2023-09-24 03:00:00
Ultra-processed foods are not the ideal food that doctors recommend to lead a healthy life, since they have different effects on long-term health, such as obesity or diabetes. However, not everything is bad because, according to a recent study by the United States Agricultural Research Service (ARS), it is possible to develop a healthy diet with 91 percent of calories coming from processed foods. .
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“The study is a proof of concept that shows a more balanced view of healthy eating patterns, where the use of processed foods may be an option,” says Julie Hess, ARS research nutritionist at the Human Nutrition Research Center. from Grand Forks.
In this sense, the researcher assures that, “according to current dietary recommendations, the nutrient content of a food and its place in a food group are more important than the extent to which a food was processed.”
In the study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, scientists used the Nova scale to determine which foods to classify as ultra-processed. The Nova scale first appeared in the literature in 2009 and is the most widely used scale in nutritional science to classify foods by degree of processing.
Yogurt is a good source of nutrients, although it has preservatives and added sugars.
According to this scale, foods can be classified into four groups according to their degree of processing: unprocessed or minimally processed foods; processed culinary ingredients; processed foods, and ultra-processed foods.
To test whether ultra-processed foods can be used to build a healthy diet, ARS scientists and collaborators created a menu with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks using MyPyramid as a guide for a seven-day food pattern and 2,000 calories.
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The menu consisted of foods categorized as ultra-processed by at least two Nova raters. Foods included on the menu also aligned with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommendations for group and subgroup servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy.
The menu we developed scored 86 out of 100 points on the 2015 Healthy Eating Index, meeting most thresholds except sodium and whole grain content.
The scientists selected food products that have lower levels of saturated fats and added sugars and contain sufficient micronutrients and macronutrients. Some of the ultra-processed foods used included canned beans, instant oatmeal, ultra-filtered milk, whole-wheat bread, and dried fruits.
“We use the Healthy Eating Index to assess diet quality as it aligns with key DGA recommendations,” explains Hess.
“The menu we developed scored 86 out of 100 points on the 2015 Healthy Eating Index, meeting most thresholds except for sodium content (exceeded) and whole grains (lower),” details Hess.
Scientists will continue to investigate this concept, understanding that observational research indicates that ultra-processed products could be associated with adverse health outcomes. This research shows that there is a role for a variety of foods in building a healthy diet and that more research is needed.
Study Foods
We should not make the mistake of thinking that he is talking about the worst category of ultra-processed foods, but rather about those that fill supermarkets and kitchen shelves. That is to say, there are many foods that are rich in nutrients, despite their level of processing, which, in general, usually exceeds the recommendations for sodium and added sugars.
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There are foods like yogurt, which is a good or excellent source of nutrients, although they have preservatives and added sugars; breads, rolls and tortillas when they are whole grain contribute to energy and nutrient intake; Cans of chickpeas, beans or crushed tomatoes are part of a healthy diet, but when they come packaged it is observed that they may contain a percentage of salt, citric acid or calcium chloride.
Another example they give is deli products, such as shredded smoked turkey: which contains turkey breast, water, white turkey, modified food starch, contains less than 2% salt, dextrose, sodium phosphates, carrageenan, sodium propionate , sodium diacetate, sodium benzoate, sodium ascorbate, sodium nitrate.
In addition, there were other products that were included: liquid egg whites, light orange juice, frozen roast potatoes, salmon with lemon and pepper, toasted nori (seaweed), ultra-filtered milk, tuna with black pepper, brown rice and quinoa with garlic , salt and pepper. And the cashew nuts, strawberry kefir (a probiotic with a consistency similar to yogurt, but softer in texture), and roasted chickpeas with honey were added.
The researchers determined the feasibility of creating a sample menu of 2,000 kilocalories for 7 days that aligned with the recommendations of a Healthy Dietary Pattern, so that within the menu 80% of the products were processed.
Scores were made for each food and combining them, they made a menu with 13 dietary components (total fruits, whole fruits, total vegetables, vegetables and beans, whole grains, dairy, total protein foods, seafood and vegetable proteins, fatty acids, grains refined, sodium, added sugars and saturated fats).
The flour in whole wheat bread is not refined, so it still contains the bran, germ and wheat
Thus, for example, the first day’s menu was composed of: a breakfast burrito, with liquid egg whites, canned black beans, grated cheddar cheese, and drinking orange juice and ultrafiltered nonfat milk; for lunch, turkey sandwich with whole wheat bread, tomato, mushrooms and grated mozzarella cheese, accompanied by frozen roast potatoes and sparkling water, and for dinner, a bowl of rice with frozen salmon with lemon and pepper, accompanied by sesame seeds , mayonnaise, hot sauce, toasted nori, steamed broccoli and nonfat ultrafiltered milk.
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Ultimately, this study highlights the challenges of categorizing foods as “unprocessed,” “minimally processed,” or “ultraprocessed,” as well as the potential consequences of warning against the consumption of all ultraprocessed foods in the interest of public health.
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