132. The Bitter Taste of Convenience: Unveiling the Unhealthy Consequences of Processed and Ultra-Processed Foods

Processed foods have become a popular choice for consumers in search of convenience. However, it is important to understand that there are significant downsides to consuming processed food, such as decreased nutritional value and potential health risks.

What You'll Learn From this Episode:

• Explores the implications of processed foods and shares tips for redefining our relationship with food in order to achieve greater physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. 
• The importance of understanding what is in our food and encourages us to make a conscious effort to choose whole, unprocessed foods. 
• Understand how processed food affects our overall health, we can make informed decisions about our diet and achieve better health.

If you find that you are one of those Americans in whom are consuming 60% of their calories from processed or ultra-processed foods, let's scale back. 

1. Increase whole foods in your diet. Maybe start with one meal a day, maybe start with one serving per meal. Make a point of having a fresh salad before your meal and an apple as a snack. I know this is so basic and not sexy. But guess what, the stuff your mama told you, as basic as it is, matters. So let's go back to the basics. 
2.  Consider meal prep. It's never easy and in fact impossible to do things on the fly. You need to plan and be intentional which means that you need to be prepared and plan. 
3.  Include your family- one of the most common reasons we turn to processed foods is because of time and let's face it- having a family is a time sink- haha. And if you recall the statistic above- our kids are eating even more processed foods than we are and over a lifetime that could really impact their health. So include them in family meal planning, engage them, make it fun, and make it engaging. 
4.  Let manage our expectations- living a healthy and intentional life takes time. The notion that everything should be quick and easy is an expectation that sets us up for failure. Fortunately, advances in food technology have made life easier for us but the notion that it should be all ease is a false notion. Our relationship with food takes time, it takes effort, just like all important relationships do. 
5.  Last but not least, be kind to yourself. Don't expect complete 180s overnight and don't expect perfection. But that does not mean there should not be accountability. Be committed, be accountable. You are in the driver's seat- keep yourself there. 

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Transcript

Is processed food even food? In our quest for convenience we have created a version of food so far from what it is and always intended to be. Fuel that nourishes us. In this segment we discuss the downside to processed and hwat is now labled as ultra processed food.

Welcome back to Healthbite, the podcast for small actionable bites towards healthy living. 

I believe your relationship with food is a window into your relationship with yourself. In this podcast we will explore how to redefine this relationship so you can not only achieve your weight loss goals, but greater mental, emotional and physical wellbeing. In the end, that’s what its all about, isn't it?

I am your host Dr Adrienne Youdim and am excited to share with you this weeks bite.

Processed foods are foods that have been altered or modified in order to make them shelf-stable, convenient and on the go and highly palatable. They include a wide range of foods including breads and cereal, frozen meals, ice cream, drinks, stuff found in jars, cookies, chips, other snack items and packaged foods. Ultra-processed foods take it an additional step to change the taste and look of the food, they typically have little of no whole foods and have a higher load of additives. These may include many of the examples above .

The process of making ultra-processed foods is one that removes much of the nutritional value of the food in order to make them shelf-stable. Sometimes this is quote remedied by adding some nutrition back in also known as fortified or enriched. For example sugary cereals will have certain b vitamins such as folate added back into the cereal giving a false sense of nutrition. (side note- do you know why folate is often added to breads and cereals? Folate deficiency in a women of child-bearing age can cause neural tube defects in the child. As the american diet became more and more devoid of actual real food and nutrients, the government decided to fortify commonly consumed packaged foods with this nutrient as a way to prevent this fatal condition)

Another negative factor in addition to removing nutrients in processing is the addition of potentially harmful substances. In order to keep food shelf stable, looking good, and tasting additives such as preservatives, sweeteners, emulsifiers, thickeners, food coloring and taste enhancers are added. Even quote natural additives such as salt, which is a commonly used preservative that enhances taste and shelf life can have very significant health effects. 

