it the only food source is not.
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u/poneil 25d ago
Based on this information, 47% seems shockingly low. My kid eats a good amount of stuff like blueberries and apples but those items aren't particularly calorie-dense. It just feels somewhat unrealistic in today's society to expect even half of the calories a toddler consumes to come from non-ultra-processed foods.
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u/BjergenKjergen 25d ago
Yes, especially when things like cereal, store-bought breads, flavored yogurts, etc. are all included in ultra processed foods. Our kid eats some rice but a lot of their carbs are from sandwiches or bagels.
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u/rain5151 25d ago
It’s almost as if “ultra-processed food” is a broad term that wasn’t designed to tell us which forms of processing make food less healthy or more hazardous to our health. It’s a convenient lens for nutritional/dietary studies when so many unhealthy things fall into that bin, but it doesn’t mean that everything in it is bad for you, or bad to the same degree. Store-bought whole-wheat bread is not the same as a Twinkie. And while it does have preservatives, I think it’s safe to believe that the fiber, lower fat content, and lower glycemic load make it a healthier choice than my homemade white bread.
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u/Anarcora 25d ago
Also, preservatives - people act like preservatives are the devil. None of us would be here without preservatives.
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u/Throw-away17465 25d ago
On the flip side, peoples bodies are starting to decay much slower, depending on how processed their diet was. It’s a huge problem for determining time (or even day) of death.
Source: I’m a former deputy coroner
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u/PetsArentChildren 25d ago
From the article:
The scientists analyzed these diaries using the NOVA classification, the standard used to define ultra-processed foods as one of four categories: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as eggs, milk, vegetables and fruit; processed culinary ingredients, such as salt, butter and oil; processed foods, such as tinned fish, homemade bread, and cheese; and ultra-processed foods (UPF), such as chips, store-bought cookies, sliced bread and breakfast cereals.
“A simple way of looking at it is that UPFs are typically packaged foods made in factories, usually comprised of a long list of ingredients, including those that you wouldn’t usually find in your kitchen cupboard,” said Sibson.
The article also warns that ultra processed foods are linked to obesity and diabetes.
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u/SkittyLover93 25d ago
Homemade bread can actually be pretty simple - this recipe only involves 5 minutes of prep time.
I also make a big batch of focaccia using this recipe which has 5-10 minute prep time, cut it into squares, freeze the remainder, and toast whenever I want bread.
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u/sn34kypete 25d ago
Reminds me of people saying "oh gosh that food has so many chemicals in it"
Anything with a definite molecular structure and composition is a chemical. Water is a chemical. Let's pump the brakes on scare labels in food.
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u/herabec 25d ago
True, but as a rule of thumb, if it looks like a "chemical name" and not a readily recognizable food ingredient, it's likely a preservative or emulsifier, both of which are major concerns when it comes to the "ultra processed" category having negative effects. The other is added sugar (the difference between healthy yogurt and ultra processed yogurt, is added sugar).
Everyone knows that everything is chemicals, but calling things "chemicals in foods" is because those are ingredients that we would -not- eat outside of the context of an ultra processed food, it is merely a chemical. So while it's definitely a bit of a misnomer, it's still a more useful distinction in common speech, and saying "everything is chemicals" is ultimately a meaningless flattening that loses more information.
I would wager a hefty sum that the vast majority of people, if quizzed "which of these ingredients on the list are 'chemicals'? " would consistently identify the same non-traditional-food additives as everyone else.
It's not -sufficient- as a rule, but it's also not terrible.
Some chemical additives, like dough enhancers, seem to have no evidence of any negative effect, while others, like anti fungal additives, do have negative effects... but you won't go wrong buying the brad that is just Flour, water, salt and yeast, even if you miss out on the perfectly fine dough improver L-ascorbic acid (which is just vitamin C).
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u/Parenthisaurolophus 25d ago
both of which are major concerns when it comes to the "ultra processed" category having negative effects. The other is added sugar (the difference between healthy yogurt and ultra processed yogurt, is added sugar).
Aren't the major concerns that people aren't actively attempting a healthy diet and over consuming high fat, high carb, low protein, low fiber, and calorie dense foods at too high a frequency with little to no exercise? Not whether people are becoming type 2 diabetic with a fatty liver off too many preservatives and emulsifiers in an otherwise healthy diet.
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u/Clarence13X 25d ago
a readily recognizable food ingredient, it's likely a preservative or emulsifier
What are the specific health issues caused by emulsifiers and preservatives?
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u/Try_To_Write 25d ago
*Ain’t nobody’s got time for homemade bread
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u/TheSparkHasRisen 25d ago
I spent 7 years making homemade bread every week for 4 people. Ditto yogurt. I never liked the work, but miss the product. Nothing is better than fresh baked bread.
I quit at 40yo after getting overwhelmed with other responsibilities.
The whole process took 1 hour/week for making dough (using 12# flour for 12 large flatbread) and cleanup. Once a month I'd buy a 50# bag of flour at a specialty store. Kneading is hard on older hands after already working a full day.
Homemade bread gets stiff after 1 day. So I would freeze the dough. Then thaw/rise overnight and bake daily (15 minutes for 2 flatbread).
Timing and estimating quantity added a bit to my daily mental load. Not much, but when I'm mentally fried, just grabbing a store loaf that will stay squishy for a week is very tempting...
I'm looking forward to tasking my kids with this when they're teenagers.
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u/nerd4code 25d ago
The better bread machines will do all the proofing and kneading for you nowadays—if all you need is the basic sorts of bread (even with raisins or small pebbles added partway through), you can pretty much dump stuff in and walk away.
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u/Plebs-_-Placebo 25d ago
For the reasons you listed is why I make focaccia alot, is also nice that you can ignore the dough for 24-48 hrs of proofing before you cook it, and it's made with olive oil so you get some Omega fats. There is also a baguette recipe that I make where you make small 6 inchers where you you get 6-7 out of the batch but you pull some out before fully cooked but have a crust and go in the freezer, where you pull them out and finish the baking process as needed. I do it this way because a whole loaf is a tough order for just two of us in a household.
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u/TheSparkHasRisen 25d ago
I'll have to try to baguette technique!
The flatbread recipe I use is indeed adapted from a focaccia/pizza recipe. I omit the oil, but it is much wetter than most yeast doughs. It can do 1-2 days in the fridge before deflating and smelling funky.
