That statement rattled my cage a bit. Does your wife work full time? If she does, maybe you guys can hire someone to cook your meals. UPFs are also pretty addictive. Maybe she was raised on UPFs and now she doesn't like the taste of simple good food. Your comment might have been totally innocent too. I can't tell, but I would like to hear her side of the story.
I believe I overstated her issue. She is a great home cook. She does not buy much UPF from the store. However, sometimes she picks up a loaf of bread loaded with UPF or biscotti. Her vision is failing, so she cannot read ingredient labels. We both shop. It is not that often, and I try to educate her about UPFs. I have started baking my own bread at home or buying it at Whole Foods' bakery, which has less UPF.
I like corn chips pretzels ice cream and and snickers hower I have a few chips. A bag may last two weeks. Ice cream once or twice a week about snickers once a week or less. I’m 78 and mainly follow a plant based diet. William W. Le makes a stronger case for processed foods linked with all sorts of problems. Your point of small amounts of fun food is quite reasonable. As an aside I bought a bag of Chex Mix a few months ago. Within a few days I found how addictive I was to eating it. I decided to throw what was left away. I still get a slight urge to buy it. Sounds like confessions of a foodie addict.
This is such a complicated subject. Work stress, raising children while working full time, urban life, it all adds up to not having the time or energy to cook a decent meal. And what if both partners don't like to cook? I am writing about the younger generations here. My own children were raised on home cooked meals, but now? For all of the reasons above ................... Our modern culture has its priorities backward. Families are trying to survive, I don't think they have time to think about aging too fast.
Something I’ve noticed now that didn’t seem the same 15-20 years ago is that everyone feels incredibly short of time. There’s always far more they need/want to do than they feel they’ll ever be able to.
As a consequence, we look for quick and easy solutions to everything, and that includes meals. The fact that almost 60% of the average American’s daily calories comes from ultra-processed food is a testament to that.
The problem is that UPFs are very clearly linked to more chronic diseases and premature death, so we save time today, but the price we pay may be a significantly shorter life. I’m not sure that’s a great trade-off.
I can’t help but note the fact that we spend, on average, about five hours a day on our smartphones. I suspect most of that isn’t essential. That’s a lot of time to cook healthy food and get some exercise.
Nice look at the study. I don't think a few goodies (junk food UPF) is not too bad as long as it is not the mainstay of your diet.
I always check the saturated fat, salt and carbs, especially if the box is labeled as "nature" ot "natural." Some of them are so deceptive in my book. It is possible to lean toward a healthier choice but but not "health food."
Watch a fair amount of UK shows and never understood why it it called biscuits and it's cookie over here. Biscuits are something that need that country gravy to me. : ~O
Funny thing is, we don’t have your biscuits over here. We have scones, which are similar (though not as flakey!) but we have them with butter and maybe jam. The idea of putting gravy on them is, frankly, stomach churning. Do I take it you’re a Southerner?
It seems as though if food comes in a packet that’s slathered with text and images aimed at convincing you how healthy it is, it’s likely ultraprocessed. No one puts such labels on a bag of carrots, or wholegrain flour.
Flaky buttermilk BISCUIT with sausage country gravy is one of the major food group in the South. Yes, I did grew up there but left decades ago, You make Sweet Tea on your side of the pond. :~)
Some people put sugar in their tea over here, but the super-sweet iced tea abomination you guys love is thankfully mostly absent over here. Doing such a thing to tea is probably a treasonable offence!
I did love the discovery of sun tea, though. I don’t like iced tea, but the idea of leaving it on the porch in the sun to steep is a lovely tradition - as are Southern porches come to think of it.
Never actually like the syrup called swayt tay but beans on toast is not normal. I actually just seep the tea bag in a 32 oz glass. Kinda of like a “cold brew coffee” and definitely less bitter.
What exactly is UPF? Is a single grain, like rice or wheat or corn, ground up into flour or even further into starches, considered UPF? Is white rice a UPF (and not brown rice)? Does the definition of UPF include a combination of ingredients that don't occur in nature? Or is the definition maybe based on the percentage of sugars and fats? I'm totally confused as to what constitutes UPF.
