• profdc9@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    What is an ultra-processed food? There needs to be some definition that is unambiguously applicable, otherwise this kind of study is worthless.

    • SuiXi3D@kbin.social
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      11 months ago

      Seriously. Cutting the meat off the bone is processing. Letting something dry is processing. The simple act of tossing something in the fridge is processing. We need some official designations here, and precisely what each processing method does and how it affects us once ingested.

    • protist@mander.xyz
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      11 months ago

      Diet was assessed using validated food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) every 4 years. We estimated UPF intake using the NOVA classification, which groups foods according to the degree of their processing. In secondary analyses, we classified UPF into their components, including ultraprocessed grain foods, sweet snacks, ready-to-eat meals, fats and sauces, ultraprocessed dairy products, savory snacks, processed meat, beverages, and artificial sweeteners.

      Here’s a description of the NOVA classification system. At the bottom it says Group 4 foods (UPF) contain one or more of these ingredients:

      colour
      
      colour stabilizer
      
      flavour enhancer
      
      sweetener
      
      carbonating agent
      
      firming agent
      
      bulking agent
      
      anti-bulking agent
      
      de-foaming agent
      
      anti-caking agent
      
      glazing agent
      
      emulsifier
      
      sequestrant
      
      humectant
      
      flavour
      
      casein
      
      lactose
      
      whey
      
      hydrogenated-oil
      
      hydrolysed-proteins
      
      maltodextrin
      
      invert-sugar
      
      high-fructose-corn-syrup
      
      • Duranie@midwest.social
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        11 months ago

        "Bulking agent

        Anti-bulking agent"

        🤔

        Emulsifiers? Egg yolks are emulsifiers, but I guess the chicken is on the hook for the processing.

        • protist@mander.xyz
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          11 months ago

          I recommend you read the details in the link rather than thinking adding eggs makes something ultra-processed. And which bulking agents and anti-bulking agents do you think wouldn’t qualify?

      • SoylentBlake@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        That’s any food that comes in a box or a bag.

        So if you can’t afford to shop at the farmers market every other day and buy locally raised and slaughtered meat, you’re more likely to get depressed.

        Great use of time and money there. 👍

        • Sodis@feddit.de
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          11 months ago

          Are you not able to buy vegetables, fruits, pasta, rice, beans and so on in your local supermarket?

        • protist@mander.xyz
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          11 months ago

          This is a false choice, ultra-processed foods vs farmers’ market produce. Almost any grocery store is going to have produce available for probably cheaper than ultra-processed foods. Bulk carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, and more are less expensive per meal than the foods you’re talking about, as are beans, pasta, rice, and more

          • SoylentBlake@lemm.ee
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            11 months ago

            Buying from the bins (bulk purchasing) is all I ever do or will do, so beans and pasta, even nuts, are redonk cheap in comparison (thank you WinCo), and we’re doubling the size of the vege garden this year. It’ll be another year or two until we can make it pretty, but I’ll take function over from anyday. I want to can an entire pantry by this time next year.

            1/3rd of your life is spent on buying food.

            I want that to be as close to zero as possible. I want all my costs to be as close to zero as possible. I fucking hate the despair of not having money.

            The farmers market quip was hyperbolic to drive a point, but for reals I have some serious issues and concerns over buying produce that’s out of season and not local. Like how apples and oranges are kept in anaerobic environment (prob nitrogen or argon) for 6-12 months before being shipped out, to make sure there’s a year supply

            Sure, it might be ‘fine’, but if I have the option to, like right now, buy pomegranates instead of nitrogen-doped pink ladies, I’m going with the seasonal

            Only exception to that that I can think of is bananas, cuz Iceland

      • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        So like… anything you’re not cooking from scratch yourself. And even a lot of things you are, like any baked good would qualify as ultra-processed due to sweeteners and emulsifiers (e.g. egg).

        • protist@mander.xyz
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          11 months ago

          Read the link 😑

          Eggs are a primary ingredient. If you see “emulsifiers” on an ingredient list, it is dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, acetylated monoglycerides, polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, or diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides, as a few examples. It is not “eggs.”

          There are lots of baked good that do not meed the UPF criteria. If you read the link you can see for yourself.

      • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        Lactose? Whey? So raw milk straight from the udder is ultra processed?

        • protist@mander.xyz
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          11 months ago

          Please, everyone read the link before thinking one of these ingredients makes something an UPF. No, whey and lactose don’t make milk ultra processed. Whey and lactose being extracted from milk and then added to something else make something ultra-processed

          • Rodeo@lemmy.ca
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            11 months ago

            You should clarify that in your comment then, because you only listed the one criteria and that makes people think it’s the only criteria.

            • protist@mander.xyz
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              11 months ago

              I posted a link to the full description of the NOVA criteria. You think I should have copy/pasted the entire page for you? When you read the ingredients on a milk jug, you will notice is doesn’t say “lactose” or “whey.”

      • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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        11 months ago

        There is more difference between those ingredients than commonalities.

        Color, sugar and whey are being treated the same?

        The entire definition of “processed food” is stupid and useless. Which ingredients are the ones causing problems? Because I guarantee you that a little bit of lemon or vinegar used as a “preservative” isn’t going to impact one’s diet as badly as 1/2lb of sugar in soda.

        • protist@mander.xyz
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          11 months ago

          If you think the list above equates a little bit of vinegar to half a pound of sugar, you definitely didn’t read the article I linked about the NOVA classification system

          • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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            11 months ago

            Oh, I did. It was as empty as the calories in junk food.

            They basically created arbitrary rules that put foods in whatever categories they wanted them to be in.

            The ingredients for those groups are way too diverse to be helpful. And it’s not really about the ingredients since “natural” foods don’t get dinged for having ingredients which others do

            It’s useless.