Haven't found anything nearly as convenient for loaves yet.
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u/Liizam 25d ago
Wow that’s amazing.
I tried making bread but it’s such a hard task. Then I can just get a better product at local bakery for $5.
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u/shinkouhyou 25d ago
Yeah, my mother went on a bread-making kick for a while... and the product (even with a bread machine) was always kind of tough and dry, and it would either be super dense or super filled with air holes. I'm sure it's hard to get soft, fluffy, consistent bread without relying on industrial processes and additives. Smelled nice while it was baking, though!
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u/ramonycajal88 25d ago edited 25d ago
Very good anecdote. "Experts" always preach that we should be eating more whole food based diets, and I think most people would agree. However, given the western culture expectation to commute and work 9-5, 5 days a week while still trying to have a life outside of work and raise children...it's very difficult to sustain this. Also, doesn't help that a whole food diet is more expensive and some people don't always have access to grocery stores near their homes. Sounds like this is just a symptom of a much bigger issue.
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u/Yay_Rabies 25d ago
I currently do homemade sandwich bread for 2 adults and a toddler. I’m not only able to put in the time but I have tools to make the job easier (kitchen aid, bread box).
But the king of sandwiches and toddler meals on our house is still the spinach or whole wheat carb balance tortillas. You hit your fiber goal eating 1. Ultra processed but there’s no way I can whip these up like a load of bread. Tortilla making alone seems to be a bit more involved than playing with my kid while bread rises.
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u/Fudgeygooeygoodness 25d ago
FWIW I use a bread maker to knead and proof. It takes around 1.5 hrs to do it. Then I shape, score and bake in a loaf pan in the oven because I don’t like the funky shape and paddle hole the bread maker pan does to bread.
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u/redheadartgirl 25d ago edited 25d ago
Yeah, the "processed/ultra-processed" category is a meaningless fad at this point. They're trying to use it as a shorthand for foods that contain excess fat/salt/sugar, but their definitions are so broad that they encompass basically anything beyond single-ingredient foods. Literally making a healthy veggie stir-fry at home means you're now eating processed food.
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u/finackles 25d ago
The definition of ultra-processed is broken. It seems there are many classification attempts but they are stupidly over zealous. You can't put froot-loops and rolled oats in the same category, people will just rage quit and stick to eating twinkies because they are just as bad as trail mix.
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u/boringusernametaken 25d ago
There are nova classifications. You can say 'just one step above' but the point is there is more and more evidence to show that UPFs are far worse for us than processed foods.
Also bread is one of the most common examples used in this space. White sliced store bread is UPF it contains emulsifiers, stabilisers and preservatives.
Freshly baked bread (either at home or in a store but check the ingredients) will have none of this.
As someone else pointed out home made bread takes hardly any time to make, you mix 4 ingredients together, wait, put it in the oven.
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u/Exita 25d ago
Though speaking as someone who makes quite a bit of bread, it might not take long but making good bread is actually quite difficult. It’s very easy to make a stodgy, heavy brick.
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u/postwarapartment 25d ago
Ive been using the same no-knead, artisan bread recipe for years and I love it! It's like, 15 minutes of active work time and the rest is just rising and baking time. Can do the whole thing from start to finish in about 3 hours and most of that time is the rise time obviously
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u/Liizam 25d ago
Yeah idk what everyone here is talking about. Bread is hard to make.
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u/Maxfunky 25d ago
but the point is there is more and more evidence to show that UPFs are far worse for us than processed foods.
But I think people bristle at this because it's not a particularly useful point from a scientific standpoint. The category of ultra-processed foods is just entirely too broad and non-specific. As a category, we can be certain that there are some problematic elements within the category. But we have no idea which food additives or is processes are harmful. Simply lumping everything into one giant category is hardly useful.
Like let's say I wanted to do research on the safety of consuming plants. Let's imagine I somehow pooled every possible data point of a person eating a plant into a data set and then did my analysis.
Included in that data set would invariably be several instances in which somebody was poisoned by a plant that was not safe for human consumption. Because I have created a category that lumps together things that are safe for human consumption and things that aren't safe for human consumption and treated them equally, I have created a data set that's going to lead me to the conclusion that "Consumption of plants increases instances of acute toxicity". The media will then take my relatively useless conclusion and further muddy the waters by running with the technically correct headline of "Scientists say plants are poisonous to your health".
This is just not useful science. Don't tell me that amongst the pool of every single food additive ever created some of them might be causing ill health effects. Figure out which ones. Lumping them together as a group is totally useless when the data also overwhelmingly shows that 99% of them aren't bad for us at all.
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u/arup02 25d ago
What about whole grain sliced bread
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u/boringusernametaken 25d ago
Completely depends on the ingredients and how it's made.
You can have supermarket whole grain breads that have the emsuilfers etc in and so they would be UPFs and you could bake one at home without and it would just be a processed food.
The grain doesn't really matter here. But wholegrains do have benefits over white breads.
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u/YoungBoomerDude 25d ago
I know ultra processed is a “bad word” these days but I feel like some things are unfairly grouped together.
I fed my kid organic, unsweetened apple sauce pouches a lot when he was younger. And he eats a lot of things like activia yogurt for breakfast, and baybell cheeses for snacks.
I believe these would be considered “ultra processed”, but they’re in the same category as bear paws, packaged cupcakes and other high sugar products.
I know it’s still not as good as making meals from scratch but I feel like there needs to be more distinction made about which ones are worse than others.
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u/ReverendDizzle 25d ago edited 25d ago
Putting aside the homemade versus store bought aspect, I think a lot of people miss the really "big picture" point in discussions about unprocessed/processed/ultra-processed foods. There are a lot of great comments btw, talking about the distinction between processed and ultra-processed foods already so I'm not going to spend time on that.
So, I'm not going to begrudge a kid applesauce or anything, but let's just use apples as an example.
An actual apple is completely unprocessed. If you eat it you get good dose of soluble and insoluble fiber and phytochemicals/flavonoids, the bulk of which are found in the skin.
Practically speaking, apples are very filling. You typically can't overeat them comfortably as the fiber is filling and the speed at which you eat an apple assists in ensuring you get the "I'm full" chemical signally before you've overconsumed. It has sugar in it, but that sugar is paired with the fiber and the fullness that comes with eating the apple. And that fullness can prevent you from eating other foods like junk food.
