Colors that don't occur in nature, ingredients with 4+ syllables. But seriously, it's hard! I find myself sticking to whole foods more and more. Great piece.
Thanks! I feel like if you steer clear of the packaged aisles of the grocery store, it’s pretty easy. But once you wade into those central aisles…look out! I always tell my students, the more health marketing a food has, the less likely it is to be healthy! (And in contrast, you don’t see apples or broccoli covered in “All-Natural” claims!)
This is the most frustrating part to me: « these foods tend to be cheaper than the non-ultraprocessed equivalents. »
Rising food prices leads me to worry consumption of ultra processed foods may increase, for this reason.
My lazy way of identifying if something is ultra processed is that I know I couldn’t make it at home, due to either method required or ingredients. That helps identify most.
However, take a tortilla, for instance. I *could* make some, but the ones I sometimes buy probably have different ingredients than the ones I’d (theoretically) make.
Are they cheaper though? I am frequently shocked by the price if chips or cookies at the grocery store. Pasta, potatoes, and bananas still super affordable.
It depends on the comparison point but generally speaking, yes- I believe they are cheaper when comparing non-UPF versions of the same foods. And then on a dietary pattern level, unhealthy food diets tend to be cheaper than those comprised of fresh & minimally processed. That said, I agree with you that there are a number of low cost fresh and processed foods (like plain cheese and pasta) that often go overlooked in this conversation. Personally, I am big on canned beans! They are my personal dietary super hero: cheap, tasty, fast.
Perhaps there are similar economic forces at play for UPFs and fresh goods. An effort to push customers to higher margin products. Berries and avocados instead of bananas and potatoes. Boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken quarters. Soda is so expensive but water is free.
the idea of classifying UPF's as "containing ingredients you wouldn't find in your kitchen" is somewhat problematic...1. it assumes everyone has a certain amount of culinary ability and/or access to ingredients to prepare food; 2. what is to stop food makers for taking out those (offensive?) ingredients and just substituting something else that will not improve nutritional profile - e.g. take out HFCS (which is not used that much any more anyway) and just use another sweetener (sugar, honey, molasses etc)?
Colors that don't occur in nature, ingredients with 4+ syllables. But seriously, it's hard! I find myself sticking to whole foods more and more. Great piece.
Thanks! I feel like if you steer clear of the packaged aisles of the grocery store, it’s pretty easy. But once you wade into those central aisles…look out! I always tell my students, the more health marketing a food has, the less likely it is to be healthy! (And in contrast, you don’t see apples or broccoli covered in “All-Natural” claims!)
Kind of like the more I try to convince my kids I'm funny, the less funny they think I am?
Seriously, though, half the yogurts out there are more like desserts.
This is the most frustrating part to me: « these foods tend to be cheaper than the non-ultraprocessed equivalents. »
Rising food prices leads me to worry consumption of ultra processed foods may increase, for this reason.
My lazy way of identifying if something is ultra processed is that I know I couldn’t make it at home, due to either method required or ingredients. That helps identify most.
However, take a tortilla, for instance. I *could* make some, but the ones I sometimes buy probably have different ingredients than the ones I’d (theoretically) make.
Are they cheaper though? I am frequently shocked by the price if chips or cookies at the grocery store. Pasta, potatoes, and bananas still super affordable.
It depends on the comparison point but generally speaking, yes- I believe they are cheaper when comparing non-UPF versions of the same foods. And then on a dietary pattern level, unhealthy food diets tend to be cheaper than those comprised of fresh & minimally processed. That said, I agree with you that there are a number of low cost fresh and processed foods (like plain cheese and pasta) that often go overlooked in this conversation. Personally, I am big on canned beans! They are my personal dietary super hero: cheap, tasty, fast.
Perhaps there are similar economic forces at play for UPFs and fresh goods. An effort to push customers to higher margin products. Berries and avocados instead of bananas and potatoes. Boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken quarters. Soda is so expensive but water is free.
the idea of classifying UPF's as "containing ingredients you wouldn't find in your kitchen" is somewhat problematic...1. it assumes everyone has a certain amount of culinary ability and/or access to ingredients to prepare food; 2. what is to stop food makers for taking out those (offensive?) ingredients and just substituting something else that will not improve nutritional profile - e.g. take out HFCS (which is not used that much any more anyway) and just use another sweetener (sugar, honey, molasses etc)?