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Voices & Opinion

Are All Ultra-Processed Foods Unhealthy?

Some healthy, affordable foods are being unfairly categorized as ultra-processed. Here’s what you need to know

I have become a warrior when it comes to protecting the consumer from nutrition misinformation. I do this weekly in my Boston University Introduction to Nutrition class and in numerous media outlets that I am fortunate enough to contribute to. When it comes to the media, the discussion of ultra-processed foods (UPF) and their influence on the American diet needs a great deal of clarification. My gripe with this coverage is that there are some healthy, affordable, and convenient foods that are being categorized as ultra-processed and therefore are being demonized, but they shouldn’t be.

Many nutrition scientists have been using the NOVA Food Classification system to categorize foods. The NOVA system was developed by the Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. The purpose of the NOVA system is to group foods according to the extent that they have been processed before you consume them. When it comes to whole foods that you eat, the NOVA system has three categories of foods, specifically: minimally processed, processed, and ultra-processed, with the latter category being identified as the least healthy of these categories.

Let me first state that all foods are processed. When the husk is removed from the corn on the cornstalk in the field, it just underwent processing. When you wash the fresh corn before you cook it, which is a good thing to do to remove dirt and potential pathogens that can cause food-borne illness, by definition, you have processed it yet again. When you cook that ear of corn to enhance its delicious flavor, you’ve just added another layer of processing. According to the NOVA system classification, all of these processing steps land that ear of corn in the minimally processed category. When you buy canned corn, this choice now lands it in the processed category. However, those crunchy corn chips, which don’t even resemble corn, are considered an ultra-processed food. That’s the Cliff Note–abridged version of the NOVA system.

From a nutrition standpoint, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that the nutrition quality of the corn chips is inferior to that of a cooked ear of corn, canned corn, or even frozen corn, for that matter. Fresh, canned, and frozen corn are all fabulous sources of potassium and fiber, two of the many nutrients that Americans are falling short of in their diet. Unfortunately, potassium and fiber are grossly diminished in a serving of corn chips as compared to a serving of the real thing.

Another nutrition strike against the chips is that they are magnificently seasoned, fried, and hyper-palatable, so that, well, as the 1980s advertising slogan goes, “no one can eat just one,” thus consuming the entire bag is deliciously easy. The chips are also void of the water found in real corn so they are more calorically dense per bite and are less filling. Let’s face it: while it’s fairly easy to eat the entire package of corn chips, consuming the entire package of frozen corn is a little more daunting. 

Of late, nutrition research is perpetuating the statement that ultra-processed foods in the diet are associated with increased incidences of the chronic diseases plaguing Americans: obesity, heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. Of course, because these studies are population-based, we know that this type of research can’t say that ultra-processed foods cause these diseases, but rather are associated with them. Again, it’s not surprising that a diet chock-full of ultra-processed foods such as sweetened beverages (the No. 1 source of added sugars in the diet), saturated fat-, salt-, and added sugar-laden savory snacks, bakery items, and sweets and treats decreases the nutrition quality of the diet and displaces healthier foods such as fruits and veggies.

I am not denying that many ultra-processed foods provide little nutrition. What I would like us all to consider is that there are some quite affordable, convenient, nutrient-rich foods, such as seasoned canned tomatoes and beans, commercially made whole-wheat breads and rolls, whole-grain breakfast cereals, flavored yogurts, soy burgers, and some brands of hummus, that have also been lumped into the ultra-processed category. 

My gripe: does adding seasoned canned beans and chopped Italian-style canned tomatoes to a homemade veggie-based soup make that meal unhealthy? Isn’t commercially made hummus served with baby carrots a better snack than the corn chips? Isn’t a breakfast of yogurt topped with a whole-grain cereal a healthier and more affordable meal than a freshly made, not commercially baked, croissant purchased at a coffee shop?

A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition, which was funded by the USDA Agriculture Research Services, set out to answer these questions and came up with some interesting results. The researchers planned a seven-day, 2,000 calorie diet that aligns with the healthy diet recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), but with greater than 80 percent of the foods coming from the healthier foods in the ultra-processed category defined by NOVA as pointed out above.

The results showed that these menus achieved a Healthy Eating Index (HEI) score of 86 out of 100 possible points. The HEI measures the diet quality and evaluates to what extent Americans are following the DGA. A grade of 86/100 is a “B” for my students at BU. According to the researchers in this article, the current HEI for Americans is 59. We are obviously flunking, by BU standards, when it comes to adhering to a healthy diet. Could it be that we are consuming too many corn chips and not enough canned corn?

Back to my gripe. Can we upgrade some of these healthier, affordable processed foods out of the ultra-processed group so that the public isn’t confused and misinformed about how to plan, enjoy, and afford a healthy diet? NOVA, are you listening?

Joan Salge Blake (Sargent’84), a Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences clinical professor of nutrition and director of nutrition programs and host of the nutrition and health podcast Spot On! can be reached at salge@bu.edu. She has received sponsored travel and an honorarium from General Mills to speak at professional conferences.

“POV” is an opinion page that provides timely commentaries from students, faculty, and staff on a variety of issues: on-campus, local, state, national, or international. Anyone interested in submitting a piece, which should be about 700 words long, should contact John O’Rourke at orourkej@bu.edu. BU Today reserves the right to reject or edit submissions. The views expressed are solely those of the author and are not intended to represent the views of Boston University.