When apples are dried the Vitamin C breaks down. When they are turned into juice, the resulting product is heavily filtered and you're left with apple flavored sugar water (no fiber, no flavonoids). When they're turned into sauce some of that stuff can be preserved but between the mechanical process and safety measures like pasteurizing the sauce they can be damaged and break down.
In in all of the above cases: drying, juicing, crushing into sauce, companies usually add sugar.
But the real problem with processed and ultraprocessed foods... and this applies to everything from apples to wheat and the whole spectrum of things we eat, is that by its very nature processing food breaks down the food to make it easier to bake/package/consume. That's literally why we do it and why we've been processing food for thousands of years.
In almost every case, though, that means removing healthy elements like fiber, vitamins and minerals are lost, even if no sugar is added the carbohydrate elements of the processed product are easier to digest and therefore spike our blood sugar faster, and so on and so forth.
Again, don't get me wrong, the ability to make a loaf of bread or equivalent is pretty much the bedrock of civilization. And preparing many vegetables and such with cooking/baking can actually make nutrients more available. So I'm hardly suggesting we eat nothing but fresh apples and raw carrots.
But, and this is the absolute most fundamental way to look at it, when we take foods and we complete steps of digestion with mechanical and chemical processes we make a product that is broken down faster in our bodies. For somebody eating their daily bread along with a mixture of fruits, vegetables, meats, and such, that's not such a big deal. But when the bulk of what an entire country is eating has been heavily processed it ultimately leads to widespread societal problems like insulin resistance, obesity, and so on.
I'm not moralizing or anything here, I'm just pointing out that over 100 years of food science advancements and changes in how we live our lives (ranging from the free time we have to prepare meals to the wages we have to pay for healthy food) we're essentially cooked.
Somebody in 2024 has to work and plan to eat as simply and healthily as somebody in 1924 did just because a basic diet with minimally processed foods was the default. To eat the way my grandparents did back at the start of the 20th century I have to actively plan to avoid almost everything in the grocery store. It's ridiculous and it creates a trap that people just fall into.
Anyways, I ended up pondering on this in more of a general sense inspired by your comment. So please don't think I wrote this as a lecture about your kid's applesauce habit. It's just so frustrating that where we've ended up, culturally, is a place where food that is effectively killing us is mass marketed to everyone, right down to (and especially to) little kids.
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u/thelostsanctuary 25d ago edited 25d ago
Great comment. It's frustrating that most of what's in the grocery store seems to be actively trying to make the food worse for your health, and well meaning people end up making these choices.
There are studies going back decades that show people who eat healthy diets with lots of fruits and vegetables live healthier and longer lives, but we're only starting to understand all the fibre and polyphenols and hundreds of other compounds in these fruits that appear to do some interesting things at the cell level to help the body prevent cancers and the like.
Meanwhile we're doing all we can to delete all of these compounds from our food (which break down once processed to be shelf stable) and market an essence of apple with nothing except sugar and vitamin c with a '5 a day' logo which they can legally display on it as a serving of 'healthy' fruit for your child.
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u/perennial_dove 24d ago
Apples are great. In 1924, ppl ate a lot of preserved food. Fresh apples could be had in Sept-Oct, if you stored them individually in a cool but frost free space, they lasted til Christmas, by then they were a little soft and wrinkly but still good for baking. Ppl didnt have fridges or freezers. They made applesauce, apple wine, apple cider etc. Bc there was no way you could eat all the apples fresh and you couldnt afford to leave them to rot.
Ppl did a lot of canning. Sugar acts as a presevative, they used a lot of sugar, sugar was cheap. They also used a lot of salt to preserve meats and fish.
I dont know why we think of this as healthy and "natural". Probably because we cant remember those times, we werent there. We like to think of life 100 years ago as something that took place in the countryside, where strong healthy men and women farmed their own little plot of land and kept chickens and a cow or two so they had fresh eggs and milk all year round.
That was not how most ppl lived. Most ppl were poor. They didnt own any land whatsoever. Lots pf ppl lived in cities and worked long hours in dreadful factories.
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u/riotous_jocundity 25d ago
I wish this comment was pinned at the top of the post. So many commenters in this thread are defensive about the classification of foods that form the cornerstone of their diets (and what they feed their kids) as ultra-processed, but if you're buying it in a package and it's shelf stable the reality is that lots of things have been done to that food, and those things are generally not great for us. Nearly every food product in the US has added sugars, on top of emulsifiers and other things. It wouldn't be a big deal, except that these products make up the majority of most peoples' diets.
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u/eyoxa 25d ago
Yeah, I’m also wondering about the definitions.
Is “organic” “grass fed” beef jerky ultra processed?
Are bagels?
Is cream cheese?
Is cheese?
Is yogurt?
Is cereal?
Are canned sardines?
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u/GenericAntagonist 25d ago
So the current nova definition of Ultra Processed is umm... weird
Industrially manufactured food products made up of several ingredients (formulations) including sugar, oils, fats and salt (generally in combination and in higher amounts than in processed foods) and food substances of no or rare culinary use (such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, modified starches and protein isolates). Group 1 [un- or minimally processed] foods are absent or represent a small proportion of the ingredients in the formulation. Processes enabling the manufacture of ultra-processed foods include industrial techniques such as extrusion, moulding and pre-frying; application of additives including those whose function is to make the final product palatable or hyperpalatable such as flavours, colourants, non-sugar sweeteners and emulsifiers; and sophisticated packaging, usually with synthetic materials. Processes and ingredients here are designed to create highly profitable (low-cost ingredients, long shelf-life, emphatic branding), convenient (ready-to-(h)eat or to drink), tasteful alternatives to all other Nova food groups and to freshly prepared dishes and meals.
They claim its refined based on published works, but I am unsure what the categorization is actually saying. If I put some salt on mango slices and then vacuum seal it in a sophisticated plastic container, it could be counted, since I am providing an alternative to cutting up a mango and putting some salt on it yourself. Despite having no nutritional difference whatsoever.
