Processed food - The wolf in sheep's clothing

Everything in a supermarket is processed to some degree - the cucumber would not be in the basket if it had not been processed - picked, transported, packaged, and laid in the basket. It's the level of processing that's key - it's what they've done to the food that's important (Dr Robert Lustig, 2021). As food gets more processed (more additives, colours, flavourings, chemicals, preservatives etc) the less it becomes food and the higher the cost will be on your health.

As the consumption of processed food has gone up, so has the pandemic of obesity and other nutrition-related chronic non-communicable diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, and Gout to name a few.

In order to know what foods to eat and which to avoid, we use a simple system called the NOVA Food Classification System which is a "recognised valid tool for nutritional and public health research". NOVA classifies foods into 4 groups;

Group 1

Unprocessed or minimally processed foods - the cucumber above, fruit, vegetables, nuts etc.

Group 2

Processed culinary ingredients - like salt, olive oil.

Group 3

Processed foods - a mix of 1 and 2 potentially with a preservative etc.

Group 4

Ultra-processed food and drink products - with industrial components not found in home cooking - tomato ketchup, apple sauce, sausages, kids foods

Read the NOVA Food Classification System for more information.

Some Ultra-Processed warnings

• Lack of essential nutrients despite being high in calories. They may be low in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
• Contain high levels of added sugars and unhealthy fats contribute to caloric intake without offering substantial nutritional benefits necessary for growth and repair.
• Contains additives like artificial colours, flavours, emulsifiers, preservatives, and sweeteners that are not generally not naturally occurring in whole foods and may not provide nutritional value.
• Their ingredients are often chemically altered or synthetic, reducing their resemblance to natural food sources.
• The primary components are extracts or synthesized substances rather than whole foods from plant, animal, or fungal sources.
• We are what we eat, it quite literally becomes us. If you put junk in, you're going to get junk out - it's no wonder I felt tired, lethargic, and overweight with a plethora of health conditions!

Our simple rule:

When you look at food from the context of our Hunter-Gatherer Ancestors, it also becomes clear that the whole foods they ate are the same foods we need, so you can also use this to perform a simple test, with a bit of common sense - was the food around in the time of our Ancestors?

Fruit

Yes, good to eat

Vegetables

Yes, good to eat

Nuts & Seeds...

Yes, good to eat...

Cereals

No, avoid

Fruit Juice

No, avoid

Crisps

No, avoid

Store Bread...

No, avoid...