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https://theconversation.com/8-everyday-foods-you-might-not-realise-are-ultra-processed-and-how-to-spot-them-197993>
"For years, the term “junk food” has been used to refer to foods considered bad
for you, and not very nutritious. But junk can mean different things to
different people.
Official dietary guidelines have used more palatable terms such as
“discretionary foods”, “sometimes foods” and “foods high in sugar, salt and
fat”. But these labels haven’t always made the task of identifying nutritious
foods much easier. After all, many fresh fruits are high in sugar and some
salad vegetables are low in nutrients – but that doesn’t make them unhealthy.
And food products such as soft drinks with “no added sugar” and muesli bars
fortified with nutrient additives aren’t necessarily healthy.
In 2009, experts proposed using the extent and purpose of industrial food
processing as a key indicator of nutrition problems.
The theory acknowledged some food processing helps make foods more convenient,
safer and tastier. But it also nominated a class of foods – called
“ultra-processed foods” – as unhealthy, based on more than the content of salt,
fat and sugar.
A large body of evidence now shows ultra-processed food consumption is
associated with poorer human health (including rates of heart diseases,
diabetes and obesity) and planetary health (plastic pollution, excessive energy
and land use, biodiversity loss).
But how can you spot those foods when you’re planning what to buy or eat?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
