Eight of the most ultra-processed foods you might not know about.

There is now more and more encouragement to eat a healthy diet to support a long and healthy life. Looking at healthier food options and reducing the intake of takeaway, fast food and alcohol might be something you might have considered already. Unfortunately, some of the commonly consumed foods that are available may look and sound healthy on the surface but some of them are actually “the wolf in the sheep’s clothing” as they are ultra processed. Ultra processed food has been linked to the increased risk of developing various chronic diseases, including cancer.

The good news is that not all so-called processed foods are unhealthy as, for example, frozen vegetables go through a form of processing called snap-freezing which actually improves their nutritional value as it maintains all nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, compared to ones that have endured a long transport phase and then are on the shelf or in cool room for a long time until they land in your pan then on your plate. Gluten free flour such as buckwheat flour or quinoa flakes are two more examples of processed food. Buckwheat grows in a field and the kernels are carefully harvested and processed by grinding them to give you the end product, the flour you use for baking and cooking. Most people have cooked quinoa before, so know that quinoa does not actually come as flakes but requires the processing that rolls them into flakes.

The biggest difference between these foods and ultra-processed foods is that Nothing was Added!

Processed foods on the other hand are the ones we should minimise or better still, remove completely from the shopping list. These are foods that are heavily engineered with chemicals, additives, preservatives, flavours, enhancers, colours, sugars, salts and emulsifiers. All of these ingredients are not found in nature and certainly you would not use any of these in your cooking. As a result of the extra ingredients and heavy processing these foods undergo, they contain less to no nutritional value in all aspects, that is, no protein, vitamins, minerals, fibre, healthy carbohydrates and fats.

But there is another catch with these ultra-processed foods which make them very addictive – they trigger our taste buds in a way that instantly signals our brain that this is the best food ever and we want more.

We know today that with MSG and other additives, the processes these foods go through have this artificial effect on the brain: Have you ever thought about why someone opens a packet of chips and cannot stop until the packet is empty? Then they look for the next one? It’s not because their body tells them this is Yummy – it’s because the chemicals in the chips trick your brain to want more.  It’s definitely not something your body would tell you to eat more of as the body suffers from the processed food it now has to try to digest and eliminate. You could put it this way: If you dug up a bowl of dirt from the garden and added MSG and water, mixed it well then fed it to someone that was blindfolded, they would state that it was the best ‘pudding’ they had ever eaten. Well, the chemicals that tricked the brain to say and believe this are what did the job and not actually the dirt.

So, let’s look at what food made my list?

1. Plant-based meat

We cannot assume plant-based meat is always a healthier option. And don’t get me wrong as there is nothing unhealthy about a vegetable burger or patty that you make yourself for example, with black beans, beetroot and other vegetables. But to make a food taste and look like red meat, chicken or fish it generally needs a lot of colours, flavours, additives and more. These plant-based options are often high in unhealthy vegetable oils, processed carbs and additives to mimic the consistency, taste and texture of meat. So, looking at the ingredients and nutritional profile is something I would recommend, and this often comes with a nasty surprise.

2. Vegetable chips

Besides the normal potato chips, there are packaged vegetable chips available made from kale, beetroot, sweet potatoes, legumes and others, but these are still highly processed with added cheap and unhealthy oils, trans fats, salt, sugar, flavours and some even with MSG.  On top of the loss of most nutrients, as they are destroyed with this heavy processing to make them crunchy and salty snacks, the high temperatures these starchy foods go through create a substance called Acrylamide. Acrylamide is a chemical that is linked to cancer and can have a potentially damaging effect on the nervous system. It is also present in crackers, bread, cookies, cereals and coffee. Other health problems chips are linked to include inflammation, addiction, high blood pressure, diabetes, aging, cancer (due to acrylamide), clotting and weight gain. Some countries and states in the US like California tried to put labels on chips as they extended the levels of acrylamide by 150 – 450 times the recommended safe level. Unfortunately, this was only a non-mandatory warning that manufacturers could put on if they chose to. If you’re looking for healthier chips, the only way you will find them is by slicing up some sweet potato (a purple one would be my preference), sprinkle it with herbs and bake in the oven or air fryer.

