Why Ultra-Processed Foods are Bad for Your Waist Line
What are ultra-processed foods and how might these foods add
to your waist line and your weight? The
obesity epidemic in the USA is blamed on many factors: less exercise, more Fast Food, more and more
screen time, more riding in a car instead of walking. New research
is focusing on how ultra-processed foods contributes to more weight on the
scale and bigger waist lines.
What are
ultra-processed foods vs minimally processed foods? Think of the foods we all love to eat that
are high in fat, salt and added sugar and usually loaded with additives. Although these foods taste good, they often
are lacking in vitamins, minerals, fiber and the healthy antioxidants.
White Bread would be an ultra-processed food |
Ultra-processed Foods:
A Brazilian nutrition researcher named Carlos Monteiro defined
ultra-processed foods to include foods with additives like preservatives,
colors, added sweeteners but not whole foods like fruits or vegetables. According to NIH, Americans consume
about 58% of their calories from ultra-processed foods.
- Sodas
- Chips
- Chocolate
- Candy
- Ice-Cream
- Sugar sweetened breakfast cereals
- Packaged soups
- Chicken nuggets
- Hotdogs and other processed meats
- Fries
- White bread
- Sugary yogurt
How do
ultra-processed foods lead to weight gain?
New research in the journal of Cell
Metabolism found that those who ate more calories on the ultra-processed
foods diet, not only gained more weight, they gained it faster. The researchers studied 20 adults and for two
weeks and gave them either ultra-processed foods or unprocessed foods. Yet, the diets presented were the same number
of calories, the same amount of sugar, fat, fiber and the same macronutrients of
protein, carbs and fat. The adults were
instructed “to consume as much or as little as” they wished.
Interesting, those adults fed the ultra-processed diets
chose to eat 500 calories more than the adults on the unprocessed diet. Those on the ultra-processed diet gained
about 2 pounds in just 14 days.
Surprisingly, those on the unprocessed diet not only did not gain
weight, they lost about 2 pounds in the 14 days. The increase in weight in the ultra-processed
was due to some water retention but also to increases in body fat.
Why did those eating the ultra-processed foods gain
weight? The authors speculate that the
ultra-processed foods are often high in calories, salt, fat and added sugar and
seem to stimulate one eating more than they usually would. One of my relatives used to love eating
Pringles – he always has some Pringles in the canister.
One day, I asked him where the Pringles were and he said had had given
them up. Why? Because he couldn’t stop with just a few and
ate all of them, the entire canister at one time. How often do you see people start with a few
chips and then continue to eat the entire bag?
Yet, the researchers note more research needs to be done to demonstrate
a link between eating ultra-processed food and weight gain.
The authors note that people wanting to lose weight may wish
to focus on cutting back on the ultra-processed food they eat. Not really a surprise. A student I had in one of my classes
indicated they wanted to lose about 15 pounds.
Hearing in one of my lectures that we all should eat 5 A Day, five
fruits and vegetables every day, he started to do so. Towards the end of the semester he reported
he had lost 15 pounds. Not by really
dieting but by eating 5 A Day, he found he had less room for all the junk food
he had been eating.
How can you cut back on ultra-processed foods?
- Cook at home more. Skip the prepared, pop in the microwave meals and eat some real food.
- Dine out – but choose real, unprocessed food. The baked potato instead of fries, order the salad, the sides of veggies, real meat instead of chicken nuggets.
- Choose real milk with your meals instead of soda.
- Choose real food, the closer to nature the better.
- A fresh apple instead of apple juice
- Whole grain bread instead of white bread
- Grilled chicken breast instead of chicken nuggets
- Real milk instead of soda or lemonade or sweetened tea
- Corn on the cob instead of canned corn
How can you cut back on the processed food you eat? What real foods can you add to your day?
Apples are a healthy choice |
Sources: research, Monteiro, NIH, examples,
Ultra,
Foods,
Cell
Metabolism Image sources: Chicken
Nuggets, White
bread , Apples
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