Processed & Packaged foods

Processed and packaged foods

 

Almost every food product is processed to some extent. Just processing a food in some way doesn’t make it unhealthy for eating. To better understand the meaning of highly processed foods, researchers have separated food into 4 categories:

 

  1. NOVA Group 1: Minimally processed and unprocessed food fall under this category. Foods under this category go through rosating, boiling, and pasteurization to increase shelf life or make them safe to eat. 
  2. NOVA Group 2: These are culinary ingredients (used mainly in the preparation and cooking of food), obtained directly from group 1 foods or from nature. Examples of group 2 foods are olive oil, maple syrup, salt etc.
  3. NOVA Group 3: Processed foods made by using ingredients like sugar and salt or other substances from group 1 and group 2 fall under this category. Examples are cheese, fresh bread, and fruits in syrup. 
  4. NOVA Group 4: These types of food are high in sugar, refined grains, fats, preservatives, and salt. These products are convenient, hyper-palatable, and low in cost. Foods under this category are called highly processed and packaged foods.

 

Highly processed and packaged foods contain substances that are not used in food preparation at home including, artificial sweeteners, bulking agents, hydrolysed proteins, modified starches, colorants, flavorings, hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup.

 

Common examples of Ultra Processed and packaged foods are:

  1. Icecream, sweetened yogurt, and cocoa mix
  2. Cake, brownie, and cookie mixes
  3. Packaged sweets and savory like biscuits, chips, and cookies
  4. Frozen meals such as pizza and TV dinners
  5. Fruit punch, carbonated drinks, sugary coffee drinks, and energy drinks
  6. Breakfast cereals including sweetened oatmeal
  7. Meal replacement shakes and powders used for weight loss
  8. Energy bars, protein bars, and shakes
  9. Instant soups and packaged pasta products
  10. Sweetened cream cheese and spreads
  11.  Breads and buns
  12. Candies and other confectionery.

 

These all are high in sugar, fat and empty calories. Consuming these products in excess may lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, cardiovascular diseases and even cancer.