What are Ultra Processed Foods? How will we spot them and how can we avoid them? Healthista spoke to Menopause Nutritionist from Issviva Charlotte Hunter, who explains every little thing we want to know 

Processed foods, often mistaken for usual suspects like hotdogs and French fries, are something we’ve heard about for years. Nonetheless, there’s a brand new kid on the block: Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs). 

UPFs are products fastidiously crafted by the food industry for optimum convenience. Consider on a regular basis items like breakfast cereals, industrial bread, snacks, and newer trends like vegan convenience foods.

These foods prioritise ease – they’re quick to purchase, cook, or eat. They might are available in plastic trays, tubs, pouches, packets, or cardboard boxes.

a 2019 study revealed that 57 per cent of the UK’s each day calories stem from UPFs

An easy rule of thumb: if a food has unfamiliar ingredients or stuff you wouldn’t often use in your kitchen, it’s likely a UPF. 

Dietary advice may be puzzling at the most effective of times, and UPFs almost feel like a step too far, but bear with me because learning about these foods and their impact in your health is mind-blowing. 

The truth is, a 2019 study revealed that 57 per cent of the UK’s each day calories stem from UPFs, a better percentage amongst children. As well as, a 2022 study placed UPF consumption within the US at a staggering 72 per cent. 

The adversarial effects of UPFs transcend just their dietary profile; something deeper is at play. These foods are typically engineered from refined ingredients like vegetable oils, flour, protein powders, starches, or sugars. They are sometimes enhanced with additives akin to preservatives, flavourings, colourings, stabilisers, and emulsifiers. 

Suppose we ignore these statistics and messages concerning the foods we eat. In that case, we risk being trapped in a perpetual cycle of junk food consumption. Surprisingly, it’s often the foods we perceive as healthy that may pose probably the most problems.

But why? Possibly due to the straightforward incontrovertible fact that we’re consciously eating more in a misguided try and eat healthily. This may very well be true for foods like yoghurts, cereals, smoothies, granola, and plant-based alternatives. 

They are sometimes enhanced with additives akin to preservatives, flavourings, colourings, stabilisers, and emulsifiers

Consider this instance: a wholemeal bagel with low-fat cream cheese, smoked salmon, and an oat milk latte. It was once seen as a healthy begin to the day, but now it’s considered a primary example of UPFs.

Similarly, a bowl of granola with almond milk or pancakes topped with fruit yoghurt and compote. What happened? Well, the foods around us are being increasingly modified and processed almost beyond recognition in some cases. 

How do you solve an issue like Ultra Processed Foods?

Overall, we must take UPFs seriously as they’ve been related to chronic conditions akin to diabetes, heart problems, digestive conditions, obesity, depression, anxiety, and cancer.

As hormones fluctuate from perimenopause and beyond, our sensitivity to carbohydrates falls

Specifically, during menopause, once we are physiologically and psychologically vulnerable to the consequences of a foul food plan, we should always pay close attention to the foods we’re eating.

As hormones fluctuate from perimenopause and beyond, our sensitivity to carbohydrates falls and our ability to control glucose and insulin declines. This, coupled with a constellation of cardiometabolic risk aspects, makes women particularly vulnerable to the impact of UPFs. 

UPFs can take various forms in every little thing from the same old fast-food culprits to your favourite ‘healthy’ brands, they usually’re ubiquitous. It also requires more work to exactly define if and the way processed foods are. 

So, the large query is..

How will we reduce and even avoid UFPs to guard our health? 

• Prioritise whole foods of their natural state. 
• Scrutinise labels; should you can’t pronounce an ingredient, consider it a red flag. 
• Minimise packaging, especially with ready meals and snacks. 
• Embrace home cooking; should you’re not an authority chef, put money into easy recipe books using easy, healthful ingredients. 
• Go for snacks like fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, avoiding pre-packaged convenience foods. 
• Hydrate with water and herbal teas as a substitute of fizzy drinks and sugary beverages. 
• Strategically plan your snacks and meals to sidestep the temptation of convenience foods. 
• Strive for a balanced approach, acknowledging that entirely avoiding all ultra-processed foods may be difficult. Be mindful and permit occasional indulgence. 
• Don’t create bad habits attempting to stick with the proper food plan; do your best to eat as unprocessed as possible. 

Easy swaps 

• Fruit-flavoured yoghurt – natural full-fat yoghurt 
• Crisps – unsalted nuts or homemade baked crips 
• Sugary cereals – unsweetened high-fibre cereals or porridge oats 
• Sliced bread – wholegrain crips breads or oatcakes 
• Flapjacks and cereal bars – nuts, seeds, and fruit 
• Sausages or deli meats – cooked meats 
• Fizzy drinks – sparkling water with fruit 
• Squash – water and fruit teas.