Consumption of ultra-processed foods and health risks
Today, finding a meal has become relatively easy in France. Food shortages are a distant memory, and supermarket shelves are overflowing with food. You can find everything from fruits and vegetables to ready-made meals, even powdered ones. Many of the foods we encounter and consume every day come from industrial production. These foods generally have a high level of food safety, but they are also often highly processed and ultra-formulated. Why are we advised to eat real food? To eat unprocessed foods? Why avoid ultra-processed foods? Should we demonize them? How can we navigate this food jungle and find the foods that will allow us to enjoy ourselves while being healthy for our bodies?
What is an ultra-processed product?
An ultra-processed food is a food that has undergone relatively complex transformation processes. These are industrially formulated products containing many ingredients (at least five) and often including additives, sweeteners, emulsifiers, hydrogenated fats, or cooking processes that alter their original properties. By definition, an ultra-processed food is far removed from the primary food from which it is derived, even if it sometimes attempts to imitate its taste.
How to recognize an ultra-processed product?
To recognize an ultra-processed product, there are relatively simple indicators:
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It is an industrial product
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the list of ingredients is long
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The food contains additives, emulsifiers, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats.
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It is a product that has undergone extensive transformations.
There is a classification system that allows us to identify the degree of processing of a food. This is the NOVA classification (see below). Foods classified in NOVA group 4 are ultra-processed foods.
What are unprocessed foods?
These are simple ingredients! Such as fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish. The Nova classification places products that have been prepared simply (washing, filtering, cleaning, cooking, filleting, freezing, pasteurizing, etc.) in group 1 of unprocessed or minimally processed foods.
Why avoid eating ultra-processed foods?
Ultra-processed foods should not be completely eliminated from our diet. They should be part of a healthy, balanced diet made up of whole, unprocessed foods. Occasional consumption of ultra-processed foods is not a problem; it is the increased consumption of ultra-processed foods instead of whole, unprocessed foods that is problematic. Indeed, epidemiological and intervention studies have shown a negative impact on health with increased consumption of ultra-processed foods.
These foods should therefore be consumed sparingly and should not form the basis of a diet.
The current guidelines of the national nutrition and health program ( National Nutrition and Health Program 2019 ) are aimed at limiting the consumption of ultra-processed foods and encouraging the consumption of raw foods or foods with a low degree of processing.
What are the effects of ultra-processed foods on health?
Ultra-processed foods have the advantage of very good microbiological quality and are designed to have a long shelf life and retain their original qualities. However, these are products whose food matrix has been highly altered and whose nutritional qualities are significantly degraded by ultra-formulation and the use of additives and cooking processes that compromise their quality.
Ultra-processed products are often highly palatable, energy-dense, high in salt, sugar and saturated fatty acids with a relative lack of vitamins and dietary fiber.
Scientists agree that the relatively low nutritional quality of highly processed foods is not solely responsible for their adverse health effects. During food processing, cocktails of secondary molecules are formed, some of which are toxic, such as acrylamide . Acrylamide is a compound that forms when foods rich in asparagine and starch are cooked at high temperatures. It is found in products such as French fries, potato chips, and processed breakfast cereals. This molecule is toxic, considered a probable carcinogen, and linked to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Scientific studies (such as the NutriNet-santé study which took place from 2009 to 2018), epidemiological studies, have shown a positive correlation between the degree of food processing and an increased risk of developing metabolic diseases:
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obesity
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type 2 diabetes
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cardiovascular diseases
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alteration of lipid profile (dyslipidemia)
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increased risk of developing cancer
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eating disorders
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increased risk of mortality
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increased risk of depression
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increase in functional digestive disorders
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increased risk of cerebrovascular diseases
Randomized interventional clinical trials (Hall et al., 2019) have also shown that the consumption of ultra-processed foods alters food intake and leads to a significant increase in caloric intake, resulting in a significant increase in body weight and body mass index (BMI). These findings reinforce observations of a correlation between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and the development of obesity and associated pathologies.
How to avoid ultra-processed foods?
It's quite simple: prioritize a simple, wholesome diet. This means consuming products that are as close as possible to their original form. It's best to avoid processed foods. You can use the NOVA classification and/or food decoding apps to help you choose your food.
What is the NOVA classification?
The NOVA classification is an indicator (ranging from 1 to 4) that allows foods to be classified according to their degree of processing. The higher the index, the more processed the food.
The NOVA classification, while open to debate, was developed based on scientific knowledge. It is recognized and validated by the FAO. It is notably used as a tool for nutrition research.
Food classification by degree of processing
In the NOVA classification, foods are classified into 4 groups:
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Group 1 : Unprocessed or minimally processed foods. These are raw foods (vegetables, fruits, meats, or fish) that have not undergone any processing or have been minimally processed using natural methods. Processes such as cleaning, cooking, pasteurization, sterilization, freezing, and simple preparation are compatible with classifying foods in Group 1.
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Group 2 : Culinary ingredients (salt, sugar, fats, spices, etc.). This group contains products extracted from Group 1 through physical or chemical transformation. A transformation has been carried out, such as grinding, fermentation, pressing, refining, drying, or milling. The transformations undergone by the food are intended to produce an ingredient used to season or prepare ingredients from Group 1. Vinegars are an example of this group.
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Group 3 : Processed foods combining the first two groups. These are fairly simple foods obtained through relatively simple transformations such as the addition of sugar, salt, vinegar, or other substances from Group 2. Foods in Group 3 are processed to modify their organoleptic properties or increase their shelf life. Examples include fermented beverages (such as beer), canned simple foods, fruits in syrup, cheeses, breads, and (non-reconstituted) hams.
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Group 4 : Ultra-processed foods. These are industrially formulated foods containing five or more ingredients. They are often made from processed ingredients. They use additives to mimic the organoleptic properties of ingredients in Group 1. The ingredients used are often derived from food processing. Processing methods include hydrogenation, the use of hydrogenated oils, modified starches, stabilizers, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, sweeteners, extrusion, etc. Foods in Group 4 have lost the nutritional value of their original food matrix. Representative examples include:
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fast-food type foods: burgers, nuggets, hot dogs, etc.
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reconstituted meats
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fruit yogurts
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jam jars
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Breakfast cereals (especially puffed, sweetened cereals. Plain mueslis are classified as 1 or 3)
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chocolates
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energy drinks, sugary drinks, sodas, etc.
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industrially prepared meals
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powdered meals
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spreads
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fruit nectars
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cereal bars and other energy bars
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margarines
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Applications and tools to help identify the degree of food processing
There are apps (Siga, OpenFoodFacts, Scan'up) and tools that make it easy to identify the level of food processing. Generally, you'll also find the Nutri-Score and other indices associated with the NOVA score.
Sources
Inserm: Consumption of ultra-processed foods and the risk of cardiovascular disease
INRAe: Ultra-processed foods are also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.