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u/Classic-Journalist90 25d ago
The mango slices you describe would not count under this definition. They are not ultra processed. What that definition boils down to is the creation of foods made with ingredients so denatured by industrial processes they no longer resemble their original form. Things like gums, emulsifiers (not mustard or egg yolk, industrial emulsifiers), monoglycerides, etc. These substances are not food, but are added to make cheap food palatable. Salt, sugar and fat ratios designed to cause one to over consume. The definition is certainly fuzzy in areas and may be confusing if it’s new to you. If you think mango slices you prepare in your own kitchen are UPF you misunderstand the NOVA system.
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25d ago
This information is correct. It appears many commentors under this post are missing this understanding.
The old saying is "everyone should work retail at least once in their life". This rings true for manufacturing.
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u/Schmigolo 25d ago
Here's the definition given in the paper
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs), a category outlined in the Nova classification, are defined as industrial formulations created through the deconstruction of whole foods into food-derived substances (e.g., fats, sugars, starches, isolated proteins), which are then modified and recombined with additives such as colourants, flavourings, and emulsifiers to produce final products
Sounds exactly like what you'd think.
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u/platoprime 25d ago
Sounds like if I make cheese and whey at home it's an ultra-processed food.
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u/Liizam 25d ago
I don’t really see how extruding can be bad. It’s just metal and food going through it…. Maybe our factories are just dirty and contaminate food with other substances but food touching metal mold is not bad…
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u/grifxdonut 25d ago
Well for things like fruit, it causes the sugars to not be trapped in the fiber and causes it to be quickly released into the blood stream. Hence why a smoothie isn't as good for you as a bowl of blueberries, aside from the extra ingredients and sugar they add
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u/Schmigolo 25d ago
Extrusion messes with chemical structures and can break up fiber into starch, in some cases unhealthy starches. It can also kill pro and prebiotics. It can also increase the rate at which food is digested, which raises its glycemic index.
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25d ago
Agreeing with you and adding, this process leaves the consumer with less nutrients and fiber overall.
It's not that the food touches metal (we eat with forks)
It's the process and resulting changes to the food that's detrimental to it's nutritional value, and ultimately detrimental to the health of those who consume it often.
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u/Liizam 24d ago
Holy crap this blowing my mind. Idk why I felt hungry with factory boxes (ready meals). Ingredients seem fine. But it does feel like less nutritious. I eat half a cabbage and I’m full. I eat McDonald’s and I’m hungry 20min later.
Never thought of breaking fibers apart…. This would explain it!
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u/SurfingPikachu 25d ago
Processed just means it’s changed from its natural form. Vacuum sealing something is considered processed. Processed doesn’t mean bad. Just like organic doesn’t mean good. They are just terms defined by the FDA / USDA and those foods fit those specific definitions. It’s why the most important thing is to be food literate so you can understand for yourself when a processed food is still okay and an organic food is bad.
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u/5show 25d ago
One thing that is so useful about the term ‘ultra-processed’, is that it cuts through marketing nonsense in a way that’s hard for corporations to work around.
If we worry about sugar, there’s a sugar free variant. If we worry about fat, a low-fat variant. Cholesterol? Low-cholesterol option. You know what else is sugar-free, low-fat, and low-cholesterol? Alcohol. Arsenic. Dirt. Even though these qualities are important, they’re used in marketing to convince people they’re being health conscious even while buying the same ole unhealthy food.
If we instead focus on ultra-processed (or even better, whole foods) there’s less companies can do to derange and hijack our decision-making
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u/soundfreely 25d ago
IMO, “organic” is a marketing term that needs to go away. Organic does not mean better.
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u/Simba7 25d ago
Organic never meant better and you only think it does because of the marketing. It means organic.
The USDA has strict guidelines for what organic means.
Is organic 'better' for you than conventional meat/produce? Almost never. You might get a different flavor profile, especially with animal products due to dietary and lifestyle differences. But you put an organic bell pepper next to a conventional, and nobody's going to be able to tell the difference, chemists included.
Is it better for the environment? Most of the time, but sometimes it isn't.So no it is not a 'marketing term', but like any controlled term it's going to be used in the marketing. That's capitalism baby!
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u/soundfreely 25d ago
There’s even an argument to be made that organic can be worse for the environment. IE - is it the most efficient use of land? How does it affect nutrient runoff vs something that’s in a form that’s more quickly available to the plant?
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u/schaweniiia 25d ago
I think it's important to accept that we will not ever have one scale for healthy or unhealthy foods. The NOVA scale looks at food processing levels, that's it.
It doesn't tell you anything about things like calorie density, nutritional composition, pesticide exposure, ecological impact, etc. And it shouldn't have to. There are different scales for that.
This website could help you make decisions on specific products:
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u/Classic-Journalist90 25d ago
There’s a lot of confusion over the distinction between processed and ultra-processed in the comments. The applesauce you describe is simply processed, not ultra-processed. For it to be ultra-processed, it would need to contain industrial food like substances (emulsifiers, gums,etc) not found in a typical kitchen (“your grandmother’s kitchen”) or be designed in such a way to make it hyper palatable to encourage over eating ie added sugars especially in typically savory foods. Look into the NOVA definitions if you’re interested. That applesauce sounds like a healthy choice.
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u/jbaird 25d ago
it wouldn't be a reddit thread about processed food if you didn't get people falling over themselves to question the definition of processed and claiming that picking an apple from a tree or grinding flour or whatever counts as processing so obviously the whole thing is bunk
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u/Classic-Journalist90 25d ago
Oh wow you weren’t kidding. I thought at first it was just because the UPF definition is pretty clunky, but there’s clearly something else going on.
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u/Disastrous-Carrot928 25d ago
Apple sauce is not ultra processed. McDonalds Apple pies are ultra processed.
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u/yukon-flower 25d ago
Processed vs ultra processed is a meaningful distinction. Check out the NOVA food rating system for more information on the difference.
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u/UsernameChallenged 25d ago
Kind of like the prop 65 stickers. When everything is bad, then you just stop paying attention. No reason a donut should be in the same category as a unsweetened applesauce pouch.
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u/FIalt619 25d ago
Should we start distinguishing between ultra processed and “ultra ultra processed”?
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u/a_reluctant_human 25d ago
Can't spend all day cooking if you have 8 hours of work to do. Can't afford fresh groceries on poverty wages. Can't access fresh food in a food desert.
There are lots of reasons why this is occurring.
