What Are Ultra-Processed Foods?
Congratulations! Today marks the beginning of the second phase of our program: PLAN. For the next six days, you’ll be doing some research that will help prepare you to transition to a diet like your great, great grandparents used to eat—no more ultra-processed foods.
Getting there won’t be easy. It will take discipline, time, and money. A recent study put the cost of a diet free from ultra-processed foods at $45 more per week than a diet consisting of ultra-processed foods. It also takes significantly less time, for example, to open a bag of tortillas for taco Tuesday than it does to make your own.
If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, don’t fret. We’re going to tackle this inch by inch and learn how to incorporate these habits into our life over time. For the next few days, we’ll be making small modifications to our life that add up to a big difference over time.
Today’s Checklist
If you’re following along with the 40FRESH Challenge, here’s your homework for today:
Read this post
Don’t forget to track and classify
Take a trip to the grocery store
Learn what to avoid in each department
Break Out That Food Journal
Speaking of small habits, it’s time to crack open your food journal. Let’s remind ourselves of the identity we’re forming and jot down today’s date and our health mantra:
I care about my health and I make healthy choices.
Same as yesterday, you’re going to keep track of everything you’re eating and its classification. For some of you (like me), this part really sucks. Just hang in there! I promise I won’t make you do it forever. We’re going to keep it going through the end of the planning phase so we can start to understand where our diet needs to change the most.
A Trip Down Grocery Lane
Today’s big assignment is to take a trip to the grocery store. If that’s not in the cards for you today, you can also play along from home using the OpenFoodFacts app we talked about on day 2. It’ll just be a little more difficult. Every grocery store is laid out a bit differently, but I’m going to assume that yours has the following sections:
- Produce
- Deli & Prepared Foods
- Bakery
- Meat & Seafood
- Dairy
- Frozen
- General (packaged goods)
Produce
This is the safest section in the store and you’ll find that nearly everything here is part of group 1. However, you’ll find group 4 foods lurking close by, even here.
Most produce sections have a section with salad premixes or refrigerated salad dressings. You’ll frequently find a section for salad toppings like nuts, dried cranberries, croutons, and more. Many of these contain additives and preservatives that put them into group 4 territory. Pick up a few items and scan the ingredients. Feel free to break out the OpenFoodFacts app if you’re unsure about something. What did you find?
Despite a few stray group 4 items, this is the safest area of the store. Pretty soon, you’ll be doing a whole lot of shopping in this section.
Deli & Prepared Foods
You might be surprised by what you find in this section. Take a glance at the ingredients lists on a few of the sliced meats and cheeses. Pick up that package of hummus and inspect that potato salad. You’ll find a few group 3 items here (like hard cheeses without added colors). If you’re lucky, you might find an item or two in the prepared foods that is possibly a group 2. For the most part, however, this section is full of group 4 items.
Bakery
If you love bread, the bakery is the section you’re most likely to find a freshly made (or take and bake) bread that falls into group 3. Look for fresh baguettes or traditional sourdough bread to see if you can find some.
Unfortunately, most other breads, like the prepackaged ones you’d typically buy for sandwiches, are going to fall into group 4. In order to extend their shelf life, they are full of preservatives and additives. Don’t let clever marketing messages on the packaging fool you (e.g. “100% organic whole wheat” or “no artificial preservatives”). Make sure to check the ingredients list.
Meats & Seafood
Apart from the produce section, this is the second safest area of your grocery store. If it looks like the butcher cut it up and packaged it, it’s probably a group 1 item. That said, there are things to watch out for here…
One common group 4 item is sausage. It’s possible you may find something hand ground and mixed by the store that falls into group 3, but it’s almost a sure bet that the sausage and links you’ll find here are group 4. Other things to watch out for:
- Ham
- Seasoned turkey
- Brined meats
- Packaged bacon
- Hot dogs
Dairy
Good news! You can find several group 1 and group 2 items in this section. Milk, eggs, cream, butter, sour cream. The bad news? There are group 4 foods lurking everywhere.
As an example, let’s take a typical rice milk or soy milk. Many people opt for these items instead of normal milk as a healthy alternative or because it fits their dietary restrictions (or allergies). Pick a few of them up and you’ll be surprised by what you find on the labels. Good luck pronouncing some of the ingredients!
Another example is yogurt. While you can typically find a whole milk yogurt without any additives, nearly every other kind of yogurt is rife with additives, preservatives, and sugars.
Some other items that may appear like safe group 1 or 2 options but often aren’t:
- Butter (check for natural flavors)
- Sour cream (check for additives)
- Fresh juices (look for added sugars, preservatives, and additives)
Spend some time identifying a few safe brands. For example, I like Daisy sour cream (not the lite version) and Tillamook butter.
Frozen
You’re probably getting the hang of this by now. This section is another mixed bag. You’re probably safe with the frozen veggies and some of the frozen meats, but you’d be wise to avoid most everything else.
General (Packaged Goods)
Ever hear the advice to shop the edges of the grocery store? Well, that’s because the middle is generally full of all of the packaged goods. Generally speaking, this is the section of the grocery store that’s going to get you in the most trouble. It’s also the largest section of most supermarkets.
Just look at the endless aisles of packaged goods, nearly all of which are group 4. It’s no surprise that Americans consume over 60% of their calories from processed foods, right?
While we’re mostly going to need to avoid this section in the future, there are a few items that don’t fall into the ultra-processed camp. Just to name a few:
- Salted/unsalted nuts
- Some pastas and rices
- Canned legumes and vegetables
- Tomato pastes & extracts
- Coffee & Herbal Teas
Up Next...
Oh yeah! Go ahead and cross off another day in your calendar. Today may have hurt your brain a little bit, but hopefully it was as eye opening for you as it was for me. Tomorrow we’re going to talk about some small changes we can make in our home to set ourselves up for success later on.