Processed vs Ultraprocessed Foods

Did you know that baby carrots and sliced apples are processed? This week we are breaking down the difference between processed and ultraprocessed foods. Because, let's be honest, getting away from all processed foods is almost impossible - and not necessary. Hopefully after this episode you will have a better understanding of how to reduce your consumption of ultraprocessed food and how to better choose your processed foods. 

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Transcript

Baylee: 0:23

Hello everyone, welcome back to this week's episode of Mocktail Minute. This is Bailey.

Brianna: 0:28

And this is Brianna.

Baylee: 0:29

This week I am drinking Ollipop the Tropical Punch and I like it. It's basically, it tastes like normal like Hawaiian fruit punch with a fizz, so I like the Tropical Punch. I haven't had this one yet.

Brianna: 0:40

Nice. I don't think I've had that one either. I'm doing a recess, the lime citrus, which I actually really like. I don't usually like lime, but I like it.

Baylee: 0:48

Well, this week we are talking about processed foods versus ultra processed foods. I think this kind of follows up nicely with the episode we did. It'll be two weeks now. Talked about like what, what, everything that's going on with Kellogg's food dyes, And so if you missed that episode, be sure to go back, but we're going to dive into process versus ultra processed because there is a difference and it's mainly on how much they are processed. basically your process foods, these are just foods that have been altered from their natural states just for like preservation. It could be for convenience or it could be to like enhance the taste. So it could be as simple as like, Canning it or freezing it or like carrots when they're the baby carrots or It can also be like if it's fermented or dried those are processing methods So canned vegetables whole grain bread frozen fruits plain yogurt Even those are all examples of processed foods. However, they can have Or the idea is that they do have like few added ingredients. It could be like sugar, salt, oils, but it's generally ingredients that you would recognize and it's not like that laundry list. So they tend to retain more of their nutrients and can even sometimes be more beneficial, especially frozen fruits and vegetables, for example, can be have more nutrients because they're frozen at peak ripeness.

Brianna: 2:18

And I always tell people that about frozen. Cause I feel like they don't know that, but I'm like, Oh, frozen is, is great. It's usually. Yeah, a little bit more nutrients because by the time you're getting your produce at a grocery store, it's been a while since produce has been picked. But, and I, I always, I remember like, I don't know, what, what was it like food science, whatever, like intro to food science class that you take when you're getting your undergrad in nutrition is like, you learn like, Oh my God, everything is processed, you know? And so there's a big difference between like, yeah. Processed foods and then how we kind of connect them to those ultra processed foods, which would be the next one. But yeah, anything that's not in its natural state is processed. And sometimes it's for the better for a lot of things, right? Like it's okay, but it's really the ultra processed foods that we want to be mindful of. Like the crackers, the cookies, the sweets, like all the baked goods. So these are foods that undergo multiple stages of processing and contain numerous ingredients, including artificial colors, flavors, emulsifiers, preservatives, et cetera. Like I always like to tell people, if you want to know how processed something is, look at the expiration date. If it's not spoon, it's probably ultra process. Like that's why you can make like fresh baked bread and it'll go bad on your counter. Like day three, it's like rock hard or just, you can't eat it. And you can go get a bag or a bread at the store. Like wonder bread literally will like last months.

Baylee: 3:45

Yes.

Brianna: 3:46

It'll just never go bad, you know? So

Baylee: 3:48

it just keeps going. Yeah.

Brianna: 3:53

They're just highly industrialized procides, highly industrialized and processed. It still does the, it's still for the same reasons as the normal processed foods. You know, they want it to last longer, texture shelf life. But it's just a lot more like, I guess, just the processing process and I do like to point out that, it's all kind of like in phases because technically things like protein powders. are ultra processed, you know, it's, it's pretty processed to get protein powder in that form. So I just always like to point that out because I think people get really on the bandwagon of like, we have to do extra clean foods and no processed foods. And we do all this, but then, you know, I always think of Bobby, Bobby, who was like, none of this, this is horribly processed. And then he's selling his, Like supplements and protein powder and trying to say it's not processed. I'm like, it is, you know, so it was like greens and stuff like that. So, you know, it's kind of one of those things you want to balance, right? Like you do want to minimize the amount of ultra processed foods you're eating. And so you got to kind of see, like, I mean, is the majority of the things that I'm eating every single day, ultra processed, like it shouldn't be the majority of your stuff should be.

