How (and Why) to Eat Less Processed Food

By Jenny Edelstein
Brain Food London Children's Nutrition

We all know by now that it is important for our health to eat food from a variety of different food groups, in order to ensure a sufficient intake of nutrients. So why don’t we always eat this way?

There is a huge range of influences on how we eat. Advertising can make sugary cereal look like a great breakfast option. Sometimes, we are too busy to take time to shop or cook, and we fall back on ready meals or takeaways. For young people in particular,  there is also peer pressure to splurge on junk food.

In fact, very few people eat healthy food all of the time, and it may be unrealistic and even unnecessary to attempt to have a 100% healthy diet. The occasional splurge is not harmful, and most nutritionists recommend aiming for an 80/20 split between healthy and less healthy foods.

But even having a healthy diet 80% of the time will mean adopting some healthy eating habits. Cooking from scratch, when possible, is an excellent healthy food habit. Foods made from fresh, natural ingredients will generally provide a better balance of nutrients than more processed foods, which tend to be high in unhealthy fats, sugar and salt. Ultra-processed foods in particular should be avoided most of the time.

How do you know if a food is ultra processed? Firstly, if you don’t recognize one or more ingredients in a product, it is probably worth avoiding. Remember, the most healthy foods often don’t even need to list ingredients, because they are the ingredient, like a carrot or a chicken. Second, ultra processed foods typically contain industrial substances such as preservatives, additives, colouring, or emulsifiers. Finally, they often have a very long shelf life.

Ultra-processed foods do provide energy in the form of calories, but these tend to be “empty” calories, poor in essential nutrients and low in fibre. These foods often contain unhealthy fats and/or large amounts of refined sugar. They are also often high in salt.

Sometimes a given food can be minimally processed or ultra-processed, depending on the exact ingredients. Let’s take the example of bread in this image. On the left, I’ve provided the list of ingredients from a packaged loaf of ultra-processed sandwich bread. As you can see, the list contains various preservatives, emulsifiers, and other mystery ingredients. On the right, you have the recipe for my no-knead bread, with just five very familiar ingredients, one of which is water. My bread is definitely healthier, but I suspect it is much tastier too!

Here are a few nutritionist’s tips for avoiding too much processed food. In the supermarket, the processed foods tend to be in the central aisles, with the fresh and wholefoods on the edges and to the rear of the supermarket. Bear this in mind when shopping, and try to “shop the perimeter” first.

Another tip is to plan ahead. Have some healthy snacks to hand, so you won’t need to reach for the crisps. If you’d like to eat more fruit and vegetables, make sure to have some in the refrigerator to make it easy on yourself. Have some baking ingredients in your kitchen as well. If you feel like splurging on a sweet treat, it’s generally healthier to bake something at home.

Adopt the rule of “everything in moderation”, and just try to eat well most of the time. For most of us, our bodies can handle the occasional bag of crisps, but eating processed food every day can cause issues.