Many people believe that ultra-processed foods are unhealthy.
They are partly right. Some of them are harmful. Others can be eaten without fear of causing harm to the body.
Experts have explained what to look for when buying such products in a store.
What are these products?
Ultra-processed products contain ingredients that are refined and maximally free of impurities.
However, they contain various additives – emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, antioxidants.
The latter factor ensures the “remoteness” of such a product from the raw materials from which it is made.
Ultra-processed foods include chips, candy bars, cookies, chicken nuggets, multi-fruit juices and ice cream.
All of them increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and cancer.
In addition, such food provokes mental disorders.
Experiment
However, scientific research has shown that not all ultra-processed foods are harmful to health, and some may even be beneficial.
The study involved 36 people who lived for a month in a special laboratory.
Each week they were placed on one of four proposed diets.
The diets contained about 6,000 daily calories, equal amounts of fat, sugar, salt and fiber.
Participants were allowed to eat as much as they wanted.
The first type of diet included minimally processed foods (oatmeal with strawberries and walnuts).
The other three were ultra-processed foods that varied in composition.
For example, the second type of diet included extremely high-calorie and very tasty foods.
The third diet is also high-calorie foods, but a smaller amount of incredibly tasty foods.
The fourth is low-calorie foods without any “super-tasty” ones.
What experience has shown
Subjects reported feeling equally full on each diet.
But scientists noticed that on the most caloric diet, which included "super-tasty" foods, people ate 1,000 calories more than on the minimally processed diet. They gained an extra pound in a week.
But when on a diet based on ultra-processed, low-calorie foods and without "super-tasty" foods, participants overate by only 170 calories.
In a week, they lost about 200 grams of weight on this diet, as well as on the diet of minimally processed foods.
Based on this study, the researchers concluded that not all ultra-processed foods have the same impact on overeating and weight gain.
According to them, the most healthy of these are canned peaches, beans, fruit cocktails in a jar, and Mexican salsa sauce.
They also included canned soups with low salt and flavor enhancers, as well as low-fat flavored yogurt, in this category.
How to choose the "right" products
Experts have given recommendations on what to look for when choosing ultra-processed foods.
First of all, calorie content. We choose products that have about 1 calorie per gram (for example, low-fat yogurt).
If there are more than 2 calories per 1 gram (for example, frozen meatballs), then it is better not to buy such products.
The overall calorie content of a dish can be reduced by combining products.
One option is to eat a large portion of green salad with chicken nuggets.
Another piece of advice: When choosing products, pay attention to their salt content in order to avoid “super-tasty” ones, which are the most unsafe for health.
Author: Pavel Gospodarik