What Foods are Ultra-Processed and How to Recognize

If you had lunch, you may have included an ultra-processed food. If you don’t know which they are and in what quantity they would be less dangerous for health, you have the opportunity to find out from the following!

Most ultra-processed foods have added sugars or additives to make them taste better or to extend their shelf life. Chips, carbonated drinks, even some yogurts are on the list of these foods. When it comes to daily diet and practical eating, are they really dangerous?

How to quickly recognize ultra-processed foods

The one who coined the term ultra-processed, Professor Carlos Monteiro, noticed that cases of obesity increased in Brazil, even as people reduced the level of sugar in their diet. He believed that health depends on the nutritional content of the foods and drinks we consume, but also on the processes used to make them.

Ultra-processed foods are created in factories and contain many ingredients, including those not usually found in a typical kitchen.

Some ultra-processed foods are easy to identify. One way to identify them is by reading food labels. Meals cooked from scratch at home may not contain ultra-processed foods and ingredients. Ultra-processed foods include: ice cream, ham, bread, biscuits, chocolate bars, sausages, pastries, energy drinks, instant soups and sauces, chips, margarine, some breakfast cereals.

How harmful are ultra-processed foods?

If you have a diet rich in ultra-processed foods, your risk of having negative side effects increases. You will be constantly hungry because they contain ingredients that increase levels of ghrelin, the hunger-triggering hormone, and lower levels of the peptide, the satiety hormone.

Another risk of excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods is illness. In large amounts, they have been linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, but this is in people who have diets consisting of 80% ultra-processed foods or more. 

A study published in the British Medical Journal earlier this year found that exposure to ultra-processed foods was linked to “32 health parameters spanning mortality, cancer, mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and metabolic health”. There is also evidence that they are among the worst foods for gut health. Lack of dietary fiber and high levels of artificial ingredients can contribute to disrupting the gut microbiome.

Can they be consumed in moderation?

As there are many negative effects, the question arises whether you should give up all ultra-processed foods? Fortunately, moderation is the secret to staying healthy. 

Foods and drinks that contain the most plastic

The issue of microplastics is becoming increasingly pressing, given that plastic is increasingly ending up in our food and putting our health at risk.

Other research suggests that ultrafine microplastics can cause complex toxicity in certain types of fish, for example zebrafish, and can affect almost all organs after entering the human body.

Sugar and salt

Sugar and salt , essential in the kitchen, can hide considerable amounts of microplastics. These particles can enter food from plastic packaging or plastic containers. A 2023 study found that pink Himalayan salt contained the most microplastics, followed by black salt and sea salt.

Tea bags

Tea bags are an important source of microplastics that can harm the human body. The plastics in these sachets break down extremely slowly in nature, and the size of the fragments varies between 1 mm and 5 mm. Tea made with hot water can release harmful substances, exposing you to billions of plastic particles that can enter your cells.

Rice

Rice is a staple food that contributes to our exposure to microplastics. A study found that every half cup (100g) of rice eaten contains between 3 and 4 milligrams of plastic. Instant rice can have up to 13 milligrams of microplastics per serving. To reduce plastic contamination, it is important to wash the rice thoroughly before cooking.

Seafood

For seafood lovers, they must be aware of the large amount of microplastics that enter the ocean through sewage and are ingested by marine animals. A 2020 study identified plastic in all types of seafood tested, indicating the accumulation of microplastics in marine organisms and their transfer to the human body.

Bottled water

Water in plastic bottles can contain up to 240,000 plastic fragments, according to a recent study of the National Academy of Sciences. Using advanced imaging techniques, the study found thousands of tiny pieces of plastic in single-use water bottles. About 90% of these fragments are nanoplastics, which can be absorbed by human cells and tissues and cross the blood-brain barrier. Every time you open and close the cap of the bottle, the microplastics mix into the water.