Doctors and nutritionists urge us to avoid them. California is banning them from school lunches. A recent set of research papers said that they are a “key driver of the escalating global burden of multiple diet-related chronic diseases.”
“They” are ultra-processed foods, the foods that contain ingredients you wouldn’t typically find in a kitchen. But are all ultra-processed foods — which can range from packaged pastries to chicken nuggets to plant-based meats — bad for you? What are the best foods to eat for a healthy diet?
To answer these questions, we caught up with Michael Greger, MD, at the recent American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) annual conference in Dallas. An internationally recognized expert in nutrition, he is the founder of NutritionFacts.org, a founding member and fellow of the ACLM, and the author of several New York Times bestsellers, including How Not to Die, The How Not to Die Cookbook, and How Not to Diet.
Plant-based meats are a much healthier alternative than animal-based meats, because they are significantly lower in saturated fat on average, and have no trans fats and no dietary cholesterol.
— Michael Greger, MD, founder and president, NutritionFacts.org
Why Are Ultra-Processed Foods Bad for You?
They’re not all necessarily bad for you, but it’s a matter of what you’re eating instead. Ultra-processed foods tend to have too much saturated fat, sodium, and sugar. But beyond the nutrient profile, the processing methods may cause processing contaminants, like advanced glycation end products, that aren’t good for us. It’s better to stick to whole plant foods, the healthiest foods out there.
What Ultra-Processed Foods Are the Worst for You?
The only two categories of ultra-processed foods that are associated with premature death are ultra-processed animal products, like burgers, chicken nuggets, and fish sticks, and soda and [other] artificially sweetened and sugar-sweetened beverages. But the other categories of ultra-processed foods, such as ultra-processed breakfast cereals, are not associated with premature mortality.
Are There Any Ultra-Processed Foods That You Eat?
Absolutely. For example, unsweetened soy milk. It’s probably the healthiest milk. There are 17 randomized controlled trials proving that switching from cow milk to soy milk significantly improves blood pressure, inflammation, and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol — the primary risk factor for our primary cause of death, heart disease.
What About Plant-Based Meats, Which Are Ultra-Processed? Are They Healthy for You?
Plant-based meats are a much healthier alternative than animal-based meats, because they are significantly lower in saturated fat on average, and have no trans fats and no dietary cholesterol. They are better from a food safety standpoint. … There’s no cancer risk associated with plant-based meats, as opposed to regular meat or processed meat. And so, [they’re] certainly a healthier option. In fact, swapping even just one serving of plant-based meat a day could lead to thousands of fewer cases of diabetes and heart disease and various cancers. It’s definitely a healthy swap to transition one’s diet away from the standard American diet toward a healthier diet centered around whole plant foods.
What Makes the Mediterranean Diet Healthy?
A Mediterranean diet is centered around whole plant foods, which is why it’s been shown to be so healthy. If you actually dig into what factors are responsible for its longevity benefits, primarily it’s the amount of vegetables you’re eating and the decreased amount of saturated fat. It’s not the fish, it’s not the wine. Basically, you’re eating more vegetables, which is fantastic, and you’re swapping animal fats for plant fats like olive oil, which is certainly a healthier choice.
Are Some Meats Healthier Than Others?
Probably the healthiest is wild game like venison, because of the fat content. The meat you buy at the grocery store has been selectively bred to be extra juicy, and a lot of that juice is saturated fat, which increases our risk for the No. 1 killer of men and women: heart disease. Venison, moose, and elk can be extraordinarily low in saturated fat content.
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