I read a horrifying statistic yesterday.
In the UK we buy more ultra processed food than EVERY country in Europe.
Our baskets are just over 50% ultra processed, compared to the rest of Europe which is mostly around 20% and a couple of countries around 40%. This research didn’t include America, but past research has showed their purchasing as only 1% higher than ours.
Now. If you’re anything like me, your mind immediately provides you with the comforting thought that as someone interested in health and fitness, you’re not buying that much processed food.
But when you consider that ANYTHING which isn’t definitely not-processed could fall into this category, it allows you to start to question yourself.
The NOVA scale of processed foods is useful here.
Group one includes everything unprocessed (or minimally processed for those who like to point out that even something as simple as taking the meat off a chicken is a process!) – so, this is fruit, veg, meat, fish, eggs and milk. Obviously, these foods are ideally the main part of your diet.
Group two is anything processed which we use for cooking – like sugar, olive oils, butter, salts, honey, cheese, starches etc.
Group three is food you might think of as slightly processed like tinned fish, bread, jam, bacon, jerky etc
Group four is what you’d call ultra processed and is anything which has undergone industrial intervention and is often low in fibre and protein while being high in salt, sugar and fat. Eating excess amounts of these foods is highly linked to poor health like high blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Take a minute to ponder this.
Yes, cakes, biscuits and unhealthy treats are of course in group four.
But, there are a lot of surprises too.
Where would protein bars sit? Group four.
What about protein powder? Again, group four.
Where would many dairy free milks sit? Group four.
How about a lot of cereals advertised as healthy? Group four.
Plant based meat alternatives? Also, group four.
Salad dressings? Very often, group four.
Plain yoghurts generally sit in group two while some flavoured ones could well be in group four.
Do we need to absolutely outlaw these foods? Well, while there are some obvious things which undoubtedly should be avoided, my overall advice is to make the best choices you’re able to make:
Are you choosing dairy free milk because you can’t tolerate cows milk dairy? Investigate the less processed options (read the labels).
Are you including protein powder to help bring your protein intake up? Investigate the least processed options you can find, with the fewest ingredients.
Are you pouring salad dressing on your salads for flavour? Consider making a batch of homemade dressing once a week.
I’m interested to know what you estimate your intake of group four foods to be.
For me, I think I’m at 15%. Protein powder, processed meat and sweetie treaties are definitely my downfall!