Baylee: 5:05

A lot of those ultra processed foods, I would say it's much easier to overeat on them because they tend to be higher in added sugars. So they almost get that like addictive feeling because you're on this blood sugar rollercoaster. And if something has more added sugars, Number one, blood sugar roller coaster. But number two, carbs do not shut down your hunger hormones as well as protein does. So then you just want more and more and more. It's really hard to satisfy that hunger. And it's things like sodas, for example. Sodas have a ton of added sugar in it, but it's not like you can drink a soda and it's not like Really doing anything for you. It's not really filling you up. Same things like chips, cookies, pretzels like ramen noodles, the breakfast cereals, the cosmic brownies, candy just those types of things. They're going to have lots of preservatives added, they have artificial flavors, they have sweeteners, they have emulsifiers, they have colorings, all these things added. And this is where I see you. If you're in the boat of feeling like it's too expensive to eat healthy, these are the things you cut back on, and not only will you feel a lot better, but your grocery bill will look a lot smaller, because you're getting rid of the things that aren't really doing really anything for your body.

Brianna: 6:29

Right,

Baylee: 6:29

Might give you a quick burst of energy,

Brianna: 6:31

could like snack on all of those foods in large amounts all day and like not feel hungry. So you do need more of those foods to feel full as opposed to, you know, let's say something is like 8, like, oh, I could get, you know, three things to chips for that. Yeah, but you could also get something else. That's going to really fill you up. So it's just, you know, it's deciding like, where do I want my dollar to stretch? Because it is expensive. And there's, you know, the whole, you know, the whole politics behind like why somebody doesn't get more money for fresh fruits and vegetables, if they're on, you know, government aid, that's a whole nother thing. Like, but yeah, these highly processed foods, they're the ones that are linked to like a lot of those increased health risk, you know, so we're talking like diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, like all of those things. And I think this is also where like sugar and saturated fat gets a really bad rap. Like it came from it being in ultra like processed foods because it's really high in saturated fat and it's also high in added sugar. And so then everyone's like, Oh, sugar and fat's killing us. And it's like, well, we still need sugar and fat, but not in the amounts that we're having it on a day to day basis. Like if you were to just look at all your package foods, you know, for example, like Look at maybe, maybe the snack bars that you have during the day and the cereal that you eat in the morning and tell me how much saturated fat and sugar is in it. And then tell me how much of it you actually have to eat to be full. And then that's where you're realizing like, Oh, wow, I'm consuming a lot of. extra stuff where it's completely different. Like you go have a little bit of beef that has saturated fat, you're going to eat much less. It's going to make you full. You're going to get more nutrients from it. If they're, they're not the same, like food quality is very important. It's not just the individual nutrients, you know? Yeah.

Baylee: 8:27

It depends on, yeah, exactly, like, what are we doing? Pop Tart, cereal Quakers, granola bar, anything like that is not a true breakfast. So Start finding different swaps and it's just like the story of donuts versus eggs. They could be the same price. Donuts might be a little bit cheaper, but you're going to keep wanting more to eat. Eggs are actually going to satisfy you. You're going to get amino acids. You're going to get choline, B vitamins, healthy fats. So you get the other things along with it instead of just your filler foods. That's, that's kind of what I just call them. They're just like your filler foods. They might. Give you a little dopamine hit, but when you're just chasing these dopamine hits all the time for food this is when your wheels just start turning and turning and It's gonna be a lot harder to reach your goals. Even if you don't have weight loss goals. This is important even for your kids for everyone Because this is what their body is running off of do we want it running off? A bunch of artificial ingredients? Or do we want it running off of these foods that were, like, coming from the ground? And I don't, I also don't think it's necessary. Like, I've seen videos that like, oh, don't eat baby carrots because they're processed. I'm like,

Brianna: 9:49

They're fine. They're literally just cut. I actually, did we talk about this? Or did I talk, I might have talked to my husband about this, like, the story

Baylee: 9:57

might have. I don't know.

