Are Ultra Processed Foods Killing Us?

So you have probably all read the recent hype about ‘ultra-processed’ foods leading to cancer and are probably panicking about the last meal you ate and how soon before you drop dead!! But how true is all this media sensationalisation and what does it actually mean for you?

‘Ultra-processed’ de-mystified

Well let’s start by unpicking the truly terrifying term ‘ultra-processed’.  It comes from the NOVA classification which is a system used in Scientific research that ranks foods into 4 categories: 

1) minimally or unprocessed, 

2) processed ingredients, 

3) processed foods  

4) ultra-processed foods.

Whilst this is useful for researchers, it can be very confusing and misleading for public health advice.  Not only because the categories themselves are very vague but because foods with hugely varying nutrition profiles are lumped together – particularly in the 4^th category.  For example, shop bought hummus, oatcakes and even yogurts are ‘ultra-processed’ alongside sweeties, cakes and margarine.  Tinned vegetables are ‘processed’ whereas fresh ones are ‘unprocessed’ but neither is less nutritious.  Dried fruit is classed as ‘minimally’ processed but can contain more sugar than sweets and biscuits in category 4!!!  Can you see where I am going with this….??

Furthermore, a 2012 study compared 100 shop bought ready meals (ultra-processed in case you’re wondering…) with 100 home cooked meals and guess what??  The ready meals contained more fibre, less saturated fat and contributed more to your 5 a day.  The moral of the story?  Don’t be mis-led by hyper loaded terminology.

The ‘evidence’

This leads me on to the study itself.  It only actually examined the diets of people it followed for two years; cancer formation occurs over decades.  It is therefore quite possible that those later diagnosed were already in the early stages of cancer before commencing the study.  We also don’t know what food was consumed after the study so have no way of quantifying the effects of this.  As with any study like this, most evidence is observational.  It is pretty impossible to do a trial that involves people eating ‘cancerous’ food for years and then checking the impacts of this on their health. Not to mention also eliminating any other factors such as smoking, exercise etc.  The reality is that we are using anecdotal information to draw hypothetical conclusions that are perceived as ‘truths’ because they make good headlines!!  The term ‘ultra-processing’ has powerful connotations; a journalist’s dream!

What does this mean to you?

As there is not yet any concrete evidence to link cancer to ultra-processed foods, please don’t give up convenience and pleasure based on some scaremongering media moguls!  The reason this has become such an area of interest is that lifestyles have changed enormously over the last few decades and convenience foods are becoming more and more popular.  People no longer can or have the desire to spend hours cooking fresh meals from scratch every day and nor should they have to!  We want to spend more time socialising, spending time with our children after a long day at work…  Furthermore there is a social aspect attached to this; processed foods are often cheaper and more accessible.  So to demonise them is ludicrous!  The issue of course is over consumption; too many of us are making poor food choices too often because it is all too easy.

The answer?

Eat everything in moderation; a little bit of what you fancy won’t kill you!  As with many nutritional debates these days it all needs to be viewed in context.  If you are being an idiot and eating ‘ultra-processed’ foods all day, every day then this will have a negative impact on your health; a diet full of them is unbalanced regardless of the nutrition they do or don’t contain. The processing itself isn’t actually the problem. 

To sum up, the best way to prevent cancer is through a balanced, varied diet that doesn’t completely eliminate any food.  Other habits such as smoking, over consumption of alcohol and lack of exercise could well be increasing your chances of developing cancer more than what you are eating.