OK, I did some reading. I think I understand what UPFs are, or at least understand the commonly accepted framework for thinking about them. I found this article to be very helpful for laypeople like me:
Formal classifications like NOVA are necessary for research studies, so researchers can be certain they’re all talking about the same thing. For the consumer in the grocery store though, I’d argue it’s irrelevant. Just flip the carton and look at the ingredients panel. It’s then pretty obvious if it’s ultra-processed.
I wondered about this. The research studies must work from a standard definition of UPF, even if it's not perfect. Regarding "flip the carton," or the suggestion to call UPF "junk food," that doesn't work for me. I would not have known a "healthy" breakfast cereal or loaf of whole grain bread could be considered UPF. I do like the idea that Fay Nutrition suggested -- if there are more than 5 ingredients, take a closer look.
UPFs of course also include sugar-laden drinks as Ben wrote. We live in Mexico and it's appalling to me to see workers (usually men) drinking 2 liters (a bit more than a half gallon) of coca cola every day while they work. They don't understand the strain that puts on their pancreas (not to mention their teeth) even if they are lean and muscular because they can't feel the slow, steady, damage being done - often until it's too late. Statistics show, not surprisingly, that one in six Mexican adults has (type 2) diabetes.
I was a total sugar addict as a child - I unconsciously used sugar as a coping mechanism for living in an extremely dysfunctional family - and it caused me to be a bit overweight and to have 25 cavities in one year as a child. Once I was a teenager and understood the damage I was doing to my body I cut out all sweetened drinks and 95% of UPFs. As a result, I quickly became slim without any real effort and didn't have any tooth decay for more than 50 years, so that was a great lesson to my young self.
UPFs don't just shorten your life they can also damage your quality of your life for many years. As the author Michael Pollan famously wrote "Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
Thoughts on substitutions for whole grain (sorghum, brown rice) gluten free crackers. I have dysautonomia and crave salt due to low blood pressure. I’m dairy, gluten and soy free but always looking for salty snack options.
Great article, Ben and totally unsurprising. I keep trying to tell my wife about the deadly consequences of UPFs.
That statement rattled my cage a bit. Does your wife work full time? If she does, maybe you guys can hire someone to cook your meals. UPFs are also pretty addictive. Maybe she was raised on UPFs and now she doesn't like the taste of simple good food. Your comment might have been totally innocent too. I can't tell, but I would like to hear her side of the story.
I believe I overstated her issue. She is a great home cook. She does not buy much UPF from the store. However, sometimes she picks up a loaf of bread loaded with UPF or biscotti. Her vision is failing, so she cannot read ingredient labels. We both shop. It is not that often, and I try to educate her about UPFs. I have started baking my own bread at home or buying it at Whole Foods' bakery, which has less UPF.
Nice save there :)
I like corn chips pretzels ice cream and and snickers hower I have a few chips. A bag may last two weeks. Ice cream once or twice a week about snickers once a week or less. I’m 78 and mainly follow a plant based diet. William W. Le makes a stronger case for processed foods linked with all sorts of problems. Your point of small amounts of fun food is quite reasonable. As an aside I bought a bag of Chex Mix a few months ago. Within a few days I found how addictive I was to eating it. I decided to throw what was left away. I still get a slight urge to buy it. Sounds like confessions of a foodie addict.
Hi Michael. I had the same experience with a carton of Pringles!
I’m sure some people manage to eat pristine diets, but I think most of us like the odd indulgence, and I’m not sure there’s anything wrong with that!
This is such a complicated subject. Work stress, raising children while working full time, urban life, it all adds up to not having the time or energy to cook a decent meal. And what if both partners don't like to cook? I am writing about the younger generations here. My own children were raised on home cooked meals, but now? For all of the reasons above ................... Our modern culture has its priorities backward. Families are trying to survive, I don't think they have time to think about aging too fast.
Lots of very valid points here, Julie.
Something I’ve noticed now that didn’t seem the same 15-20 years ago is that everyone feels incredibly short of time. There’s always far more they need/want to do than they feel they’ll ever be able to.
As a consequence, we look for quick and easy solutions to everything, and that includes meals. The fact that almost 60% of the average American’s daily calories comes from ultra-processed food is a testament to that.
The problem is that UPFs are very clearly linked to more chronic diseases and premature death, so we save time today, but the price we pay may be a significantly shorter life. I’m not sure that’s a great trade-off.
