A surprising study found this week that highly processed foods (UPFs) are linked to 32 diseases that affect every major organ in the body.
We've always known that donuts and chips are terrible for us—but as I found out firsthand this week, many of the things you eat and consider “healthy” have gone through multiple rounds of industrial processing.
Experts say it's no longer enough to analyze labels for calories, fat or sugar — you should really pay attention to the tiny fine print on the back of labels: the ingredients list.
A simple rule of thumb is to stick to products with fewer than five ingredients and avoid items whose ingredients are difficult to pronounce.
So that was my goal when I went shopping for my usual meals at three popular grocery stores – Wegman's, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
Many of my dinners consist of chicken and vegetables, but the marinated chicken I like to eat had an ingredient list too long to name
I had to swap out my usual marinated chicken for a more expensive one that required more work to produce
Not all “healthy” foods are created equal. The yogurt ingredients varied widely and only one of the five I picked up had fewer than five ingredients
The vegan popcorn I chose with fewer than five ingredients cost almost two dollars more than the UPF product on the shelf next to it
What I found was frightening. The oatmeal, chicken breasts, and salad packets I regularly eat are full of dozens of very scientific-sounding additives, preservatives, and thickeners that have caused my body countless problems.
And finding truly “whole foods” seems intentionally difficult and arduous. For every unprocessed product, there were five or more UPFs on the shelves.
Even if a food's packaging said things like “not fried,” “organic,” or “only 110 calories per serving,” a look at the ingredients list showed that they weren't any better.
All of this made me realize that avoiding UPFs is a lot harder than I thought.
So how hard was it to avoid UPFs and what did it reveal about my diet?
Why does the back of my salad read like the inventory of a science lab?
To start my day, I usually eat a bowl of instant maple brown sugar oatmeal with added protein to keep me full throughout the morning.
I like the maple and brown sugar version because it also gives me a little hint of sweetness to curb my cravings.
However, when I read the label, I found that it contained more than five ingredients and some of them were gum and artificial colors. It cost $2.99.
I swapped it for a healthier alternative that only had one ingredient — whole-grain organic oats — but it cost $3.69 — 23 percent more.
One surprising culprit I discovered at the store was a popular pre-made salad that I use for lunch. Although I thought these would be healthy, they are salads after all! – It contained some seriously concerning ingredients, including xanthan gum.
The gum is a polysaccharide used as a food additive, thickener and stabilizer but has been linked to flatulence and diarrhea. Polysaccharides have been linked to irregular heartbeats, shortness of breath and even seizures.
It cost $4.49
This is much cheaper than buying fresh produce separately and making your own salad when just the salad costs $3. This doesn't take into account what you'll have to spend on tomatoes, broccoli, avocado, dressing or other ingredients.
The brown sugar oatmeal I like for breakfast contained more than five ingredients compared to the natural oatmeal product which only contained one
This instant rice had a long list of ingredients, including some I had never heard of and couldn't pronounce
I thought I was choosing a healthier alternative to fried chips, but one of my favorite snacks could be classified as UPF
LUNCH MUNCHIES AND HOME COOKED DINNER
When it comes to snacking between meals, I prefer popcorn or non-fried chip alternatives. Although I thought these were the better options, it turns out that one of my favorites could be classified as UPF because it contains more than 10 ingredients.
The smarter option was air-fried popcorn with fewer ingredients, but it cost about a dollar more for less product.
Many of my dinners consist of chicken, rice and vegetables, but the marinated chicken that I like to eat had an ingredient list too long to name compared to the plain organic chicken that only had one ingredient – chicken.
However, my preference was around $8 and the organic version was $13, a 63 percent increase.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the instant rice I like as a side dish was actually more expensive than plain brown rice a few shelves away – $2.99 compared to $1.29.
My choice had more than 20 ingredients and the brown rice only had two.
Lost in the grocery store
Sometimes I not only found myself physically lost among the cereal, pasta, and bread aisles searching for products, but I also ended up mentally lost trying to sift through the ingredient lists in search of healthier alternatives.
At times I found myself overwhelmed comparing labels, looking up the difference between artificial sweeteners, and figuring out what hydrogenated oils are and whether they are safe for consumption.
It turns out that health officials and experts agree that partially hydrogenated oils are no longer “generally recognized as safe.”
The ingredient, disguised as trans fat on nutrition labels, is inexpensive and is used as a preservative and as a flavor and texture enhancer.
It's often found in microwave popcorn (a favorite item in my snack arsenal), cakes and cookies, and fried foods, like a package of fried fish sticks that I almost put in my shopping cart.
These cost $5.99.
Wanting to go the natural route, I went to the fish counter to get fresh cod, but it cost almost three times as much.
Hydrogenated oils can increase a person's low-density lipoprotein cholesterol – the “bad” cholesterol – and a diet high in trans fat can lead to heart disease and blood vessel disease.
Most UPFs I looked at contained artificial food dyes, some of which have been linked to serious health problems.
Animal studies have shown a link between the food dyes Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5 and ADHD, reproductive problems and several types of cancer.
STICKER SHOCK
My grocery list is roughly the same every trip and consists of staples that last throughout the week, so when I check out I can usually estimate what my total will be.
On a recent trip to the grocery store, where I didn't pay attention to the ingredients, I spent $40.68 on seven days of food, including seasoned chicken, peanut butter, popcorn, rice and protein bars.
Over the course of a week, that's $5.81 per day.
However, on my last purchase I spent $77.15 avoiding UPFs, which works out to $11.04 per day.
Needless to say, I was shocked that it cost twice as much per day and almost twice as much per week to eat healthy foods that are good for my diet and body.
And I'm just one person.
It is much more expensive to purchase the produce yourself and prepare a salad at home than to purchase a pre-made salad that is considered UPF
During my last shopping trip I spent $77.15 while trying to avoid UPFs
I was shocked that it took twice as much per day and almost twice as much per week to eat healthy foods that are good for my diet and body
If parents want to support a family without UPFs, these costs can be prohibitively high.
The lack of healthy, affordable foods is a well-known problem in the United States and may be the reason for the rising prevalence of obesity, which can lead to certain cancers, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
But figuring out which foods are healthy can be complicated — especially with the proliferation of buzzwords like “organic,” “all natural,” and “sugar-free.”
Nutritionists have told that a short ingredients list indicates that something is natural, contains few additives and has undergone very little processing.
While scientists are unclear about the exact long-term effects of the individual chemicals in highly processed foods, repeated studies have linked them to a higher risk of obesity, cancer, Alzheimer's and other potentially devastating diseases.
“There are a lot of ingredients that contribute little to actual nutrition,” Jessica Cording, a registered dietitian in New Jersey, previously told
“More processed foods tend to be less nutritious and.” [eating them] is valued in various types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and cognitive decline.'