Salt is deemed on of the most important contributors to hypertension, heart disease and stroke. In fact just this past march, the WHO released a report stating that Seven million people could die of diseases linked to excessive salt consumption before the decade’s end unless governments immediately pass tighter restrictions on salt, High sodium intake is the top risk factor for an unhealthy diet, and it is responsible for 1.8 million deaths each year, and up to 5 million strokes per year globally. 

Ultra-processed foods also are high in sugar and oil which contribute to excess weight, obesity which in of itself is linked to metabolic diseases, cardiovascular disease and several common forms of cancer including breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancer to name a few. 

People who were given processed meals as compared to the real deal of the same thing tended to consume more 500 calories more per day. The reason is unknown but may have to do with the combination of sugar salt and fat that makes foods very palatable and desireable. 

But here is something you may not know! Studies show that processed foods do not result in the same release of fullness hormones as the real deal. When we eat food, our gut releases hormones or chemical messengers that signal fullness to the brain. These are the very same hormones that are mimicked in drugs like ozempic, wegovy and monjauro. 

For example- a packet of quick mix add hot water and go oatmeal will not release the same boost of fullness hormones as a cup of steal cut oatmeal cooked stove top and will therefore not leave you feeling as full as you should.

A piece of processed chicken that you may find at a fast food joint or packaged in the market will not cause the same surge of fullness hormones as the piece of chicken thigh out of the oven. 

The result is that one needs to eat more in order to get the same level of fullness. Pretty wild no?

But in terms of additives, other additives that you may have heard of include nitrates, nitrites (found in beef products), carageenan, and artificial sweetener erythritol which I reported on last month.

Ultra-processed food have grown steadily as a part of the american diet and currently make up 60% of what american adults eat and nearly 70% of what kids eat. Yikes!

Over the past year, I have reported on healthbite various studies linking processed foods to a whole host of ailments and diseases ranging from increased risk of obesity as mentioned but also hypertension, high cholesterol, breast cancer colon cancer, greater risk of cognitive decline ie dementia.

But before you freak out, know this-

Not all processed or even ultraprocessed foods are deemed that bad. For example a whole grain bread that does not have added sugar and fat and has little salt and is high in fiber could actually be net positive. Other studies have shown that yogurt consumption (also classified as ultra-processed) resulted in a lower risk of colon cancer in woman ( I know many of you think dairy is bad- thats a whole other topic)

And the amount matters. Almost every study done has shown that health risks are cumulative meaning more servings cause more harm and in some cases only the highest servings like 9 servings of packaged meat per day cause harm (thats quite a bit) 

So if you find that you are one of those americans in whom are consuming 60% of your calories from processed or ultra processed foods, lets scale back. 

1.  Increase whole foods in your diet. Maybe start with one meal a day, maybe start with one serving per meal. Make a point of having a fresh salad before your meal, an apple as a snack. I know this is so basic and not sexy. But guess what, the stuff your mama told you, as basic as it is, matters. So lets go back to the basics. 

2.  Consider meal prep. Its never easy and in fact impossible to do things on the fly. You need to plan and be intentional which means that you need to be prepared and plan. 

3.  Include your family- one of the most common reasons we turn to processed foods is because of time and lets face it- having a family is a time sink- haha. And if you recall the statistic above- our kids are eating even more processed foods than we are and over a lifetime that could really impact their health. So include them in family meal planning, engage them, make it fun and make it engaging. 

4.  Let manage our expectations- living a healthy and intentional life takes time. The notion that everything should be quick and easy is an expectation that sets us up for failure. Fortunately, advances in food technology has made life easier for us but the notion that it should be all ease is a false notion. Our relationship with food takes time, it takes effort, just like all important relationships do. 

5.  Last but not least, be kind to yourself. Dont expect complete 180s overnight and don't expect perfection. But that does not mean there should not be accountability. Be committed, be accountable. You are in the drivers seat- keep yourself there. 

Well thats all for this week! 

If you’re ready to take your next bite of action head over to the show notes right now and get my 5 Step Guide to Health and Wellbeing filled with tips, steps, and motivation to Nourish Yourself Mind and Body

Thank you for your time, as time is our most precious resource, I appreciate you spending some of that preciousness with me.