The Age of Ultra-Processed Foods, Making the Right Choices Matters
Good morning. Welcome back to Surviving in the World (SIW), your newsletter written by CI students for anyone interested in global affairs. We always try to present select topics in global news in an easy-to-understand format.
​
Brought to you by: Hanna Lee('26).
​
Word Count: 579 / Time: 5 minute read.
​
​Ultra-processed foods tempt us with appealing flavors and visuals. (jenifoto/iStockphoto/Getty Images)
​
Recently, ultra-processed food, beyond processed food, is receiving attention as the type of food that has adverse effects on human health.
A study conducted to examine the effects of such different kinds of ultra-processed food on human health has been published on the ‘European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.’
The Definition of Ultra-processed Food:
Ultra-processed foods are the type of foods that undergo multiple processing treatments and therefore contain huge amounts of preservatives and additives. Processed foods that would not exist naturally are now defined as ultra-processed food
Comparison between Three Countries
According to an article published in a Korean daily journal in March, 2024, the proportion of calories from ultra-processed food consumed by people in the three major countries is as follows:
South Korea: 25%
United States: 58%
Italy: 10%
Korea is actually taking 2.5 times as much ultra-processed food compared to the Italian diet.
​
The Classification of Ultra-processed Food Using the NOVA System
​
The NOVA System is a food classification system founded by the Brazilian epidemiologist and professor Carlos Monteiro, and it classifies food into four big categories.
-
Group 1: Non-processed Food: Fruits, Vegetables, Meat, Grains.
-
Group 2: Processed Food: Oil, Salt, Sugar.
-
Group 3:
-
Type 1 Food with added
-
Type 2 Food such as salt and sugar, industrially processed to enhance shelf life. Canned food. Bread, and Snacks.
-
-
Group 4: Food that does not exist naturally, but is created through industrial physical and chemical processes with additives. Major examples include sodas, and sausages.
​
The Most Harmful Food
Studies have shown that sugary drinks such as sodas/energy drinks, and foods with high contents of sodium and trans-fats such as snacks, crackers, instant noodles and sausages are the most harmful to health. These foods mainly fall into the Group 4 category.
Why you should care:
-
Sugary drinks could instantly spike blood sugar levels and consequently, insulin levels to possibly cause type-2 diabetes. Moreover, they can also accelerate overeating and weight gain, which may lead to non-alcoholic fatty livers.
-
Foods high in sodium and trans-fats increase LDL cholesterol levels and decrease HDL cholesterols, causing adverse effects on the health of arteries.
-
In general, taking a less processed diet reduces the risk of obesity and type-2 diabetes, and it is especially important to avoid drinks high in sugar and salty snacks.
-
Drinking water instead of soda, and taking fruits or unsalted nuts instead of potato chips is in fact, the first step to healthy dietary habits. Along with it, regular exercise is also crucial.
​
​
​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from SIW
Want to change how you receive these emails?
