Latest news with #processedfood
WebMD
a day ago
- Health
- WebMD
5 Gut-Friendly Processed Foods
There's a lot of hype about the perils of processed foods, and it's easy to get confused about whether to eat them. You may be surprised to learn that some processed products are actually good for your gut. What Is Processed Food? Processed food is a broad term that describes food that's been changed in any way from its original form. Processed food can be as basic as plain frozen fruit or chopped bagged salad greens. It can also refer to fast food french fries, sugary soda, and candy, which fall into the ultraprocessed or most-processed category. A steady diet of processed foods can be high in fat, sugar, and sodium, and low in fiber, which is not good for gut health. However, certain processed foods are better than others. The system used to classify processed foods, called NOVA, doesn't consider nutritional value, which may lead you to believe that food should be avoided just because it's processed. That's not entirely accurate. Some people with intestinal conditions may be sensitive to additives, including emulsifiers, used in processed products. Recent research suggests that removing emulsifiers from the diet reduces inflammation and symptoms in people with Crohn's disease. However, most people tolerate food additives and don't need to avoid them to preserve gut function. Everyone is different, and if a food bothers you, then you should avoid it. Processed Foods and Gut Health There's no need to cut out processed foods entirely, despite all the negative talk about them. In fact, some processed foods may benefit gut health by increasing the variety in your diet. Here are some convenient processed foods to include in your balanced, gut-healthy eating plan. Canned beans and lentils. Beans and lentils are packed with fiber to help you feel fuller, as well as vitamins, minerals, and protein. Beans and lentils (dried, canned, or pouched) also supply phytonutrients, which are only found in plant foods. Fiber and phytonutrients feed the beneficial bacteria that live in your gut and produce compounds that support gut health and the rest of your body. I add canned beans to salads, soups, and stews, and use lentils in cold and warm side dishes and lentil soup. If you're concerned about sodium, buy lower-sodium canned varieties. You can also rinse canned beans to reduce sodium content by about 40%. Whole-grain bread. Packaged whole-grain bread is considered an ultraprocessed food, but it's a staple of my diet. Whole-grain bread is a great way to satisfy the suggested minimum of three servings of whole-grain foods daily for adults. Whole-grain bread also provides protein, fiber, and phytonutrients. White rice. White rice is often criticized for being highly processed, but it has a secret that benefits gut health: When you cool it after cooking and then reheat it, it has a much higher resistant starch content. Resistant starch is a type of soluble fiber that serves as food for good gut bacteria. Pro tip: Make a batch of white rice at the beginning of the week and reheat for meals. Tofu processed with calcium sulfate. Plain tofu is not considered a processed food, but tofu made with calcium sulfate is classified as ultraprocessed. That doesn't bother me at all. I prefer tofu with calcium sulfate because it's higher in calcium, which is good for your bones. Any kind of tofu provides protein, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. I use tofu in salads, grain bowls, and stir-fries.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
JOE WICKS: ‘As a kid, my diet was about 90 per cent processed food'
My first food memory is my mum's lasagne. She'd be the first to admit that she isn't a very good cook. She left home at 15 and lived in a squat. So, growing up, our diet was not that healthy. Lasagne was the one thing she made; OK, so she used Dolmio red and white sauces, but it's the only meal I remember her actually spending a little time preparing. Even now she'll still say, 'Do you want me to bring a lasagne round?' and it takes me straight back to my childhood. My dad, when he was about (as he was in and out of rehab), used to chop up some chicken breast, put it in a pan, then pour in a jar of that nuclear orange Uncle Ben's Sweet & Sour sauce. There were no vegetables and it was so sugary. I hated it. As a kid, it wasn't a question of being allowed fizzy drinks, sweets and chocolate – that was my diet, about 90 per cent processed food. My mum would shop around various supermarkets to get the cheapest deal – things like Wagon Wheels, Iced Gems, Findus Crispy Pancakes, frozen chicken and mushroom pies, KitKats, Penguins, sandwiches and maybe a little bit of fruit. And it definitely affected me: I was hyperactive, climbing the walls. But at the time I suppose it was all my mum knew. She didn't know how to prepare healthy food. Growing up in Surrey, I had free school dinners and remember some dishes so vividly. The midweek roasts with thin slices of beef, and butterscotch tarts with cream on top and a thin pastry base. Everything was thin. At secondary school we had the usual stuff – slices of pizza, burgers, chips, more roasts. I loved it all. I was very