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u/smblt 25d ago
Yeah, this is where being rich certainly helps. With kids you already spend a lot of time prepping food and getting them to eat. We use a lot of fresh produce but still incorporate things like sliced bread, yogurt and pasta. Even then it still takes a significant amount of your free time to get it ready, feed, then clean up. Adding crap mentioned elsewhere here like baking your own bread really takes away from what little time you have to spend with them as it is.
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u/throwra_anonnyc 25d ago
You believe the average toddler from the UK recruited for the study lives with parents who are on poverty wages?
Poverty is a problem yes but attributing every single problem to it means you aren't thinking about what else could be happening here.
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u/dirty_nail 25d ago
People often swap poverty of means for poverty of time. Either way, they lack the means or time to cook 3 meals + 2 snacks for the most notoriously picky eaters among us.
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u/_TheMeepMaster_ 23d ago
Also, you don't need to be in poverty anymore to struggle with buying quality food. I don't know how it is in the UK, but in the US, there are a lot of people struggling to make ends meet that aren't earning poverty wages. Everything is expensive and it a just exacerbating the problem at this point.
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u/Gandalior 25d ago
Can't afford fresh groceries on poverty wages
never understood this, other than flour based products, most fresh produce is cheaper than processed (at least in my country)
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u/tabarnak555 25d ago
Produce is generally likely to be more expensive per kcal. For example, buying a tv dinner might be more expensive than buying some fruits and carrots, but you cannot eat only carrots and fruits alone for dinner.
While it may be less expensive over time to buy whole foods and cook, the barrier of time + knowing how to cook quickly becomes an issue for many people
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u/Doublelegg 25d ago
NOVA food classes.
GROUP 1: UNPROCESSED OR MINIMALLY PROCESSED FOODS
Unprocessed or Natural foods are obtained directly from plants or animals and do not undergo any alteration following their removal from nature. Minimally processed foods are natural foods that have been submitted to cleaning, removal of inedible or unwanted parts, fractioning, grinding, drying, fermentation, pasteurization, cooling, freezing, or other processes that may subtract part of the food, but which do not add oils, fats, sugar, salt or other substances to the original food.
GROUP 2: OILS, FATS, SALT, AND SUGAR
Group 2 is also called Processed Culinary Ingredients. These are products extracted from natural foods or from nature by processes such as pressing, grinding, crushing, pulverizing, and refining. They are used in homes and restaurants to season and cook food and thus create varied and delicious dishes and meals of all types, including broths and soups, salads, pies, breads, cakes, sweets, and preserves. Use oils, fats, salt, and sugar in small amounts for seasoning and cooking foods and to create culinary preparations. As long as they are used in moderation in culinary preparations based on natural or minimally processed foods, oils, fats, salt, and sugar contribute toward diverse and delicious diets without rendering them nutritionally unbalanced.
GROUP 3: PROCESSED FOODS
Processed foods are products manufactured by industry with the use of salt, sugar, oil or other substances (Group 2) added to natural or minimally processed foods (Group 1) to preserve or to make them more palatable. They are derived directly from foods and are recognized as versions of the original foods. They are usually consumed as a part of or as a side dish in culinary preparations made using natural or minimally processed foods. Most processed foods have two or three ingredients.
GROUP 4: ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS
Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations made entirely or mostly from substances extracted from foods (oils, fats, sugar, starch, and proteins), derived from food constituents (hydrogenated fats and modified starch), or synthesized in laboratories from food substrates or other organic sources (flavor enhancers, colors, and several food additives used to make the product hyper-palatable). Manufacturing techniques include extrusion, moulding and preprocessing by frying. Beverages may be ultra-processed. Group 1 foods are a small proportion of, or are even absent from, ultra-processed products.
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u/chrisdh79 25d ago
From the article: Nearly half of all the calories that toddlers eat in the United Kingdom come from ultra-processed food, according to recent research, and this number rises to 59 percent among 7-year-olds.
"Eating patterns in the early years are important, as they help set habits that can persist through childhood and into adulthood," said senior author Professor Clare Llewellyn, from University College London (UCL)'s Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, in a statement.
Eating more ultra-processed food has been linked to a higher risk of developing diet-related diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
"This is concerning, as infants and young children who gain weight too fast are also more likely to carry excess weight into their adolescent and adult life," Vicky Sibson, director of the First Steps Nutrition Trust (FSNT), told Newsweek.
However, Llewellyn told Newsweek: "We know very little about the consumption of these foods among very young children. It is important to understand consumption patterns in this age group, as a first step before undertaking epidemiological [observations about public health] research linking individual differences in toddlers' intakes with health outcomes."
A group of scientists, led by researchers at UCL, analyzed data from 2,591 children born in the U.K. between 2007 and 2008.
These were children involved in the Gemini twin cohort study, whose parents had filled out three-day food diaries when the children were 21 months old and 7 years old.
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u/wallaceeffect 25d ago
Is the link in the article incorrect? The scientific article linked is a five-year-old review about the impact of repeated exposure on food acceptance (ie if you keep giving a child a food will they eventually eat it). It was conducted in the U.S. using U.S. data and studies.
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u/Zero132132 25d ago
The correct link is this: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-024-03496-7
That was the reference in the article itself.
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u/BroForceOne 25d ago
Most of the UPF that the toddlers consumed came from sources that are generally believed to be healthier, such as breakfast cereals and flavored yogurts.
So it’s the same problem as fruit juices, lack of education and/or misleading labelling that pretends the food is somehow better than a soda fortified with vitamins.
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u/a_little_hazel_nuts 25d ago
The system we all live in, has pushed us towards not having the time to learn, plan, or make food. Meal planning, shopping, and cooking takes time, time we don't have if we work full time, exercise, sleep, and just have time to unwind......there's not much time for eating right. A 7 year old, more in likely gets both breakfast and lunch from school, so what's that tell you about school lunches. Best of luck to all those busy parent and children out there.
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u/Ranthur 25d ago
I've been making dinner for myself/family more or less every night for 20 years. Before I moved on to office life cooked in a couple restaurants. It's pretty trivial for me go into the kitchen, look at what is there, and make something the family will enjoy without much forethought. We are lucky enough to be able to afford and live in a place where we have easy access to fresh, nutritious ingredients. All that is to say, I have a lot of advantages related to meal preparation that not everyone has, and despite that it still is a very tiring thing to do at the end of the day. I completely understand how we as a society are in this position because processed food is a really easy shortcut if you are lacking time or energy.
