Latest / Talking FACS / What's Behind Food Processing? 'Ultra-Processed' Foods Explained

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What's Behind Food Processing? 'Ultra-Processed' Foods Explained · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello and welcome to Talking FACS. We have news you can use to strengthen your
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  family, your community, and our state.
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  I am Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support with Family
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  and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
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  The food that we eat goes through all sorts of processing, from unpasteurized to ultra-processing.
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  And Anna Cason, our Extension Associate for Food and Nutrition,
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  is here to help us weed through the terminology and understand exactly what
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  it means and help us determine why some of this processing is actually beneficial
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  for us and why some might be something that we want to steer clear of. So welcome, Anna.
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  Hi, Mindy. Thank you. Why are foods processed? So,
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  like you mentioned, foods go through a variety of different processes and even
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  most of the foods that we find in grocery stores or in markets have gone through some bit of processing,
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  whether it's strawberries are put into a container so that we can take them
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  home easily or a frozen meal that you pop in the microwave and heat up.
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  Both of those have gone through some level of processing for different reasons.
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  So some of it is, again, packaging, making it more convenient, more accessible.
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  And then other ones are the.
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  And packing in some additional nutrients. So there's a few different levels
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  of processing that foods go through and different reasons that they go through
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  these different levels.
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  So even the bin of apples that we see that appear that we are picking up the
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  apples and putting them in our own little packaging, they have been processed, right?
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  Exactly. It's come from something. It's not just automatically,
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  it's not growing in the grocery store and then appearing, right?
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  But it's got some form of processing to get from point A to point B,
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  and then eventually to get to wherever you're taking it.
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  And so we shouldn't assume that processing is inherently bad.
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  Exactly. Yes. So there are those different levels of processing.
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  Some of them are the simple packaging.
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  Some of them are super beneficial, like we think of brains and some other prepackaged
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  products that are enriched or fortified.
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  So that's a process that it goes through where nutrients are either added back
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  to it or nutrients are added to the product as a new nutrient to help us overcome
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  some nutrient deficiencies that we commonly see.
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  And for very logical reasons, because as we've talked about on the podcast before,
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  there are some nutrients that
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  our body doesn't absorb unless they are accompanied by other nutrients.
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  So it would make sense to include those nutrients together, right?
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  Exactly. Yeah, to pair them together so that we don't have to worry about eating
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  this food with this food all the time so that we get the most absorption from it.
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  These manufacturers or producers can do it for us and make it a lot easier for
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  us to get these nutrients that we need.
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  So ultraprocessing is a term that we've heard thrown around a lot.
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  Usually it is given this really negative connotation. So what does it really mean?
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  So ultra-processed is like the top of the tiers of these levels of processing,
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  hence the ultra in front of it.
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  So these foods have gone through various processes for, again, for different reasons.
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  A lot of times these ultra-processed foods are quick to prepare.
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  So whether they're frozen meals that you heat up or pre-packaged convenience
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  foods that we can grab off the shelf and enjoy,
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  A lot of this ultra-processing is for convenience and to make the product last a little bit longer.
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  So thinking about food spoilage, some of this processing that these foods go
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  through, that's one of the reasons is so that it will last on our shelves and
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  help us save two dollars in the end.
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  So extending shelf life and then making it just a little bit more convenient
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  might be a reason for ultra-processing.
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  If something is ultra-processed, does it necessarily mean that it's going to
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  include ingredients that we aren't going to find in something that I make in my own kitchen?
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  So oftentimes when we're thinking through what the different levels of processing
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  that foods go through, a lot of times when we think of ultra processing,
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  it is something that these foods
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  would go through that we don't have the ability to do. So thinking about.
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  Making a freezer meal, it's not very convenient for us to do at home.
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  So these manufacturers, these producers have the equipment and stuff to do so.
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  But that may also mean incorporating some other ingredients that we don't commonly
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  use whenever we're baking or cooking.
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  So thinking of emulsifiers so that these foods don't separate when they are
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  frozen or processed so that we can reheat them easier.
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  So yes and no, sometimes these ultra-processed foods, often they do include
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  these ingredients that we wouldn't have access to or we wouldn't use whenever
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  we're baking or preparing foods.
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  So that's kind of one of the differences, one of the ways to spot an ultra-processed
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  food just versus whenever we're
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  trying to think of a food that's just been processed for other reasons.
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  So the other thing that I'm thinking of are freeze-dried or ready-to-eat meals that the military have.
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  You know, those might be ultra-processed as well, but that's for a completely
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  different reason, right? Yes, exactly.
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  So not all ultra processed foods are quote unquote bad for us or quote unquote
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  unhealthy or things that we should steer clear of.