Brianna: 9:58

who created the baby carrot and why. I think we had a guest speaker on about this, but how like the certain smaller carrots were like less desirable in the store because they didn't have like a good shape or anything. And so some guy who's like, I'm going to take all my ugly carrots and I'm going to like cut down all the sides and everything and make them smooth. And then it's like, Oh my gosh, everyone loves them. They're still just carrots. Right? Like I tell people like sliced apples is processed, you know, when you get the little sliced apple packs from the store, like they're fine, you know, it's still just apples.

Baylee: 10:31

Yes. And I've heard before, yeah, like, people are like, oh, you shouldn't eat baby carrots because it's, like, the leftover parts of the baked carrots. I'm like,

Brianna: 10:43

But it's just like too many big carrots. Yeah, it's not a hot dog. It's not like all the parts of the carrots people don't want. It's just the inside of the carrot, which you're eating when you eat a large carrot. You know, it's, I think people definitely go a little wonky with it, but I'm telling you, if you're someone who is like stressed out about, I don't want anything processed. You got to kind of stop that because unless you're like growing your own food and you know, growing your own meat and milk and eggs and doing everything, you're going to have something processed and that's okay. You just want to be mindful of, do I actually know the difference between processed and ultra processed? And how can I get strategic with the foods that I'm buying? Cause there is going to be some things that make more sense to buy processed, right? Like frozen produce is actually cheaper. Like canned beans can last longer. Like You know, and so it's like, okay, like, let me kind of pick what it is I'm going to be doing. And that, and that's okay. Like, I don't, I think sometimes like, you know, you watch like these tech talkers and they're like, I don't know, just paying like 3, 000 a month for like llama milk or like the llamas or like, treat like, you know, massage with essential oil. And they're like, this is how you be healthy. Like you can still be healthy and eat processed foods. But what you really want to be mindful of is the ultra processed foods and really limiting how much you have of those. And I'll tell you, like, I feel like that's the thing I talk about with people the most, especially like. My older patients is like, Oh, I wish I would have known this. Like, I wish I would have known the difference and like what I should have been watching out for. You know,

Baylee: 12:24

Mm hmm. Yeah, I think that's, yeah, the main thing that I see popping up with, like, a lot of moms that I'm working with now with that have older kids, like, like, we fed our kids Go Gurts and everything, like, it's just, like, what we did, we didn't know any better, and now we're like, oh, son of a gun, what did I did to my, what do I did to my, what did I do to my child?

Brianna: 12:44

I always think about that. I was like, I'm doomed. Like how I was raised in the nineties in the early 2000s. Like you guys, I'm destined. Yeah. Living. Living.

Baylee: 12:56

okay. It's fine.

Brianna: 12:58

I'm

Baylee: 12:58

Yes.

Brianna: 12:59

the more, you know, the more, you know, and I, you know, I think right now, like it used to be the argument that like healthy food was so much more expensive. I think everything is expensive right

Baylee: 13:10

Oh, yeah.

Brianna: 13:11

It did. I went down the cereal aisle the other day and I was like 8 for a thing. Pumpkin Cheerios. Like, absolutely not. That's going to last one morning and people are still going to be hungry. Like I'm not doing it. Mm.

Baylee: 13:25

let's, to like close this episode out, let's give a few tips on like how can you switch up your foods, decrease the ultra processed, Without going bankrupt. So, well, one thing I will point out, So, Aldi, I don't shop there as much as I used to. I'm more of a Kroger gal now, Because that's where we buy formula. But, Aldi, Their products have no Synthetic dyes in them. Now, this doesn't mean Necessarily that Aldi doesn't have Products with synthetic Dyes. It's their, like, Store brand products don't Have the dyes.

Brianna: 14:04

Yeah.

Baylee: 14:05

Because they have like their yeah, they have like their own version of a lot of like popular brands that they make their own store brand Yeah, they don't have any synthetic guys. Like there are edamame noodles They're really ugly green but it's because there's no like dye added to it to change the color.