I can’t help but note the fact that we spend, on average, about five hours a day on our smartphones. I suspect most of that isn’t essential. That’s a lot of time to cook healthy food and get some exercise.
Nice look at the study. I don't think a few goodies (junk food UPF) is not too bad as long as it is not the mainstay of your diet.
I always check the saturated fat, salt and carbs, especially if the box is labeled as "nature" ot "natural." Some of them are so deceptive in my book. It is possible to lean toward a healthier choice but but not "health food."
Watch a fair amount of UK shows and never understood why it it called biscuits and it's cookie over here. Biscuits are something that need that country gravy to me. : ~O
Gravy on biscuits… you Philistine!
Funny thing is, we don’t have your biscuits over here. We have scones, which are similar (though not as flakey!) but we have them with butter and maybe jam. The idea of putting gravy on them is, frankly, stomach churning. Do I take it you’re a Southerner?
It seems as though if food comes in a packet that’s slathered with text and images aimed at convincing you how healthy it is, it’s likely ultraprocessed. No one puts such labels on a bag of carrots, or wholegrain flour.
Flaky buttermilk BISCUIT with sausage country gravy is one of the major food group in the South. Yes, I did grew up there but left decades ago, You make Sweet Tea on your side of the pond. :~)
Some people put sugar in their tea over here, but the super-sweet iced tea abomination you guys love is thankfully mostly absent over here. Doing such a thing to tea is probably a treasonable offence!
I did love the discovery of sun tea, though. I don’t like iced tea, but the idea of leaving it on the porch in the sun to steep is a lovely tradition - as are Southern porches come to think of it.
Never actually like the syrup called swayt tay but beans on toast is not normal. I actually just seep the tea bag in a 32 oz glass. Kinda of like a “cold brew coffee” and definitely less bitter.
What exactly is UPF? Is a single grain, like rice or wheat or corn, ground up into flour or even further into starches, considered UPF? Is white rice a UPF (and not brown rice)? Does the definition of UPF include a combination of ingredients that don't occur in nature? Or is the definition maybe based on the percentage of sugars and fats? I'm totally confused as to what constitutes UPF.
OK, I did some reading. I think I understand what UPFs are, or at least understand the commonly accepted framework for thinking about them. I found this article to be very helpful for laypeople like me:
https://www.faynutrition.com/post/how-to-identify-ultra-processed-foods
Hi Bette. That’s a great resource. It’s very clear.
I really prefer the term junk food as to make a distinction, I have issues with the NOVA classification myself.
It’s not perfect.
Formal classifications like NOVA are necessary for research studies, so researchers can be certain they’re all talking about the same thing. For the consumer in the grocery store though, I’d argue it’s irrelevant. Just flip the carton and look at the ingredients panel. It’s then pretty obvious if it’s ultra-processed.
I wondered about this. The research studies must work from a standard definition of UPF, even if it's not perfect. Regarding "flip the carton," or the suggestion to call UPF "junk food," that doesn't work for me. I would not have known a "healthy" breakfast cereal or loaf of whole grain bread could be considered UPF. I do like the idea that Fay Nutrition suggested -- if there are more than 5 ingredients, take a closer look.
UPFs of course also include sugar-laden drinks as Ben wrote. We live in Mexico and it's appalling to me to see workers (usually men) drinking 2 liters (a bit more than a half gallon) of coca cola every day while they work. They don't understand the strain that puts on their pancreas (not to mention their teeth) even if they are lean and muscular because they can't feel the slow, steady, damage being done - often until it's too late. Statistics show, not surprisingly, that one in six Mexican adults has (type 2) diabetes.
I was a total sugar addict as a child - I unconsciously used sugar as a coping mechanism for living in an extremely dysfunctional family - and it caused me to be a bit overweight and to have 25 cavities in one year as a child. Once I was a teenager and understood the damage I was doing to my body I cut out all sweetened drinks and 95% of UPFs. As a result, I quickly became slim without any real effort and didn't have any tooth decay for more than 50 years, so that was a great lesson to my young self.
UPFs don't just shorten your life they can also damage your quality of your life for many years. As the author Michael Pollan famously wrote "Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
Thoughts on substitutions for whole grain (sorghum, brown rice) gluten free crackers. I have dysautonomia and crave salt due to low blood pressure. I’m dairy, gluten and soy free but always looking for salty snack options.