3 common ultra-processed food ingredients and what they do
Let’s look at a few ultra-processed food ingredients that I don’t bring through my front door anymore.
To have a shared definition of ultra-processed food, I’m leaning on Zoe Science and Nutrition’s simple language: “When a food is ultra-processed, it means that the producer uses industrial-scale methods and ingredients that you may not recognize and would not use in home cooking to produce the final product.” Zoe further defines these foods as those containing emulsifiers, dyes, and resulting from processes like hydrogenation.
Thinking about the sequence of food production – from whole ingredients rendered industrially into ultra-processed substances—there hasn’t ever been a time in history when human bodies have been exposed to these substances at the scale happening today. I use the term “available” loosely because the majority of the time consumers are forced to eat ultra-processed food for lack of other options, or consume it unknowingly due to unreliable food label requirements. Public Health Nutrition published by Cambridge University Press states that, “Ultra-processed foods already make up more than half of the total dietary energy consumed in high-income countries such as the USA, Canada, and the UK.” All of this exposure has a direct impact on human health. According to Zoe, “Diets high in ultra-processed foods have been linked with increased risk of heart disease, weight gain, cancer, and even mortality.”
Considering these high rates and the omnipresent nature of highly-processed ingredients in the US, here are three ingredients that I don’t buy anymore:
Shortening (soybean or palm oil). I moved to North Carolina almost 17 years ago. A few months after moving here, I bought my first home and started to cook and bake more. I discovered some recipes for cookies that required shortening. I bought shortening all the time—in tubs—back then. It was always in my pantry ready for a batch of delicious cookies. I didn’t think twice about what was in it or how it was made. Today I understand that the two primary ingredients in shortening are soybean oil and hydrogenated palm oil. Soybean oil contributes to obesity, diabetes, and animal research shows it can encourage depression, autism, and Alzheimer’s. Soybeans are grown en masse in conventional agriculture, which means intensive monocropping that destroys soil health. These growing methods also require consistent herbicide applications, which not only hurt local ecology but can also persist through the processing and end up on the grocery store shelf. Palm oil frequently surfaces in the news due to the devastating clearcutting of rainforests associated with its production. According to Rainforest Rescue, “[palm oil] is the most widely produced vegetable oil worldwide. It has the highest yield of any oil crop and is the cheapest vegetable oil to produce and refine.”
Canola oil. I remember reading an article many years ago that explained how canola oil is a good choice for cooking and baking. While canola oil is sometimes considered a “heart-healthy fat”—and the canola blossoms produce a nutritious nectar for honey bees and pollinators—recent research reveals that canola oil production might create a product cut with other highly-processed oils. The process itself includes a hexane application, bleaching, and deodorization. Canola oil has a high concentration of omega-6 fatty acids, which are linked to inflammation. Various studies link canola to high inflammation, neurological issues, and it can contain trans fats even though labels may state none are present.
Industrial-scale canola production. High-fructose corn syrup. While we don’t see a jar of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) on the shelf, I avoid any ingredients that contain this substance. I probably don’t need to say much about this ingredient. HFCS is notoriously used in ultra-processed food as a sweetener. As its name suggests, it’s derived from corn. Corn is a crop commonly sprayed with glyphosate and/or atrazine, herbicides with known links to health issues. While it’s said that our bodies utilize HFCS the same way as sugar, we’re potentially introducing other toxins due to the way HFCS is produced. Other studies suggest that HFCS has addictive qualities, so it remains to be seen how the human body responds to this substance with long-term exposure.
I know we’re likely consuming these ingredients when dining at restaurants, so I choose not to bring them into our home to reduce our exposure. I’ll share one caveat: I may purchase products that contain these ingredients if I’m making something for house guests. If we have friends or family visiting and I know a certain meal or dessert that they love, I’ll make an exception. (If they’re friends who appreciate healthier swaps, then I’ll do that. Some friends don’t care about the source of their food, so I’ll make what they Iike.) For example, a good friend of ours loves peanut butter-Oreo ice box pie. Oreos (essentially palm, soybean, and canola oil) are hard to substitute in a dish like that. In this instance, I value a shared meal and memories more than my concern for inflammation, immune, and microbiome disruption—but if you have suggestions for alternatives, please let me know.
Bonus list of ingredients I avoid in products:
Grapeseed oil
Sunflower seed oil
Corn oil, cornstarch
Food dyes
Natural flavors
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Caramel color
Rice syrup
Other posts you may be interested in:
5 food label resources to help make more informed decisions
The remarkable nutrient gap between pastured pork and confined swine