Brianna: 14:23

Yeah. And honestly, if you think about it, a lot of the colors that we use are just to make things look more vibrant. I mean, the same concept of like why people don't buy ugly produce, right? There's something wrong with it. They just, people don't want ugly things. And I think that's a major reason why Kellogg's doesn't want to change fruit loops is because it's so vibrant and it looks fun and it's like, whatever, but that's pretty cool. I didn't know that about all these. I don't know of any stores here. Like we have Kroger's here. I don't think we have all these, but I do know our major grocery store, HEV, like does have dieticians on staff that you can go talk to and they can help you shop and like look at food labels, which is really cool. But. I would say like keep meals simple, like try to have the majority of your meals coming from, you know, meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, like the things that you can identify. If you are going to, you know, buy packaged foods, I always say like turn around Maybe we should do a food label thing. Right. But like,

Baylee: 15:25

I think we have

Brianna: 15:26

Do we

Baylee: 15:27

Yes, we have an episode on nutrition labels. Maybe we should just go more in depth on it

Brianna: 15:32

Yeah. But like, turn it around and see like the ingredients. Like, do I recognize whole food sourced ingredients? Right. Like if you look at the back of like the RX bars, you know, it's like egg whites, dates, salt. Okay. I know what those things are. If you start to see like, okay, this is a really long list. And I, it's like all these different chemical names. I would probably try to find a better swap

Baylee: 15:55

Mm hmm Yeah, I would say that's a good general rule there. I mean, I've seen dietitians post this before. It's like, oh, a banana is made up of all these things that you can't pronounce. Like, okay, like, let's just use our brains here for a second. Like, let's just, let's not overcomplicate it. And when you keep these meals simple, I think This is what can get some people hung up is that it's like when I'm trying to eat healthier I'm trying to cook these meals. I have to look up a recipe for every single thing So then we're on Pinterest for hours and then it's like meal planning is like three hours long And of course, you don't want a meal plan every week for three hours So when it comes to keeping it simple, you don't have to have a recipe for every meal

Brianna: 16:36

I hate

Baylee: 16:36

and I Yes, I, I hardly ever use a recipe.

Brianna: 16:40

I'll do it.

Baylee: 16:41

Just gotta throw things together and it's really nice because like your fridge doesn't get overstocked with all these like random sauces and everything. Like we keep it super simple. Some recipes it'll be like, I don't know. Like you'll use a rice wine vinegar or whatever it is. Like I just don't do them like that. We don't really use that, a rice vinegar, all the time. And so it's It's easier to keep it simple and I do different seasonings and sauces that we just have all time like our seasonings basically like salt, pepper, garlic, onion, Montreal, everything bagel seasoning, turmeric, I think that's all we have.

Brianna: 17:23

Yeah.

Baylee: 17:23

easier to find it in this like seasoning cabinet than having to like search through everything.

Brianna: 17:28

yeah. Like just, and I think like, I always tell people like, why is eating a little bit easier over the summer, right? Everyone's like, oh, well, I grill up meat and we like put veggies on the girl and like, you know, make potatoes and like, cool, let's do that all the time. Like, just simple, keep it simple. I think it gets harder with the elaborate recipes. And I think that's what really like sums people up. So just, you know, keep it simple. I would say the other thing too is like, Forget the random filler snacks. Like try to have the majority of your snacks from like the whole food sources. And of course you're going to have some processed foods, right? Like yogurt, I would say, you know, yogurt with minimal out of sugar is a great snack, like cottage cheese, you know, stuff like that. Like you can still have processed foods, but the minimal ones and try to put some like fresh fruits in there and rely on those whole foods first, because again, you just don't want to be snacking on all of this ultra processed foods. That doesn't even make you full anyways.

Baylee: 18:26

And that's where it we get the idea that like snacks are bad snacks are not bad. They can actually be very nutritious What are you snacking on make it half of a meal? Make it balanced with a protein a fat a fiber. You don't need all three, but at least two of those parts. That's a real snack

Brianna: 18:45

Yeah. Keep it like very simple, you know? Yeah. And then I think the last thing would be take a, take a break from supplements. If you're doing a lot of supplements, right? Like if you are one of these people, I mean, we, we eat protein powder. I eat protein powder. This is where I get like really specific with like, I know I'm going to have an ultra processed food multiple times a week. I'm going to make sure it's a good sourced one.