3. Ham

All processed meat which includes deli meats are in the ultra-processed category. They will have a meat content of maximum 80% and the rest is made up with salts, bulking agents, nitrates, preservatives to make them a less expensive meat alternative. Unfortunately, this alternative comes with less nutrient-density and regular consumption may result in health concerns like increased risk of digestive tract cancers and therefore have been declared a carcinogen, like bacon – see point 8.

4. Premade packed sauces and dips

It may be convenient when preparing your favourite meal to add a premade curry mix, barbeque sauce, marinade, ketchup, pesto or gravy among many others you can buy in the supermarkets, but most of them are ultra processed. Looking at the ingredients will show that most of them have ingredients in them you want to avoid like sugar and vegetable oil, starches, thickeners, preservatives, flavours, colours and more. When preparing a home-cooked meal it would be a much healthier option to make your own sauces using herbs and spices, vegetable water/broth and fresh garlic, spring onions, onions and lemon grass.

Dips are similar when it comes to the ingredients, and most of them are packed with the above-mentioned list. Reading ingredients can be a challenge and if you don’t actually know what they are, or if they come with a lot of numbers, be aware that these components definitely did not grow in nature.

5. Protein and Energy bars

Bars can be a convenient and quick snack as they are available basically everywhere from supermarkets to petrol stations. But again, they are ultra processed with a long list of ingredients, and consider this, it needs something to stick them together – syrups and honey – just another different name for sugar. And it takes a lot of processing to make a concentrated protein powder to taste like a chocolate bar. An apple, piece of fruit or fruit salad sprinkled with flaxseed meal and pepitas are a much better, cheaper and healthier option.

6. Wraps

To create a flour-based wrap that stays soft and chewy, not only for days but weeks and months on the shelves of the supermarket, requires a list of raising agents, preservatives, emulsifiers, sugar, fats and salt. Even some of the gluten free versions available are still ultra-processed and making your own or using an iceberg lettuce cup or a nori leaf to wrap your favourite filling is a much healthier option.

7. Banana Bread

The reality of ultra-processed foods is that they do not contain a lot of the food they claim to be based on, and banana bread is one of those examples. Sometimes when you see these prepacked banana bread slices in cafes, take away shops, petrol stations and airports, they actually look very artificial – like plastic. They contain lots of sugar and processed oils, trans fat, preservatives, flavours, enhancers, colouring and very little banana. If you enjoy banana bread, the healthiest way would be to blend some buckwheat flour, flaxseed meal, bananas, soy milk and baking powder and bake your own.

8. Bacon

Yes, bacon starts out as a piece of meat/fat from the pork belly that without the heavy processing it goes through, would not be consumable. Once processed with lots of salts, nitrates, nitrites, bulking agents, preservatives and other chemicals, the meat is now called bacon, and I would go so far as to say that the end result is not even meat anymore. It was declared by the WHO in 2015 as a Carcinogen (cancer causing product) and linked to chronic health conditions like asthma, kidney disease, migraines, heart failure and others. And the reason we love it so much – does our body actually? Or is it the addictive factor explained above.

A recent study published in The BMJ reported that ultra-processed foods can be as addictive as smoking. It revealed some humans compulsively consume foods high in refined carbohydrates and added fats, finding those highly rewarding and appealing in ways similar to how they might experience addictive substances like nicotine. Some people eating these foods consume them compulsively and this consumption may meet the criteria for a diagnosis of substance abuse disorder.

https://www.bmj.com/content/383/bmj-2023-075354

They looked at an analysis of two systematic reviews, including 281 studies from 36 countries. From this data, the researchers reported that by the standards of the Yale Food Addiction Scale, ultra-processed food addiction is estimated to occur in 14% of adults and 12% of children. In comparison, they also pointed out levels of addiction in other legal substances in adults are 14% for alcohol and 18% for tobacco.

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