cheeky but knew how to be polite, and a bit charming, to get extra portions from the dinner ladies. Because I was raised on all that cheap food, it's in my DNA to still want it. When I'm stressed, it's a real issue. I don't just walk out of a shop with one chocolate bar and a bag of Monster Munch crisps. I'll also get a can of Coke, a packet of Fruit Pastilles and a tub of Ben & Jerry's and eat it all within half an hour. I'm trying to have a better relationship with food, and be a role model for my children. My life's very different now but, because of my childhood, I know what it feels like to live off that sort of diet, and the difference it makes to your energy, mood and health. These days I am very balanced in my diet, and 80 per cent of the time I'm in control. But the other 20 per cent I'm drinking fizzy drinks and bingeing on sugar. Our kids love nothing more than cakes, brownies and ice cream. But it's more about having those things as a treat when we're out. I don't want them in the house all the time. The only food I really despise is tinned tuna. My dad used to make pasta with tinned tuna, mayonnaise and sweet corn. It made me retch and I remember hating the smell of it. I was a very fussy eater as a child, very beige. My ultimate comfort food would be a gourmet burger and chips, but I also love a pub roast with all the trimmings. I always have the basics in my fridge: eggs, cheese and lots of vegetables. Things I can throw into a pan with some rice or noodles. Along with beef mince and chicken breasts for bolognese and curries. It makes me laugh when I'm having a burger or ice cream in a restaurant, and people say to me, 'Ooh, I didn't expect you to be eating that.' But I'm a greedy eater and want to be full up. I'm the person having a slice of toast with marmalade before bed. I just love food. My last supper would start with gyozas and popcorn shrimp tempura. Then I'd mix it up and have a smash burger and chips. Dessert would be chocolate fondant or sticky toffee pudding. Along with a pint of Coke. That would make me so happy. Book tickets for Joe Wicks Festival at Kew on 6 July at
Medscape
22-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
White House Targets Food, Chemicals, Overtreatment in Childhood Disease Report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A commission led by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday issued a report that said processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in American children. Kennedy said the commission's report was a "clarion call to do something with utmost urgency to end this crisis" of increasing rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders, allergies and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. The report did not call for specific regulatory changes or restrictions on pesticides used in farming, as some farm groups had feared, but it did highlight studies linking health disorders in humans and animals to the weed killers glyphosate and atrazine. It said the chemicals should be further researched. Bayer, which is involved in thousands of lawsuits surrounding its glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup, said some details around pesticides in the report were not "fact based." "We believe a fact and data-driven approach with robust science that follows international gold standards is necessary to support these important initiatives," Bayer said. The report echoed previous Kennedy statements that highly processed foods and additives are health risks and that the food industry is too influential in the crafting of public health recommendations like the Dietary Guidelines. Speaking at a press conference, he said there was a consensus to prioritize what he called the ultra-processed food crisis. The American Soybean Association was critical of the report, which they said was "drafted entirely behind closed doors" and inaccurately suggests that pesticides and soy oils contribute to negative health outcomes. "We're discouraging people from consuming heart-healthy oils and driving them to instead use fats that will make them less healthy and cost them more in the process. This is the exact opposite of what our government should be doing," said ASA Director Alan Meadows, a soybean farmer. The report also takes aim at the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule, saying the number of vaccines American children are recommended to receive is more than in many European countries. It said the links between vaccines and chronic disease and the impacts of vaccine injury should be studied. Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has for many years pushed debunked theories about the safety of vaccines contrary to scientific evidence. FARM LOBBY PRESSURE Thursday's report will be followed by policy prescriptions due in August. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission to investigate chronic illness and deliver an action plan to fight childhood diseases. The commission is jointly run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the White House, with Kennedy serving as its chair and the Domestic Policy Council chief as executive director. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other cabinet members sit on it, as do federal health agency chiefs and senior White House officials. Before the report's publication, farm lobby groups had warned that criticizing specific farm practices could impede collaboration on the administration's health agenda and put food production at risk. According to a source familiar with the matter, the lobby groups had strongly pressured the administration to not mention pesticides in the report. Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin said on a call with reporters that farmers are key partners in enacting the MAHA agenda and that any changes to pesticide regulations would need careful consideration. "American farmers rely on these products, and actions that further regulate or restrict crop protection tools beyond risk-based and scientific processes set forth by Congress must involve thoughtful consideration of what is necessary for adequate protection alternatives and costs of production," he said. In 2018, Kennedy collaborated with a team of attorneys led by firm Wisner Baum that won a $289 million verdict in a lawsuit brought by a California man who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after he regularly used Roundup as part of his work. The verdict was later reduced to $20.5 million. Kennedy has also said he was part of at least two other cases against Roundup-maker Monsanto, which was acquired by Bayer. As next steps, the report called for enhanced surveillance and safety research into drugs and childhood health outcomes and clinical studies comparing whole-food to processed-food diets in children. The report says that ultra-processed foods, which it describes as industrially-manufactured food products, are associated with poor health. It cites infant formula as an ultra-processed food that is concerning, saying that parents are increasingly buying European brands. MAHA activists have voiced worries about the use of certain oils in infant formula, but those ingredients add important fats. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein, Leah Douglas in Washington and Michael Erman in New York; Additional reporting by Renee Hickman and Diana Jones in Chicago and Jessica DiNapoli in New York; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
US govt targets food, chemicals in child health report
A commission led by US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has issued a report that says processed food, chemicals, stress and overprescription of medications and vaccines may be factors behind chronic illness in children in the United States. Kennedy said the commission's report was a "clarion call to do something with utmost urgency to end this crisis" of increasing rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders, allergies and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. It did not call for specific regulatory changes or restrictions on pesticides used in farming, as some farm groups had feared, and instead said the chemicals should be further researched. It echoed previous Kennedy statements that highly processed foods and additives are health risks and that the food industry is too influential in the crafting of public health recommendations like the Dietary Guidelines. .@PressSec: The MAHA Commission Report "identifies four major factories that are contributing to the rise of childhood chronic disease":- Poor diet- Environmental chemical exposure- Lack of physical activity - Overmedicalization — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 22, 2025 Speaking at a press conference, he said there was a consensus to prioritise what he called the ultra-processed food crisis. The report also takes aim at the US childhood vaccination schedule, saying the number of vaccines children are recommended to receive is more than in many European countries. It said the links between vaccines and chronic disease and the effects of vaccine injury should be studied. Thursday's report outlining the causes was due this week and will be followed by policy prescriptions due in August. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission to investigate chronic illness and deliver an action plan to fight childhood diseases. The commission is jointly run by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the White House, with Kennedy serving as its chair and the Domestic Policy Council chief as executive director. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other cabinet members sit on it, as do federal health agency chiefs and senior White House officials. Before the report's publication, farm lobby groups had warned that criticising specific farm practices could impede collaboration on the administration's health agenda and put food production at risk. As next steps, the report called for enhanced surveillance and safety research into drugs and childhood health outcomes and clinical studies comparing whole-food to processed-food diets in children. The report says that ultra-processed foods, which it describes as industrially-manufactured food products, are associated with poor health. It cites infant formula as an ultra-processed food that is concerning, saying that parents are increasingly buying European brands.