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  So that's where it kind of gets muddy and it's hard to differentiate and why
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  it's kind of disheartening to see ultra processed foods being thrown around
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  with some shame or some guilt in the media because not all of these foods are inherently bad for us.
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  Some of them are convenient, they're accessible, they're affordable.
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  But on the flip side, some of these ultra-processed foods that are often highlighted
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  in the media with these headlines are going to be the less nutrient-dense options.
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  So thinking about foods that are delicious and that maybe we crave and we want
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  to have all the time, that can still fit into a balanced diet. Yeah.
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  We don't want to eat them all the time because we wouldn't have the nutrients
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  that we need. We wouldn't get all of them from these foods.
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  Are there ways to easily identify ultra-processed foods that might look like
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  just any other food that we might pick up and want to eat?
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  Yeah, so when thinking about what foods to choose and what foods maybe to limit
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  or to choose less often, we're going to go back to those handy-dandy dietary
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  guidelines that tell us what to do and when to do it.
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  So a lot of these ultra-processed foods include some of these nutrients that
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  are recommended to limits.
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  We're thinking about added sugars or excess sodium or saturated fat,
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  these nutrients of concern.
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  So if you're looking at the nutrition facts label for these ultra-processed
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  foods, just keeping in mind those three nutrients that we want to specifically look at.
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  And if they are in the higher range, maybe we choose something else.
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  But again, some of these ultra processed foods are going to be packed with nutrients
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  that are beneficial for us like
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  protein, unsaturated fat, some of these vitamins and minerals as well.
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  So yes and no, they may be not so easy to identify, but also easy to identify.
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  It just takes a little extra sleuthing to look at those nutrition facts labels.
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  Yeah, so I would think that going back to the freeze-dried or the ready-to-eat
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  meals that I mentioned before, those probably have a really high protein content, right?
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  Yeah. Because they've had all the water removed.
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  Yeah, exactly. And they're for a purpose, you know.
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  They are for a purpose. Not all processing is bad. And even some of the processing
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  that we mentioned before that are beneficial, like the addition of some of the
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  nutrients, and also thinking about canned foods and dried foods like you mentioned.
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  That processing extends shelf life, and these foods that are frozen or canned
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  or dried often have the same nutritional quality as the fresh option.
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  They're just going to be more accessible, more affordable, and still nutrient-dense.
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  So are there foods that aren't categorized as ultra-processed bitter forests?
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  Yeah, so that's another question. So we're thinking on the flip side of it.
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  So these foods that aren't labeled as ultra processed, it's like,
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  oh, okay, then I can have these all the time. These are quote unquote healthy.
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  But as with any food choice, we're not going to focus on one food all the time.
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  It's all about balance. So specifically thinking about like red meat,
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  that's not going to be labeled an ultra processed food if you're not considering
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  some of those processed meat options or thinking about jerky or something.
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  But red meat that you're picking up from a farmer's market or from the grocery,
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  that's not going to be an ultra-processed food, but it does contain that saturated fat.
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  So it does have those same nutrients that we may be looking for in these ultra-processed
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  foods, just meaning that we don't want to have it all day, all the time.
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  But it fits in that balanced diet.
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  Right. So, Anna, what should we look for when we're trying to eat a balanced
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  diet? Let's just look for those food groups.
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  We're going to add in fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, protein,
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  and they can come from some processed sources. They may come from frozen vegetables,
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  frozen fruits, canned vegetables, canned meats.
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  They also may come from fresh sources, things that are available to eat right
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  whenever you grab it or after a little bit of preparation.
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  And then choosing the foods with those ingredients or those nutrients like that
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  added sugar, that excess sodium or that saturated fat a little less often.
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  So maybe we need to borrow that term that you used before, rather than thinking
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  about what's healthy and not healthy, but think about what's balanced.
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  Yes, exactly. Yeah, all foods can fit. It's just a matter of finding when they
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  fit and where they fit and how much of them fit into that puzzle.
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  And we often try to simplify things saying, oh, ultra processed foods are bad,
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  cut them all out, don't buy them, but it's just not that black and white.
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  We got to do that. A little bit of deeper diving, but those nutrition facts
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  labels are there to help us identify what's in those foods.
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  And then it's great that we have resources like the dietary guidelines,
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  the nutrition facts labels, and our extension service to help us sort out the
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  puzzle and figure out where all the pieces fit. Yes, absolutely.
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  So if you have questions, you can always reach out to your local Extension agent
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  for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  And if that person doesn't have the answers, then they can certainly connect
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  you with our specialists and our associates on campus who can help find the answers for you.
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  Anna, thanks so much for your time today. Thank you.
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