

Ultra-Processed Foods
82 snips Jun 3, 2025
The podcast dives into the murky waters of ultra-processed foods, challenging popular beliefs about what they really are. It critiques the NOVA classification system and questions societal biases around processed products. Listeners discover how our relationship with food can be likened to addiction, while health impacts spark debates on public perception versus scientific understanding. With humor and insightful anecdotes, the hosts encourage a rethink of how we categorize food, revealing the complexities behind every snack choice.
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Ambiguous Meaning of Processed Food
- The term "processed food" is colloquially used without a clear definition but typically means food people dislike or think is unhealthy.
- It sounds objective but is arbitrary and often acts as a stand-in for "junk food" without scientific precision.
Ultra-Processed Foods Defined
- The ultra-processed food definition centers on foods mostly made of processed substances with few whole food ingredients.
- These foods are designed to be hyper-palatable, ready to eat, and often marketed to seem wholesome, despite poor nutritional profiles.
Study Finds Ultra-Processed Leads to Weight
- A 2019 NIH study showed participants ate 500 more calories daily and gained weight on ultra-processed diets.
- However, ultra-processed meals differed substantially in composition and energy density from unprocessed meals, confounding results.