Whole vs ultra-processed foods

To eat for health, we are often guided by what to exclude or restrict. The problem is, with all the dietary ideas, recommendations, and advice out there, the counting and restrictions can feel overwhelming.

We suggest flipping the focus and trying a simpler approach to healthy eating: focus on what to include. These being mostly whole and minimally processed foods, known to be beneficial to health. 

Doing this at each meal will naturally crowd out the less healthy stuff – namely, heavily or ultra-processed products, which are a primary source of added sugars and other unhealthful ingredients.

In many parts of the world, ultra-processed foods are now dominating the daily diet. Yet, research shows consumption increases the risk for detrimental health outcomes, including mental health, heart health, and other non-communicable diseases.

To start eating with this inclusive mindset, let’s understand the difference between whole foods and those that are heavily or ultra-processed.

Whole versus ultra-processed foods

Most foods we eat have undergone some kind of processing, sometimes to make the food safer to consume. In fact, we have been processing and preparing grains, meats, vegetables, and fruits for thousands of years. We often peel, cut, and cook whole foods for most meals!

The type or amount of processing a food undergoes can determine the taste, texture, and nutritional quality of the food. 

Processing methods, used either at home or by food manufacturers, include grinding, steaming, chopping, extensive heating, canning, preserving in fat, sugar or salt, hydrogenation, extrusion and more.

However, food processing by the food industry has gone next level in recent decades, using sophisticated technology, equipment, and ingredients to create highly palatable, shelf-stable, and cheap consumable products. 

According to the NOVA classification system, to help you work toward including more whole or minimally processed foods in your daily diet, here are the stages of food processing to get familiar with.

Unprocessed (whole) and minimally processed
Whole or unprocessed foods are fresh foods or a single ingredient that resembles its original, natural state. They are generally higher in quality, and the closer to their natural state, the more likely the food will nourish you and satisfy hunger.

Minimally processed foods can be created by a manufacturer or in the home. These processes can extend the life of the food, sometimes enhance nutritional quality, or make the food edible by removing shells, skins or toxic parts of plants, making certain foods safe and enjoyable to consume. 

Methods
None or some processing such as non-alcoholic fermentation, pasteurisation, refrigerating, freezing, roasting, pressing, drying, milling, grinding, and removal of inedible parts, to name a few.

Examples include whole vegetables, fruit, legumes, mushrooms, eggs, seafood and certain cuts of meat, as well as herbs and spices (fresh or dried), vegetables snap-frozen, pasteurised yoghurt, whole oats and whole-grain flours, and nuts and seeds. 

Processed culinary ingredients
These are substances obtained directly from nature or whole foods that undergo some industrial processing to obtain, make useful to the home cook, or prolong shelf-life. Their use is in preparing, seasoning, and cooking whole or minimally processed foods. 

Methods
Pressing, centrifuging, refining, extracting or mining.

Examples include extra-virgin olive oil, butter, and salt (each without additives).

Processed
According to the NOVA classification system, processed foods are whole foods with added sugar, oil, or salt and have undergone certain processes to extend their durability or enhance taste or smell.

Often packaged, processed foods comprise two or three ingredients designed to complement a meal of whole or minimally processed foods.

Methods
Preservation and various cooking methods, canning and bottling, and non-alcoholic fermentation.

Examples include canned foods (particularly those with high amounts of added sugar, salt or oils), including vegetables, fruits, and fish, as well as salted and cured meats, cheeses and freshly made bread.

Ultra-processed
Ultra-processed food products (UPFs) do not serve your health and well-being, being nutritionally unbalanced, poor quality, and easy to over-consume. 

The food industry designs them to be convenient (ready-to-consume or ready-to-heat), attractive (hyper-palatable), profitable (low-cost ingredients and long shelf life), and competitive to freshly prepared meals.

Most UPFs are cleverly and aggressively marketed, and some contain certain food additives that combined mislead the public into believing they are consuming something healthy!

Consider UPFs a formulation rather than whole food. They include at least one substance never or rarely used in kitchens or classes of additives designed to make the final product palatable or more appealing. 

Worryingly, such foods are harmful when eaten in excess and/or when they displace consumption of whole or minimally processed foods. A recent study demonstrated that an ultra-processed diet drives individuals to eat more and therefore gain excess weight. That excess weight can lead to poor health outcomes, especially when lacking nutrient-dense whole foods.

Methods
Industrial processing techniques include hydrogenation, moulding, pre-frying, deep-frying, and extrusion. 

It includes the use of added sugar, oils, fats, and salt (in combination), and additives and ingredients that are artificial or far removed from their original states, such as flavours and flavour enhancers, colours, anti-foaming and anti-caking agents, emulsifiers, thickeners and more, typically to make the product palatable.

Also included are modified sugars, fats, and proteins, made by industrially processing whole foods into substances such as sweeteners including maltodextrin, fruit-juice concentrates and high-fructose corn syrup; hydrogenated oils; and hydrolysed proteins such as gluten, casein, and whey.  

Examples include margarine, instant soups and sauces, soft drinks, reconstituted meat products (such as nuggets, fish fingers and sausages), shakes and powders, mass-produced bread, pastries, biscuits, breakfast cereals, confectionary, pre-made sugary and salty snacks, many types of added sugars, and more. See here for a more comprehensive list. 

Check out our video below: What are ‘ultra-processed’ foods?

A little processing is okay

Generally, the more processed a food is, the less nutritious it is and the more likely it will contain added sugars and other ingredients not beneficial to health.

Healthy dietary patterns from around the world have a foundation of whole or minimally processed foods, with the addition of processed culinary ingredients, such as extra-virgin olive oil, butter or salt. The Mediterranean Diet is a good and straightforward example to follow!

Most of us will use food products that fall under the ‘processed’ category to complement or complete meals, such as cheese or tinned tomatoes. (And thank goodness we have them available. In our busy lives, most of us don’t have the capacity to catch and tin sardines or make coconut cream from scratch!)

This is fine, provided you choose products where you understand all the ingredients on the label, and they don’t contain artificial flavourings, colours, preservatives, or other unhealthful ingredients, including too much added sugar or sweetener.

Do remember, occasionally having stuff that is more processed isn’t the end of the world. But by choosing to include whole or minimally processed foods most of the time, you are naturally sidestepping the ultra-processed products (and those sneaky added sugars). Winning.

By Angela Johnson (BHSc Nut Med)