Baylee: 19:12

Yes, so I think When it comes to the supplements Like take a break from ones that you're not for sure that you need if you know, you're deficient in vitamin d Yes, take vitamin d Become more strategic with your supplements if you're not focusing on these whole foods You're not creating a good foundation Anyways, so a lot of times if you focus on these whole foods, you're going to get what you need out of it And then you can do more of that targeted Nutrition and that's the other part when it comes to Like again the budgeting with healthier eating or making healthier choices It's not always about like what can I trade this ultra processed food for like a better ultra processed food That is definitely when the price goes up. Like if you like two different granolas one that has better ingredients It's still ultra processed like it's still processed. Yes. It has better ingredients. So it's still a better option But that's where it can get to be like, oh, yeah, it is more expensive but Like apples bananas Eggs, rice, lentils, all these things, beans, a can of beans, things like that, that is going to help you out in the long run. There is actually a study, it was released by the USDA kind of exploring like, are healthy foods really more expensive? And basically, I mean, it's like, A 40 page long paper of everything about this study, but basically they came to the conclusion that where is it? So what they did was they compared prices of healthy and less healthy food using a couple different metrics. So they took the price of food energy, so dollars per calorie, the price of edible weight, dollar per 100 edible grams, and the price of an average portion, dollar per calorie. For average portion. So they also calculated the cost of meeting the recommendations for each food group based on USDA government guidelines for all the metrics, except the price of food energy. They found that healthy foods cost less cost less than less than healthy foods. So, I mean, there's the science right there for you and how it's

Brianna: 21:36

Yeah, and what that means is

Baylee: 21:39

are we doing? Yeah.

Brianna: 21:40

the high calorie, empty calorie foods are cheaper, but it's like, that's not really what we want. And I think you did bring up a good point when it's like, which one of the ultra processed foods is going to be more expensive. It is going to be the healthier one because you know, it's harder to keep shelf stable without like those certain like things. Like it just, there's reasons why the healthier ultra processed foods are more expensive. And this is where I'd say you don't need to be doing all of that then, you know, like there is other ways to get stuff. Like there should be very minimal things. You're like, I want to eat this ultra processed food. I want to have it be good quality. It shouldn't be like five, six, seven, eight things that you're having throughout your week. It should be like specific things so that it's like, Oh, okay. I do have more money for this better quality one than, you know, all of these other things that I'm taking. And I think that is where people go wrong because they do a lot of supplements and powders and greens and it's like, Oh, I'm being so healthy. And I have to tell people all the time, like if you're healthy, it looks like multiple different supplements and powders rather than whole food. That's actually not. That healthy. So you got it. You can't get like stumped up with that, you

Baylee: 22:53

Yes, yeah, being healthy, I think, can look different for everyone, and that's what everyone, I mean, I hear it all the time, like, I eat really well, I eat really healthy, I eat blah blah. I'm like, okay, I'm taking that with a grain of salt, to be honest, because I don't know what that means to you. My version of eating healthy might look different than yours. To me, eating healthy is not skipping breakfast, it might not necessarily be a salad every day for lunch. Mm

Brianna: 23:21

He is relative to right. Like what's healthy. One person might actually not be healthy for another person, depending on like what your body needs and any like diseases have or just anything like that. Two people can both eat healthy for themselves and have it not be healthy for the other person. And yeah, healthy is so relative. And I, I, I'm always telling people that too. I'm like, well, what does healthy eating mean to you? And yeah, those things are healthy. Those are healthy choices, but maybe it's not really what you need.

Baylee: 23:51

Yes. So we'll link that study in the show notes. We won't go too far in depth in it because we'd be here for a minute, but we will link it in the show notes if you want to check it out. But I do want to encourage you to be open minded with making changes and kind of like start Docketing in your own way of all this because at the end of the day a lot of times We just have that blocker of eating healthy is too expensive Like we're not even gonna try it like that's already in our mind same thing with like if it tastes good It's not good for you. It's already in our brain So our brain is just looking for all that evidence see where you can make swaps your kids don't need 14 different snacks in the pantry that are Fruit snacks, granola bars, chips, pretzels, and if you're like, that's the only thing I'll eat, yeah.

