Pablo Merchan Montes
By Stephen Beach, via SWNS
Quitting junk food doesn’t necessarily lead to healthier eating, new research warns.
Scientists say the findings suggest the types of food we eat may be more important than the level of processing used to make them.
Research also shows that more expensive, less processed foods aren’t necessarily healthier.
The American scientists compared two menus that reflected the typical Western diet – one that emphasised minimally processed foods, and one that emphasised ultra-processed foods.
They found that less-processed meals were more than twice as expensive, less nutritious, and expired three times faster.
Ultra-processed foods are high in added sugar, fat and salt and low in protein and fibre. Examples include ham, sausages, burgers, ice cream, potato chips, mass-produced breads, breakfast cereals, canned baked beans, biscuits, fizzy drinks, fruit-flavored yoghurt, instant soups and some alcoholic drinks such as rum.
Unprocessed or minimally processed foods include meats such as beef, pork and chicken, as well as fruits and vegetables.
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“This study shows that you can eat a poor-quality diet even if you choose mostly less processed foods,” said study leader Dr. Julie Hess of the USDA’s Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in North Dakota.
“It also shows that highly and less processed diets may have similar nutritional value, or even less, but the more processed diet may have a longer shelf life and cost less.”
The study builds on work the team published last year, which showed it is possible to create high-quality menus that follow dietary guidelines and still get the majority of their calories from foods classified as ultra-processed.
In the new study, the team asked the opposite question: Is it possible to create a low-quality menu that gets most of its calories from “simple” foods?
To find out, the team created a low-processed menu, with 20% of calories coming from ultra-processed foods, and a highly-processed menu, with 67% of calories coming from ultra-processed foods.
The Healthy Eating Index scores for the two menus were calculated to be 43-44 out of 100, a relatively low score that reflects low adherence to dietary guidelines by Americans.
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The researchers estimated that a less processed diet would cost $34.87 per person per day, compared with $13.53 per person per day for a more highly processed diet.
They also calculated that the average shelf life for less processed menu items was 35 days, compared to 120 days for more processed items.
The researchers said their findings drew attention to a “disconnect” between food processing and nutritional value.
Dr Hess noted that some highly nutritious packaged foods, such as unsweetened applesauce, ultra-filtered milk, liquid egg whites and some brands of raisins and canned tomatoes, are classified as ultra-processed.
She added: “The results of this study show that building a nutritious diet requires more than just considering food processing.”
“The concepts of ‘ultra-processed’ and ‘minimally processed’ foods need to be more clearly defined by the nutrition research community.”
The findings were presented at the American Academy of Nutrition’s annual meeting in Chicago.
