Dangers of Ultra-Processed Foods
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Around this time of year, people come into clinic after ‘falling off the wagon’ during the holidays. We’ve had a time of indulgence in food we don’t usually eat—and this may well include ultra-processed foods. So what are ultra-processed foods and why should we avoid them, even during the holidays?
Ultra-processed foods are defined in the NOVA food classification system, where they are category 4. The NOVA food system defines these foods as, “Industrial formulations typically with five or more and usually many ingredients. Such ingredients often include those also used in processed foods, such as sugar, oils, fats, salt, anti-oxidants, stabilisers, and preservatives. Ingredients only found in ultra-processed products include substances not commonly used in culinary preparations, and additives whose purpose is to imitate sensory qualities of group 1 foods (unprocessed foods) or of culinary preparations of these foods, or to disguise undesirable sensory qualities of the final product.”
The examples of ultra-processed food that NOVA gives include carbonated drinks; sweet or savoury packaged snacks; ice-cream, chocolates, candies; mass-produced packaged breads and buns; margarines and spreads; cookies, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes; breakfast ‘cereals’, ‘cereal’ and ‘energy’ bars; ‘energy’ drinks; milk drinks, ‘fruit’ yoghurts and ‘fruit’ drinks; cocoa drinks; meat and chicken extracts and ‘instant’ sauces; infant formulas, follow-on milks, other baby products; ‘health’ and ‘slimming’ products such as powdered or ‘fortified’ meal and dish substitutes; and many ready to heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes; poultry and fish ‘nuggets’ and ‘sticks’, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, and powdered and packaged ‘instant’ soups, noodles and desserts.” Wow, that’s quite the list. It’s where the majority of calories in our country come from.
Ok, so now we know what they are, but do we really have to avoid them?
Mental health, for one thing. The more UPFs you consume, the more likely you are to suffer from depression and to have problems with emotional and cognitive control. UPFs negatively affect adaptability and resilience, social interactions, mood and outlook, drive and motivation, cognition and mind-body connection. Three weeks on a diet free from UPFs leads to a decrease in depression symptoms, so it’s not just that depressed people eat more UPFs, but rather that UPFs lead to depression.
And for those of us who are older and concerned about keeping our marbles, higher UPF consumption is associated with a significantly faster decline in executive and global cognitive function. For every 10% increase in UPF consumption, dementia risk increases by a whopping 25%.
Of course, other risks are associated with UPFs, like diabetes and obesity. So let’s try for a New Year resolution to step down our UPF consumption. In Ayurveda, we like a gradual, stepwise approach. First substitute some of the UPFs you eat with foods from category 3, processed foods such as canned vegetables, and legumes; salted nuts and seeds; salted, cured, or smoked meats; canned fish; cheeses and unpackaged freshly made breads. Next, try to incorporate more and more unprocessed food like natural yoghurt, fresh or stewed fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains and vegetables. The more unprocessed foods you consume, the better your long term physical and mental wellbeing.
https://sapienlabs.org/consumption-of-ultra-processed-food-and-mental-wellbeing-outcomes/
https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000200871
Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.
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