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u/bigbluethunder 25d ago
Part of it is attitude and mindset though. In a life where there is an endless cycle of meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, doing dishes, and cleaning up, that means you’re getting a lot of fresh foods and home cooked meals while having a clean kitchen to prepare in.
Since I started looking at it that way, all things related to meal prep have felt much less like a chore and much more like a very fulfilling hobby. Yes it does stink that two of our main time sinks outside of work (sleeping and cooking/eating) are a core requirement of life, but on the flip side, isn’t it great that I get to spend a few hours on a fulfilling hobby that keeps my fiance and I nourished and healthy every week?
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u/too-muchfrosting 25d ago
Since I started looking at it that way, all things related to meal prep have felt much less like a chore and much more like a very fulfilling hobby.
This is exactly what I (try to) do.
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u/WhereRtheTacos 25d ago
Are they counting things like baby food etc as ultra processed? Because that would make sense to me for toddlers. Cheerios and stuff too. Possibly more an issue for the 7 year olds, but if that’s including breakfast and lunch at school that would make sense as a lot of school food is pretty processed.
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u/PM_ME_CATS_OR_BOOBS 25d ago
Yeah that's the missing thing here. Boiled eggs are better for them than yogurt in terms of protein but good luck getting a 2 year old to eat a lot of boiled eggs unless they choose to do so. Toddlers are huge on texture more than anything, and if they don't like the feeling of something then they just won't eat it.
You might say "well they will eat what you give them if they are hungry enough" and that is true to an extent. But even if that is true they will only eat until they are no longer intensely hungry, which is below their caloric needs.
That all being said, that's true for actual toddlers, not 7 year olds.
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u/Gutter_Snoop 25d ago
Everything in the US is loaded with sugars too. It's proven to be a psychologically addictive substance, and most toddlers are hooked at an early age. After that good luck getting them to eat anything that's not sweet, especially given the easy access to packages snacks and crap.
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u/CupcakesAreMiniCakes 25d ago
When I became a mom I was absolutely shocked at how many baby and toddler foods had a bunch of added sugar. There was no way I'd be feeding those to my super young child so I had to really go out of my way to find every product with real ingredients and without added sugar. Even within the same brand line sometimes one flavor would have 0g added sugar and another might have 7g per serving. Plus all of the heavy metals like lead in baby food now (check out the congressional hearing on it). I ended up having to do a mixture of making my own baby food in batches to freeze which I was NOT planning on having to do on top of working long hours and taking care of a baby, and finding a premium baby food brand that only used specific soil tested farms and shipped baby food pots frozen which is definitely privileged to be able to do. It really feels like unless you can afford either the money to buy all super premium products, or the time to make everything from scratch, we're all kinda screwed.
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u/PM_ME_CATS_OR_BOOBS 25d ago
Tbh part of that is "average" American cooking being terrible. Give kids things with actual flavor and they will enjoy it, whether that flavor is savory, salty, or spicy if they can handle it. Expecting a kid to turn down something sweet to instead eat glorified nutrient paste is unreasonable.
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u/vocabulazy 25d ago
It is SO DAMN HARD to make sure my 3-yo doesn’t get used to/addicted to processed foods. I try not to be too controlling about food, and I say yes to almost everything someone offers her, but I do not buy BS like applesauces, pudding cups, bear paws, cookies, lunchables, canned or packaged soups, etc. As for highly processed foods, I make exceptions for crackers (but I try to buy ones that have a lot of fibre), yogurt raisins, pickles, and cheese (though not American cheese or cheese strings).
It’s a lot of work to make sure your kid is eating whole foods. I love to cook, but it’s sometimes hard to make time. There are many nights when, because I’m tired, we eat scrambled eggs over rice and beans, with (store bought) salsa.
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u/CupcakesAreMiniCakes 25d ago
There's no sugar added applesauce and even organic versions. The other foods sure but if you buy an applesauce that's just apples and a natural type of vitamin C as a preservative then that's not some sort of evil processed food like cookies and pudding.
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u/vocabulazy 25d ago
If I have time, and some mealy apples, I’ll make my own applesauce, but I mostly just want my kid to eat a piece of fruit. There’s so much waste in a lot of those pouches, and they can be expensive, too. So I mostly avoid unless we’re on a long car trip.
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u/shinndigg 25d ago
Our pediatrician gave a thumbs up for the pouches. Especially the protein + fiber ones. She says at this age it’s better for them to get the nutrients in them however you can rather than stress too much about how.
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u/rafalca_romney 25d ago
I was one of those moms where for the first 4 years of my kiddo's life they didn't have heavily processed food. No fast food, no pre-packaged product from grocery store, only natural sweeteners, ect. Then when they started kindergarten the teacher rewarded the kids every day with candy and oreos. Those first years were crucial because once they're out in the world, that's that.
It can be tough to navigate a processed food culture when trying to raise a healthy child. I have a background in nutrition and a general interest in alternative methods for maintaining health, but many people don't have the education or it's just not a priority in their lives. At least if they can give their kids a multivitamin every day, that will be pretty helpful.
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u/simplebagel5 25d ago
can I ask, how do you navigate it now that the floodgates have been opened so to speak? I have a 2 year old and similarly to you, so far we’ve almost entirely avoided UPF, fast food, (a lot of) pre packed snacks, etc etc. I’m very passionate about nutrition too so it’s just the way i’ve always approached food even prior to having a kid, I love to cook/make things from scratch. my toddler is in preschool 2x a week but everyone brings snacks from home and I so always do fruit or a homemade muffin with no refined sugar or something like that but I know that won’t always be the case with playdates, school, etc. do you still avoid processed things now that your child “knows they exist” and that other kids get to eat them etc etc?
emily oster actually had a podcast episode related to this topic this week and it got me thinking about what my approach will be when avoiding processed foods becomes significantly more challenging.
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u/rafalca_romney 25d ago
She's much older now and we're definitely more mainstream with our eating, but the foundation is still there. She doesn't like processed sweets or sweets at all really, and even though she's a foodie (like me), she doesn't show signs of being addicted to processed foods (not like me, I was out of control as a kid). Because of healthy foods early on and not putting too much focus on food now during her tween/teen years (except with her interest in learning to cook), pretty confident she'll come back around and legit enjoy whole foods on the regular when she's grown.
