When it comes to the average American diet, more than half of the calories come from ultra-processed foods, researchers found. These foods account for up to 90 percent of the excess calories from sugar that Americans devour.
Ultra-processed foods contain chemicals that are not commonly used in cooking. These include emulsifiers, food-mimicking additives and flavorings. They are also high in salt, fats, oils and, of course, sugar.
Euridice Martinez Steele, the lead researcher from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, said that lowering the American's consumption of these ultra-processed foods can be a significant method in decreasing the nation's excess sugar intake. Steele is from the School of Public Health's depart of nutrition at the University,
However, Americans love their ultra-processed foods. These include candies, mass produced and packaged pastries, instant soups and noodles, packed snacks and sodas. Ultra-processed foods also include reconstituted meat such as the much beloved, packed lunch staple fish and chicken nuggets.
For the study, the researchers analyzed diet data from 9,317 participants who took part in the 2009 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The participants provided a list of all the foods they ate in the past 24 hours. The survey revealed over 280,000 foods.
On average, the participants ate 2,070 calories daily. Approximately 28 percent of these were from minimally processed to unprocessed food items such as vegetables, fish, milk and eggs that contain no added sugars. About 3.1 percent came from ingredients such as olive oil and table sugar and 10 percent came from processed food products such as canned vegetables, cheese and cured meat.
Findings revealed that additional sugars account for more than one in five calories found in a typical ultra-processed food. In total, 14 percent of all calories consumed came from excess sugars.
Added sugars make up 21 percent of all calories in ultra-processed foods. By contrast, the figure is only 2 percent in processed foods. Among the participants whose diets consisted mostly of ultra-processed foods, over 80 percent surpassed sugar's upper limit of 10 percent.
Increased sugar intake drives the risks for developing not just tooth decay, weight gain and obesity but also long-term health conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
"There is one relatively simple way to avoid excessive added sugar - not replacing real food, such as minimally processed foods and freshly prepared dishes and meals, with ultra-processed food and drink products," said Steele.
The research highlighted what we already know — don't eat ultra-processed foods and avoid sodas, flavored fruit juices and reconstituted meat products. Ready-to-eat foods such as frozen dinners, canned soups and cold cuts are all ultra-processed foods.
One simple rule to follow is to avoid foods that require no preparation. Popping packed food in the microwave does not count as preparation.
The research was published in the journal BMJ Open on March 9.
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