Brianna: 24:44

gets expensive. Nah.

Baylee: 24:46

it's the only thing they will eat, you're the ones buying it. You are supplying it. And I know I'm not in this stage of being a mom yet, but I don't know, Brianna, if you wanted to weigh in on that a

Brianna: 24:59

Well, I mean, it's like the same thing when, you know, sometimes I'll see kids outpatient and it's like, well, bring in the whole family, because this is more like. a session with the parents, right? Like, you know, yeah, your kids might like certain things and, you know, that's a whole thing. And I get some kids are very picky and I, and I get that, but at the end of the day, it is the parents making the decisions of what am I going to buy? What am I going to give my kid? And I do see it, you know, especially like this weird turn when like kids become teenagers and parents want to be like upset with like their kids eating habits or like, you know, I. I actually hate seeing weight loss for kids outpatient. I hate it so much because I'm like, you know, what do you like to snack on? And it's like, Oh, my mom buys this and buys that. And it's like, well, okay, mom, we have to have a conversation too, because now you're just like shaming this kid for having certain eating habits and correlating like, Oh, she looks like this because she eats too much, but like, she's not grocery shopping for herself or preparing food or anything like that. So like, it's, It gets real wild, but it's like, we have to teach our kids how to have good habits. Like we, just like we have to teach them to like, look before the cross the street, have good sleep habits, have good screen time habits, have good, like, that's like our job. And so I think it's hard though, too, because I think parents weren't really told how to eat healthy either. And so it's like the blindly blind. And so it's just like thinking about, okay, if your kid is constantly wanting a ton of snacks, like, I know my kids are snackers. They love to do that. I'm constantly like, We have very minimal snacks, like package snacks that we send. Like if we are home, you're eating something else first, you're getting something out of the fridge, something off, like, you know, produce off the counter, that's what we're doing

Baylee: 26:43

hmm.

Brianna: 26:44

down and to each their own. But I will say buying a lot of like. The snack foods is fricking expensive. So that is all expensive. So, and they're never

Baylee: 26:56

Not doing anything.

Brianna: 26:57

Mike needs to like go through three snack bars in the sitting and be like, okay, where's, was there a yogurt? Is there a string cheese? Like, where's, I'm like, okay, well, we just blew through a box of Z bars and that was insane. Like, okay,

Baylee: 27:10

Yeah,

Brianna: 27:11

no, it's, it's all expensive. I think it just takes a little bit of sitting down and getting strategic. And again, if you need help with that, we can help with that.

Baylee: 27:22

speaking of that, we will also put a link in the show notes of a Google form for you guys to fill out. We are brainstorming what we want to do to take Mocktail Minutes to the next level. Really, really have like a exclusive group, so to say. So fill out that form, let us know like what you want. If you want to be a part of exclusive Mocktail Mimics group. And yeah, that's all I'll say about it for now. Cause we don't want to like release too much and then do something else. So we're going to wait till we decide exactly what we want to do, but yeah, if you just fill it out, that'd be super helpful.

Brianna: 28:02

It'll be in the show notes. We'll also like share it on our stories occasionally here and there in the next couple of weeks, but yeah, let us know how we can take this. What direction we can take.

Baylee: 28:12

Yes. Alright, everybody. Remember, just do what works for your family, do your best, ask for help where you need it, and don't over stress about this one step at a time.

Brianna: 28:27

We should have like a closeout tagline. Like I, I listened to a lot of true crime, and there's a fun and her whole thing at the end is like, okay, until next time be nice, stay safe and don't murder anyone. It's

Baylee: 28:39

Oh, that's fun.

Brianna: 28:40

Obviously we can't say that, but we should do

Baylee: 28:43

yeah, still don't murder

Brianna: 28:44

Do your best. We got to know ADHD. Okay.

Baylee: 28:49

Alright, everyone, have a great rest of your week, and we will see you next week. Bye!

Brianna: 28:53

Bye.