The mass-produced wholegrain bread you buy from the supermarket isn’t harmful to your health, even though it’s an ‘ultra-processed’ food. Your overall diet matters more.
Salt is an essential nutrient that has helped civilizations flavor and preserve their foods for millennia. Too much dietary salt, however, is linked to a host of health problems.
Countries that have adopted clear food labels have seen the health benefits. Researchers explain how a new system to alert South African consumers to unhealthy choices was developed.
Many processed foods strip carbs of their natural fibers. Eating foods with an ideal total carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio can help with weight management and improve overall health.
Research has examined how ultraprocessed foods can contribute to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and mood disorders. A healthier diet is one way to use food as medicine.
Some commercial products and practices are directly linked to avoidable ill health, planetary damage, and social and health inequity. Large transnational corporations are especially to blame.
The Food Compass system scores foods based on variables like the amounts of refined grains and sugars, processing and healthful ingredients. People who ate better-scoring foods had better overall health.
There is more sugar and other sweeteners in our food and drinks globally than a decade ago, with manufacturers prioritising healthier options in richer countries.
Ultra-processed foods that contributed the most dietary energy for Aussies included ready-made meals, fast food, pastries, buns, cakes, breakfast cereals, fruit drinks, iced tea and confectionery.
Senior Lecturer in Environmental Sustainability, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering & Built Environment, Deakin University
Associate Professor in the SAMRC Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science - PRICELESS SA (Priority Cost Effective Lessons in Systems Strengthening South Africa), University of the Witwatersrand