Beans on toast IS good for you! Nutrition body warns ultra-processed foods are wrongly villainized

Ultra-processed foods have been demonized for decades, with dire warnings that they make us fat and increase our risk of cancer.

But top nutritionists today argued that some are being unfairly scoffed at.

Baked beans, fish fingers and wholemeal bread can all be part of a healthy diet, according to the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF).

Tomato-based pasta sauces, whole-grain breakfast cereals and fruit yogurts also received the all-clear and the label of “healthier processed foods.”

The BNF charity admits they are a source of ‘important nutrients’, but also that they are ‘convenient and affordable’.

Nutritionists have listed which options can be ‘part of a healthy diet’. Baked beans, fish fingers and whole-wheat bread all make the cut, according to the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). Tomato-based pasta sauces, whole-grain cereals and fruit yogurts are also “healthier processed foods,” according to the charity.

Anything made edible with dyes, sweeteners, and preservatives automatically falls into the ultra-processed category under the Nova food classification system.

It was created in 2009 by a Brazilian scientist as a way to group foods in relation to the processes they undergo.

It has since been used by hundreds of scientists to investigate the link between eating habits and disease.

Dozens of studies have warned of the risk of eating too many ultra-processed foods, including cookies, cakes, crisps, ready meals, sausages, French fries and soft drinks.

But some experts have warned that the label is vague and paints “fine” food as “unhealthy.”

Some countries, such as France, Belgium and Brazil, have used ultra-processed foods in official guidelines and advised people to reduce their proportion in their diet.

But the UK and US have so far avoided this, instead focusing on calories, salt and sugar and giving advice to consume fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Now the BNF has published a position paper urging the government not to include ultra-processed foods in national dietary guidelines.

It warned there is a “lack of an agreed definition” about which foods fall into the category and is concerned about its “usefulness as a tool to identify healthier products.”

For example, foods such as whole-wheat breads, whole-grain breakfast cereals and baked beans are also usually classified as ultra-processed, but “these can be a convenient and affordable source of some important nutrients,” according to the BNF.

Bridget Benelam, a BNF spokesperson said: ‘For many of us when we come home after a busy day, foods such as baked beans, wholemeal toast, fish fingers or ready-made pasta sauces are an affordable way to put a balanced meal on the table. to get. fast.

“These can be classified as ultra-processed, but can still be part of a healthy diet.”

She added, “It’s great if you can cook from scratch when you have the time, but I know it’s often not an option for me as a working parent.

‘We need to make healthy eating easier and more affordable, not harder and more expensive.

Nutritionists divide foods into three groups based on the amount of processing they have undergone. Minimally processed foods, such as apples, are usually exactly as they occur in nature. Processed foods, such as applesauce, have gone through at least one level of processing that has changed their original form. In contrast, ultra-processed foods, such as apple jelly babies, have gone through multiple levels of processing and are usually loaded with extra fats, colorings, and preservatives.

“Choosing healthier processed foods is one way to help people fit healthy eating into their lives.”

The BNF has also released the results of a survey, which surveyed more than 2,000 Britons about ultra-processed foods.

It found that nearly half of people (46 percent) had heard of the category and a third were trying to eliminate these foods from their diets.

Convenience foods, vegetarian meat alternatives, store-bought hamburgers, cereals with added sugar and store-bought sausages were the foods most recognized as ultra-processed, the results showed.

But fewer people classified baked beans (nine percent), low-fat fruit yogurt (10 percent), ice cream (14 percent, and sliced ​​bread (19 percent) as ultra-processed.

The survey also found that most people agreed that it was better to cook from scratch than to use processed foods (68 percent).

But nearly half agreed that a healthy, balanced diet can include some processed foods and that processed foods can be useful for saving time when preparing food.

It comes after TV doctor Chris van Tulleken shared the results of a month-long experiment in which 80 percent of his diet consisted of ultra-processed foods.

He shared that he had gained 6 kg and that he was sore, tired, angry and as if he had aged ten years.

MRI scans revealed that his brain had begun to develop new pathways, mostly related to addictive drug use, rather than food.

Dr. van Tulleken: ‘Until recently, most scientists thought that food couldn’t possibly be addictive. Yet I know from experience that I felt very strongly ‘addicted’ to certain types of ultra-processed foods (mainly take-out).’