Study on super processed foods

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^but I feel like they never do a good job explaining the limits. I make all our food at home but I use store bought broth. That’s got way more ingredients that my grandma never used when she made broth from scratch. It makes it very confusing as to what to exactly constitutes “super processed.”

I agree. I know fresh whole foods are good, packaged shelf-stable foods bad, but there is so much in between. Is ground beef considered super processed? Dr. Praeger's black bean burgers? Frozen peas? Canned peas? Pasteurized milk? Etc.

The study is pretty clear that it's not talking about any of those things except maybe the black bean burgers, which I don't have experience with.

This is a study that just looked at the percent of each category of food within the diet. It didn't measure the relative health of foods within the categories. For example, my kids will happily eat a bowl of plain cheerios with just milk, or oatmeal made with milk and sugar. This study makes me think the oatmeal is a better choice because it's less processed even though it has more sugar. On the other hand, it doesn't make me think that because poptarts and plain cheerios are in the same overarching category they're equivalent. I'm pretty sure the cheerios are still substantially healthier than the poptarts.

So, the black bean burgers are probably healthier than almost any other prepared ready to heat meal. If you're in a situation where you're choosing between them and deli meat in a sandwhich it's probably a no brainer. But if you're comparing them to homemade black bean burgers, the latter is probably even healthier.

[Anonymous]

What’s the issue with deli meat ? I’d it just the sodium, I can’t see how otherwise Turkey is bad for you sbd how would Torrey raise colon cancer rates?

[Anonymous]

I go with Michael Pollan's advice:


Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.

And by food he says: Something your grandmother/great-grandmother would recognize as food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I go with Michael Pollan's advice:


Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.

And by food he says: Something your grandmother/great-grandmother would recognize as food.

My grandmother was from the era where dinner was hot dogs stuffed with American "cheese food" and wrapped in bacon with a side of rice a roni, and a "salad" of grated carrots in orange jello. Oh, and a glass of powdered and reconstituted diet Lipton Ice Tea.

So, while I think the first rule is great, I'm suspicious of the second.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the issue with deli meat ? I’d it just the sodium, I can’t see how otherwise Turkey is bad for you sbd how would Torrey raise colon cancer rates?

The preservatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the issue with deli meat ? I’d it just the sodium, I can’t see how otherwise Turkey is bad for you sbd how would Torrey raise colon cancer rates?

The preservatives.

can’t get make it without that ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is store bought bread worse than homemade bread? Dave’s killer bread seems far more nutritious than any homemade bread I’ve ever had.

It's the added preservatives that keep it from getting moldy. All processed foods have them, though maybe DKB has fewer? I honestly doubt it though, because any bread sold in the commercial aisle of a grocery store is going to need to be relatively shelf stable in order to survive the process of distribution. A home-baked or bakery fresh bread will be sold/eaten within a day or two of being made, and day-old bakery items are often sold at a discount specifically because they already show signs of staleness. Mold will appear within as little as 2-3 days. It is next to impossible to get a commercial bread on the shelves and sold in that length of time, and when you buy a loaf of DKB, does your family consume it within a day or two, or do you work your way through over the course of a week?

This is why you can't discuss these studies in a vacuum. It's easy to say "oh yes, super processed foods are terrible for you, it doesn't surprise me that Doritos cause cancer." But getting rid of super processed foods from our diets would mean changing a lot about the way we eat. Super processed foods are popular not just because they are sweet or highly marketed, but because they are convenient. And our entire economy has been structured upon access to conveniences, like shelf stable bread, that enable things like two-income families, long work days and school days, etc. It's all part of our culture.

Exempting yourself from a food chain that is built on super processed foods doesn't just mean buying expensive bread at Whole Foods. It would mean changing your entire life style. It's harder than you think.

If you're concerned about preservatives, Ezekiel bread is a good option. It's in the freezer section. Plus I like the taste.

[Anonymous]

Who has time for all of this? When I saw the study, I thought through our family eating habits and I just don't even know where to start - my kids eat cereal or oatmeal or toast (store bought bread) for breakfast. Then for lunch, they take a sandwich - usually with storebought bread and either storebought jam or peanut butter or cheese. They also may take store bought popcorn, or a fruit roll up or a store bought cookie. Maybe store bought hummus and crackers for dipping. For dinner, we have store bought pasta sometimes - I will make my own sauce but I don't have time to do that all the time (and don't suggest making a huge batch - I have 4 kids to feed, I'd have to have an entire freezer to keep it in!)

And then they have ice cream or maybe make a store bought cake on the weekends and eat that for dessert. On the weekends, they eat fast food. And don't even get me started on snacks.

Literally every meal has some element of super processed foods in it. My kids seem healthy enough, play sports, get good grades. Can someone post their no-super processed foods meal plan?

[Anonymous]

Cheerios is considered ultra processed? My kids (as did I) live off of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cheerios is considered ultra processed? My kids (as did I) live off of this.

Ingredients?

[Anonymous]

And what about butter? Surely the butter at the store is ultraprocessed? And juice too I imagine. I am doomed if ultraprocessed foods are going to kill me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you read the study they divide food into 4 categories:

1) unprocessed (e.g. fruit, vegetables, milk, meat)

2) processed ingredients (e.g. grains, sugar, vegetable oil)

3) processed foods (canned fruit or vegetables, fresh baked bread, cheese)

4) ultra processed food (snacks, store bought bread, breakfast cereal, soda, processed meat, ready to eat meals)

The correlation they found was with the last category, although I don’t know if they looked at other correlations.

It was interesting to me, because for my family, bread and breakfast cereal are relatively easy changes I can make for my teens. Usually if my kids eat them it’s at home because they are easy and fast and not because they love them so if I make some other carb that’s easy and fast, or buy or make fresh bread, they won’t care.

Are all breakfast cereals bad? How about Alpen museli and the like? Multi-grain cheerios no good?

[Anonymous]

None of us should be eating processed food. Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you read the study they divide food into 4 categories:

1) unprocessed (e.g. fruit, vegetables, milk, meat)

2) processed ingredients (e.g. grains, sugar, vegetable oil)

3) processed foods (canned fruit or vegetables, fresh baked bread, cheese)

4) ultra processed food (snacks, store bought bread, breakfast cereal, soda, processed meat, ready to eat meals)

The correlation they found was with the last category, although I don’t know if they looked at other correlations.

It was interesting to me, because for my family, bread and breakfast cereal are relatively easy changes I can make for my teens. Usually if my kids eat them it’s at home because they are easy and fast and not because they love them so if I make some other carb that’s easy and fast, or buy or make fresh bread, they won’t care.

Are all breakfast cereals bad? How about Alpen museli and the like? Multi-grain cheerios no good?

If you seriously want an answer, list the ingredients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And what about butter? Surely the butter at the store is ultraprocessed? And juice too I imagine. I am doomed if ultraprocessed foods are going to kill me.

Calling out the above troll. He knows to simply read the ingredients.

My Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter has:
Pasteurized Cream and salt, so not processed at all. You can get it without salt.