An essential part of the diet of modern people is ultra-processed products: sausages, chips, sweet drinks. Eating such foods on a regular basis can add excess salt, sugar and saturated fat to the diet. And this, in turn, can lead to weight gain, the development of inflammatory processes, cardiovascular and oncological diseases.
Ultra-processed products usually have a long list of ingredients, contain dyes, color stabilizers, flavorings, flavor enhancers, sugar or sweeteners, emulsifiers. Examples of ultra-processed products:
sweet drinks: store-bought sodas and juices, lemonades, sodas, milkshakes, etc
confectionery
fast food
processed meat (sausages, sausages, smoked products, meat semi-finished products, etc.)
sweet or salty packaged snacks
ice cream
French fries, hamburgers, hot dogs
poultry and fish nuggets
This list is not exhaustive. A simple way to evaluate the degree of processing of a product is the information on the package. The longer the list of ingredients, the more likely it is that you have an ultra-processed product.
Why are ultra-processed foods harmful?
High energy, but low nutritional value: a person consumes a lot of calories, but almost does not receive useful substances, without which good health and well-being are impossible.
A large amount of ultra-processed food in the diet can distort tastes: due to the flavoring additives in such food, other products then seem fresh and tasteless.
Danger to health: an excessive amount of calories, saturated fats and trans fats, sugar, salt can lead to health problems in the long run. Studies show that the consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with a higher risk of dyslipidemia (a violation of the normal ratio of fats in the blood), obesity, hypertension and cancer.
Ultra-processed foods are often consumed due to the influence of advertising and lack of time for cooking.
Although such products really save time, we lose much more - health. So that cooking does not take a lot of time, you can choose simple and quick recipes.