Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs): The Quick Fix That Hurts

Tags:

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) like sugary snacks and instant meals are everywhere, packed with ingredients you won’t find in your kitchen. 

They’re cheap and tasty but loaded with sugar, unhealthy fats, and additives that hook you into eating more and skipping real food. 

Research shows cutting back could boost your health, as UPFs drive obesity and even speed up aging. UPFs are biologically disruptive.

The ICMR-NIN dietary guidelines for Indians highlight that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are primarily caused by the consumption of ultra-processed foods and products high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS).

UPF consumption is exploding across all age and income groups and is driven by unchecked aggressive marketing, celebrity endorsements and “health halo” claims.

Our food choices are shaped by income, government policies, and industry tricks, making UPFs hard to avoid. 

Key takeaway: swap processed snacks for homemade options and push for better food rules to stay healthier longer.

5 Ways To Identify Ultra-Processed Foods with Chris van Tulleken, author of Ultra-Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crunching the Data: Analyzing India's Breakfast Cereals 🥣🥛

Image
I analyzed 55 products (with known nutrition facts as of April 24, 2024) in the Breakfast Cereals category of the India database of Open Food Facts - the 'Wikipedia of food'. The data, which has been obtained from Open Food Facts and subsequently cleaned, is available on GitHub in CSV format . You can also view that curated dataset with the Flat Viewer tool .  Here are my findings and fun facts I discovered - * Flattened rice flakes, commonly known as "poha" or "beaten rice," have long been a popular breakfast item in many regions of India. Traditionally sold loosely in retail stores, these rice flakes have recently made their way into branded breakfast cereal offerings, such as those by Tata Sampann. Poha is appreciated for its nutritional value, versatility, and ease of preparation, making it a staple in Indian households and an increasingly popular choice in the global breakfast cereal market. * Flattened rice flakes are produced by parboiling, rolling, ...
Read more

Indian Nutrient Databank (INDB): A Comprehensive Open-Access Resource for Indian Food Composition

Image
If you're keen on taking charge of your nutrition and feel limited by services like HealthifyMe or RecipeDB, you'll be happy to know about the Indian Nutrient Databank (INDB) !  This well-researched, Open Access Food Database (^Github)  offers comprehensive insights into the nutritional aspects of both raw foods and commonly consumed Indian recipes, helping you manage your health better. The INDB consists of two main components: a database of nutrient composition for 1,095 individual food items and a database of 1,014 commonly consumed recipes. Nutrient details of the food items & recipes are also available together as a downloadable Excel file from the website of Anuvaad Solutions . Whether you're a health enthusiast, a researcher, or a policymaker, the INDB offers unprecedented insight into the Indian diet.  Chart from the research study shows that the nutrient content of commonly consumed composite dishes varied considerably The raw food items database was pr...
Read more

Dietary Guidelines for Indians - 2024 Revision

Image
The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), part of the Indian Council of Medical Research, has released revised Dietary Guidelines for Indians.  The last such report was issued in 2011. Links - PDF  (May 2024, 148 pages), online copy These 17 guidelines offer science-based recommendations for healthy living across all age groups - Eat a variety of foods to ensure a balanced diet Ensure provision of extra food and healthcare during pregnancy and lactation Ensure exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continue breastfeeding till two years and beyond Start feeding homemade semi-solid complementary foods to the infant soon after six months of age Ensure adequate and appropriate diets for children and adolescents both in health and sickness Eat plenty of vegetables and legumes Use oils/fats in moderation; choose a variety of oil seeds, nuts, nutricereals and legumes to meet daily needs of fats and essential fatty acids (EFA) Obtain good quality proteins and essential ...
Read more