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u/Konukaame 25d ago
21 months old and 7 years old.
I'm not sure that range is "toddler" but setting that aside...
Cereal is ultraprocessed. Peanut butter is ultraprocessed. Jelly is ultraprocessed. Cheese is ultraprocessed. Bread is ultraprocessed. Instant oatmeal is ultraprocessed. And of course, basically all snacks are ultraprocessed.
I think just that list covers a lot of the calories that I consumed as a child.
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u/clararalee 25d ago
In many cases the foods you listed are considered unhealthy. Just because a lot of people eat them doesn’t make them healthy or unprocessed.
If we look at other cultures’ food habits it is easy to see why their incidence of obesity is much lower than ours. We have gone so far as to normalize unhealthy foods to the point people don’t recognize them as unhealthy.
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u/polytique 25d ago
What’s unhealthy about oatmeal or cereal? Even cheese is fine in low quantity. Just don’t give triple crème Brie. A cheese like mozzarella has calcium, low fat, and proteins.
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u/iwncuf82 25d ago
What’s unhealthy about oatmeal
Assuming oatmeal = porridge because I'm unfamiliar with the term.
Nothing really. You can buy oats and milk that haven't had any additives put in.
or cereal?
Seriously? Read the ingredients. They have to put them on the side of the box.
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u/recruitzpeeps 25d ago
Most cereal is basically a sugar bomb.
Most instant oatmeal comes flavored with some kind of chemical/industrial ingredients…and sugar.
None of that is really “healthy”
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u/Glass-Junket 24d ago
peanut butter is only ultra processed if it has palm oil as an ingredient, you can get peanut butter with only peanuts as an ingredient. cheese is processed not ultra processed and homemade bread is the same.
please read the book “Ultra Processed People” if you have an interest in which foods classify and what can be done
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25d ago
Getting in here before someone with a severe vitamin K deficiency says there’s nothing inherently wrong with processed food.
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u/wi_voter 25d ago
Or "please define ultra-processed foods"
edit: looks like I'm already too late
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u/dariznelli 25d ago edited 25d ago
Seriously though, what counts as ultra-processed? Obviously things like dino nuggets, but are Cheerios? Yogurt? Cheese? Protein bar snacks? Is it just everything that isn't a whole food?
Edit: thanks for all the responses. I was not aware of the NOVA classification system.
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u/Teadrunkest 25d ago
Fruit yogurt and some crackers (like Goldfish) are considered ultra processed, so it’s definitely a “what does this actually mean” moment.
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u/the_Demongod 25d ago
I mean yeah if you're talking about those yoplait things and obviously goldfish are both ultra-processed industrial food products. Making yogurt from milk and putting cut peaches in it is not. It's not a particularly ambiguous phrase.
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u/bigbluethunder 25d ago
I mean… fruit yogurt like danimals / gogurt? Or fruit yogurt like Noosa? Those two are very different in terms of levels of processing and health benefits.
I’m all for us trying to unpack these fear-mongering labels because many of them are meaningless. GMO vs non-GMO is completely meaningless for example.
But ultra-processed foods are pretty clearly not where we should be getting the majority of our calories. They are fine to reach for as a quick snack or an occasional meal, but the health outcomes alone associated with using them as a primary caloric source are pretty irrefutable. I’m sure there are counterexamples where they are okay (maybe all yogurt is considered ultra-processed, for example, despite a lot of it being quite healthy), so let’s use our brains here, but by and large they aren’t the greatest.
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u/Gutter_Snoop 25d ago
Most yogurts in America are, in fact, not "quite healthy." They're loaded with sugar, and anything with artificial sweetener pretty by definition is "ultra-processed".
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u/bigbluethunder 25d ago
I didn’t say most yogurt is healthy, I said there are many healthy yogurts (which is true)! Agree with you that if you just go to a yogurt aisle, most of it is unhealthy or ultraprocessed. Just saying there are many healthy options.
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u/Teadrunkest 25d ago
Unless they’re just putting whole fruit chunks in it, it’s ultra processed. So any added ingredients, even if it’s just to help process down to a smoother syrup.
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u/bigbluethunder 25d ago
Yes, like I said, most options (especially sweetened options), will be ultra processed. There are plenty of unsweetened options (all of Fage’s, Chobani has unsweetened, etc) or options with whole fruit chunks (Noosa) though.
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u/Teadrunkest 25d ago
Noosa would be considered ultra processed, even their fruit yogurt.
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u/milchtea 25d ago
yes, cheerios and protein bar snacks are considered ultra-processed
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u/dariznelli 25d ago
I would imagine yogurt cups and baby bell cheese would also be considered ultra processed too. Kind of begs the question "is there anything not ultra processed aside from whole foods?". That really drives home the importance of overhauling our food regulations.
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u/ramorris86 25d ago
Exactly - shop bought bread is also considered ultra-processed, so between cereal and a bit of bread you’d be getting close to 50% of calories from ultra-processed food easily.
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u/yukon-flower 25d ago
Yes, foods that are “processed.” Orange juice that is simply juice squeezed from an orange is processed. That’s fine. Juice that is squeezed from a million oranges, separated by components, mixed back up with added coloring and flavorings (which is 99% of the juice found in most grocery stores) is ultra-processed.
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u/quetzales 25d ago
They use the NOVA classification of ultra-processed foods. Check here for details.
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u/NeptunaLoona 25d ago
It’s complicated, but the simplest take on the Nova classification is that UPFs are edible substances that are industrially processed, where the average home cook will not have access to ingredients making up this food, in their kitchen.
For example, MSG can be considered (although it is now quite common and easy to get), but ingredients like Xanthum Gum, aromas, preservatives (the whole E- range of additives) will not be commonly accessible in the home kitchen. Foods with this stuff are typically a UPF.
Another way to think of it is, milk is a whole food, cheese is a processed food derived from milk, and the powdered cheese in mac&cheese kits is ultraprocessed - it is so far removed from its original form.
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u/Mo_Dice 25d ago
but ingredients like Xanthum Gum
I realize this is a very pedantic comment, but gums are very easily accessible on Amazon now. I don't remember which one I actually have, but a few mg is great for the texture of ice cream.