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
American Breakfast Cereals Are Becoming Less Healthy, Study Finds
Breakfast cereals, a heavily marketed, highly processed mainstay of the American diet, especially among children, are becoming less healthy, filled with increasing amounts of sugar, fat and sodium, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Network Open. The study also found that cereals' protein and fiber content — nutrients essential for a healthy diet — have been in decline. The findings, based on an analysis of 1,200 new or reformulated cereal products introduced in the United States between 2010 and 2023, are likely to add fuel to the ongoing debate about the relationship between processed food, mounting childhood obesity and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases. The debate has gained greater prominence in the months since health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began using the federal bully pulpit to excoriate ultra-processed foods as part of his 'Make America Healthy Again' campaign. Mr. Kennedy, who has declared that 'sugar is poison,' last month announced that the Department of Health and Human Services would work to remove some artificial dyes from the U.S. food supply, citing concerns about their impact on children's health. Shuoli Zhao, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky and a co-author of the new study, said the findings were especially notable given evolving consumer awareness about the links between excess consumption of sugar, salt and saturated fat and chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension and cancer. 'What's most surprising to me is that the healthy claims made on the front of these products and the nutritional facts on the back are actually going in the opposite direction,' he said. The analysis, based on data gathered by the marketing consultancy Mintel, did not identify brand names, nor did it capture information on purchasing and consumption habits. The vast majority of the 1,200 products it analyzed were relaunches of existing cereals, including so-called reformulations that alter a product's taste or nutritional content, Professor Zhao said. The study found that the total fat content per serving of newly launched breakfast cereals increased nearly 34 percent between 2010 and 2023, and sodium content climbed by 32 percent. Sugar content in the newly introduced products rose by nearly 11 percent, according to the analysis. So-called ready-to-eat cereals are the most commonly consumed food product among children aged 5 to 12, according to Department of Agriculture data, and nearly a third of all American children eat cereal each morning. In contrast, only 15 percent of children have fruit with their breakfast, and just 10 percent consume eggs, according to the data. Kellogg Company, General Mills and Post Holdings, the three largest makers of breakfast cereals in the United States, did not respond to requests for comment. Peter Lurie, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition advocacy group that was not involved in the study, said he was surprised to learn that large food companies have not made a more concerted effort to reduce the sugar, salt and fat content of their breakfast cereals. 'It's extraordinary that, at a time when Americans are becoming more health conscious, a product often marketed as offering a healthy start to one's day is actually getting less healthy,' he said. Although the category is not inherently unhealthy, many nutritionists take a jaundiced view of American breakfast cereals given the sky-high sugar content of some products, like Lucky Charms and Cap'n Crunch. Dr. Josephine Connolly-Schoonen, executive director of the nutrition division at Stony Brook Medicine, said the findings of the study highlighted the dilemma many parents face when navigating supermarket aisles. 'It reinforces my belief that the food marketplace is very confusing, and that's not by accident,' said Dr. Connolly-Schoonen, who was not involved with the study. 'The food industry engineers the confusion.' Her breakfast recommendations to parents include overnight oats, fruit, eggs, peanut butter and whole grain breads. 'We need to continue to try to break through the noise and give very strong messages about what is healthy, and that includes whole foods; foods that look like they did when they were alive,' she said. Some of the cynicism voiced by nutrition experts stems from the fact that many food companies offer healthier versions of the same cereal brands in Canada and in Europe. More recently, the sugar and sodium content of breakfast cereals served in American schools has also been declining, a result of federal legislation passed in 2010 that set new nutrition standards for the meals, which sustain 14 million students each day. Stricter limits on sugar content go into effect this summer, and the standards tighten even further in 2027, according to the School Nutrition Association. Diane Pratt-Heavner, a spokeswoman for the association, said she hoped food companies would begin voluntarily offering those healthier school-based products to the general public. 'If we're encouraging kids to eat healthier at school,' she said, 'then we want them to be eating healthier at home too.'
