Ultra-processed foods, which are heavily manufactured products such as chips and breakfast cereals, are readily available, and their delicious flavors can easily lead to addiction.
Food Categories
The NOVA food classification system categorizes foods into four distinct groups:
- Group 1: Unprocessed or minimally processed foods that include natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, eggs, and meat.
- Group 2: Processed culinary ingredients which are substances extracted from natural foods through processes like pressing and refining, including oils, butter, sugar, and salt.
- Group 3: Processed foods that include food items prepared from the first two groups, such as bottled vegetables, canned fish, fruits in syrup, cheese, and fresh bread, often with additives to enhance preservation.
- Group 4: Ultra-processed foods, which are industrially formulated products made mostly from substances derived from food and additives. These foods include sugary drinks, packaged snacks, frozen meals, and ready-to-eat meals.
What Makes Ultra-Processed Foods Harmful?
The industrialization of food has led to the use of various chemicals that enhance shelf life and flavor. Key processes include:
- Carbonation: Adding carbon dioxide to beverages (such as soda) to create bubbles and a cooling sensation.
- Shaping: Food is processed so that it appears differently from its original form, such as grinding meats into sausages or hot dogs.
- Hydrogenation: This process involves adding hydrogen to liquid oils, turning them into solid or semi-solid fats like margarine and ghee. Zhang explained that hydrogenated fats are stable and less likely to oxidize, thus prolonging food shelf life. This process is widely used in foods such as biscuits, bread, butter, meringue, potato chips, cakes, etc.
Zhang notes that looking at the food in convenience stores in Taiwan, except for sweet potatoes and tea eggs, almost all, without exception, are ultra-processed foods. However, he said that due to the popularity of staying fit in recent years, supermarkets are increasingly offering healthier options, like nutritious lunch boxes featuring sweet potatoes, five-grain rice, lean meats, and abundant vegetables.
Why You Can’t Stop Eating Processed Foods
A study published in BMJ in 2023 pointed out that 14 percent of adults and 12 percent of children are addicted to ultra-processed foods.
Zhang said that ultra-processed foods have always been the focus of controversy in the health field due to their high fat, sugar, and oil content, which can lead to obesity. Some people even eat snacks in the place of full meals, resulting in excessive calorie intake without essential nutrients.
- Pleasurable Taste: The combination of high sugar and high fat creates a rich aroma and brings a feeling of deliciousness and happiness.
- Taste Stimulation: High sugar can quickly increase blood sugar, making the brain feel happy and excited instantly, thereby activating the motivation to continue eating.
- Hormonal Interference: The combination of high sugar and high fat interferes with the secretion of hormones that regulate hunger and satiety, which over time slows down the satiety central nervous system and leads to increased food intake.
- Accelerated Brain Activity: High-sugar and high-fat foods can quickly transport carbohydrates and fats to the intestines, making them more bioavailable and affecting the brain more rapidly.
5 Tips for Overcoming Ultra-Processed Food Addiction
To help reduce reliance on ultra-processed foods, Zhang offers five practical strategies:
Stay informed about your health
Increase exposure to health-related content by watching programs or reading news articles focused on nutrition.
Learn to read nutrition labels
Before purchasing, pay attention to the nutrition labels on food packages to gauge sugar and fat content, and take a moment to consider whether a product is harmful to your health.
Go to bed early and get enough sleep
Lack of sleep affects hormone secretion and increases the desire for high-sugar and high-fat foods. Going to bed early will also help with weight control and health maintenance.
Drink more water
Drinking more water can enhance metabolism and improve feelings of fullness, thereby reducing the desire to snack.
Develop the habit of exercising
Exercise burns calories and promotes the secretion of dopamine, known as the “feel-good” hormone, replacing the reliance on food with the pleasure that exercise brings.
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For those who want to lose weight, Zhang recommends joining weight loss groups. Such groups not only allow members to encourage each other but also provide professional guidance and physical training from doctors, nutritionists, and even sports coaches to help break the reliance on ultra-processed foods.