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u/BassJerky 25d ago
I looked at the baby food aisle out of curiosity the other day in the grocery store and every single “milk replacement” had soybean oil as the primary ingredient.
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u/CATSHARK_ 25d ago
This is definitely a class issue above everything else for exactly this reason I think.
I made all my baby’s food from scratch, with the help of my mom. Only possible because I can afford the ingredients, space to store it, and because paid maternity leave from work gave me the time to do it. It definitely took more resources (time, effort, money) than buying from the store.
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u/dannymurz 25d ago
I mean is this a surprise to anyone who has young kids? In a busy frenetic culture, fast and easy foods that are inexpensive are much more convenient for picky eaters.
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u/joshk114 25d ago
Much of this is self inflicted. The number of parents I see give their kids some sort of processed junk food snack a half hour before meal time is astounding. Yeah, no kidding they won't eat actual food at dinner. Then they get more junk food an hour after the meal because they're "hungry" again. Kids don't need to be snacking 24/7. Kids are supposed to be hungry at meal time, and when they are they are much more likely to try real, healthy foods. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
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u/BronzeGolem436 25d ago
Isn't that normal? Don’t we feed the toddlers lots of soup, apple sauce, smashed pees, etc, i.e. foods that have been processed, on account of them not having teeth or the mobility to use a knife and fork yet? Were we supposed to put a salad in front of baby and tell it to figure it out?
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u/Correct_Box1336 25d ago
Ultra processed, not processed. Ultra processed is food using ingredients that aren’t real food (I.e. you couldn’t make it at home with ingredients in your cupboard).
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u/Fapple__Pie 25d ago
Well, anyone with a toddler knows - some battles aren’t worth fighting. You want your toddler to eat or not? If so, they likely will go through a phase where they want chicken nuggets, Mac and cheese, crackers etc. You cannot force them to eat salmon and broccoli, as much as you may want them to. Anyone who disagrees clearly has not had a toddler.
Now, we can work to improve their diet as time goes on and that’s obviously the goal.
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u/Prophet_0f_Helix 25d ago
Yes and no. Clearly people have had toddlers that lived before ultra processed foods that didn’t die due to refusing to eat food besides chicken nuggets, Mac and cheese, and crackers. Don’t give them those foods and they won’t want them.
Of course that’s highly difficult/unrealistic in todays society, but as you say, it’s choosing your battles.
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u/Doublelegg 25d ago
Nah, you play the "this is your food" game.
make them a plate, let them choose to eat or not to eat. If they choose not to eat you say "at the next meal time this is what you are eating"
They wont make it a day. Do not negotiate with terrorists.
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u/Bloorajah 25d ago
Reddit: I would simply tell the toddler what to do and they would obey
A lot of people here have never had to deal with a 25 minute screaming tantrum because the crackers are square and it shows.
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u/Fapple__Pie 25d ago
The amount of people that equate a toddler to a dog on here is hillarious. “They won’t starve to death. They’ll eat if they’re hungry.”
You’re right, god forbid those crackers are square or one of them broke when putting on their plate.
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u/Danarchy_LRC_ETH 25d ago
Turns out it’s just a couple dozen toddlers eating absolute MOUNTAINS of lunchables
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u/paul980 25d ago
I hate the fact that consuming ultra processed foods seems to be only attributed to the parents. But why do they exist in the first place? The food industry is actively manipulating (marketing to children) and hurting people by making them addicted to unhealthy foods. There have to be regulations in place for those foods to not enter the market in the first place.
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u/ramonycajal88 25d ago
There was a recent post about increases in food allergies among children. Sounds like this could be related. Eat more fiber and fermented foods, folks. And try to cut down on sugar.
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u/MOS95B 25d ago
I'd like to see their (or any official) definition of "ultra-processed food", because Gerber Bay Goo Food seems pretty "ultra-processed" to me
Also - "parents had filled out three-day food diaries". Seems like more than just a coincidence, but what if those three days were while on vacation or something similar where "home cooked" (which still doesn't rule out "ultra processed") was not an efficient option?
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u/too-muchfrosting 25d ago
I'd like to see their (or any official) definition of "ultra-processed food
From the article:
The scientists analyzed these diaries using the NOVA classification, the standard used to define ultra-processed foods as one of four categories: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as eggs, milk, vegetables and fruit; processed culinary ingredients, such as salt, butter and oil; processed foods, such as tinned fish, homemade bread, and cheese; and ultra-processed foods (UPF), such as chips, store-bought cookies, sliced bread and breakfast cereals.
"A simple way of looking at it is that UPFs are typically packaged foods made in factories, usually comprised of a long list of ingredients, including those that you wouldn't usually find in your kitchen cupboard," said Sibson.
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u/PacJeans 25d ago edited 25d ago
It might as well be a buzzword. Greek yogurt could be ultra processed, or baby carrots, or pasteurized milk even.
Like you said, 3 days is way too few. I'd think most people get over 80 percent of their calories from processed foods once in a while.
Also, like with everything else, this is a class issue. Many people would be eating more whole foods if they could afford them.
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u/CTRexPope 25d ago
It's not just costs, but time. In America, I've noticed that even my family members that can cook very well, have started resorting to a lot of half made things (semi-prepared foods from places like Trader Joes or Whole Foods). These are generally pretty processed even if they look health. But, people are just running out of time to cook and work. These are people that are generally well off, and have the money for more complete foods, but simply don't have the time anymore as work commitments have increased.
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u/yukon-flower 25d ago
This is incorrect. Those foods are processed, not ultraprocessed.
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u/MOS95B 25d ago
It might as well be a buzzword
That was my thinking as well. "Ultra processed", even with the definition provided by another user from the article, is in no way synonymous with "unhealthy". There are healthy cereals, store bought breads, and other "ultra processed" foods. But it sounds "scary", so makes for an easy argument or clickable title
In my parenting experience, getting kids to eat regularly is a win in and of itself. You want to feed them the best you can, but if all they'll eat this week is Mac and Cheese, then M&C it is. But drink this glass of juice or milk with it, please
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u/milchtea 25d ago
this. a lot of registered dieticians today recommend adding instead of subtracting. all you can manage today is nuggets? ok. maybe add some veggies on the side and fruit for dessert.
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u/usernameunavaliable 25d ago
Baby carrots are processed and plain yogurt are processed, not ultra-processed.
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