Every five years since 1990, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Health, and Human Services have collaborated and published a new edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which aims to provide ordinary citizens with evidence-based recommendations on diet. diet to promote health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Over the decades, the advice offered in the manual has constantly changed as our understanding of modern nutrition has progressed.
Take for example the food pyramid. First introduced into the guidelines in 1992, the original pyramid was based on foods rich in whole grains like bread, pasta, cereals and rice – for a recommended intake of six to 11 servings per day – and then went up from level to level, starting from vegetables. and fruit to dairy and protein, before peaking with fats, oils and sweets at the top.
In 2005, the guidelines were transferred to MyPyramid, which took the original icon and tweaked it; instead of horizontal levels, there were colored vertical stripes that represented the different food groups, like blue for dairy and orange for grains. The left side of the pyramid had been replaced by a staircase mounted by a simple stick figure. The change was intended both to encourage exercise and the concept of more individualized nutritional plans, but critics complained that it was made overly complex and not intuitive enough when it came to the recommended proportionality of food groups, ultimately leading to to the deployment of MyPlate in 2011.
This was later replaced by the current guidelines, which promote the idea of healthy ‘dietary patterns’ across different stages of life.
Throughout all the stages of dietary guideline evolution, most of the advice offered was based primarily on nutrients or the types of foods and food groups that people should prioritize in order to achieve a balanced diet. However, as evidence of the harms of ultra-processed foods mounts, there is a very real possibility that the next Dietary Guidelines, to be released in 2025, will also issue recommendations on how much processed foods Americans should consume.
That’s a big deal because more and more research also shows that, for most Americans, processed foods are hiding in plain sight — and that could pose a serious public health problem.
“Unprocessed or minimally processed foods are whole foods in which vitamins and nutrients are still intact,” writes registered dietitian Katherine D. McManus for Harvard Health Publishing. “Food is in its natural (or almost natural) state. These foods may be slightly modified by removing inedible parts, drying, grinding, roasting, boiling, freezing or pasteurization, to make them suitable for storage and safe for consumption. Unprocessed or minimally processed foods include carrots, apples, raw chicken, melon, and raw unsalted nuts.
She continued: “Processing changes a food from its natural state. Processed foods are basically made by adding salt, oil, sugar or other substances. Examples include canned fish or vegetables, fruits in syrup, and freshly baked bread. Most processed foods contain two or three ingredients.
Some foods are highly processed or ultra-processed, which, as McManus says, means they are “made primarily from substances extracted from foods, such as fats, starches, added sugars, and hydrogenated fats.” “. They may also contain artificial colors, preservatives and stabilizers to change their shelf life, color or texture. Much of what most Americans consider junk food (packaged cakes, chips, soda) are ultra-processed, as are many products people might consider healthy, like some granolas, vegetable straws, fruit snacks and even the wave of nutrient-focused boxed macaroni and cheese that has recently flooded supermarkets.
In fact, while exact percentages may vary, studies suggest that approximately 60 to 70 percent of foods available in typical American supermarkets fall into the ultra-processed food category. However, most buyers could not identify these products. According to a September 2022 survey by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), approximately 76% of Americans are unaware of what is considered an ultra-processed food. Specifically, 66% of respondents said they had never heard the term “ultra-processed,” while 10% said they weren’t sure.
In an interview with Health, Bonnie Liebman, director of nutrition at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), said the results are not surprising because the concept of ultra-processed foods is still relatively new. “Most Americans are unclear about precisely which foods are considered ultra-processed, because researchers have only recently begun to examine whether highly processed foods might be harmful,” Liebman said.
However, in the two years since, more and more research has been conducted linking the consumption of ultra-processed foods to various health problems. As the Washington Post reported earlier this year, a new study “shows that diets high in ultra-processed foods may be harmful to many body systems” after researchers linked these foods to more 30 health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. and anxiety.
“76% of Americans don’t know what constitutes an ultra-processed food.”
This gap between knowledge of what ultra-processed foods are and their potential health impacts is troubling, which is potentially one reason why upcoming dietary guidelines could clearly address processing levels for the first time. food. According to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the group uses three scientific approaches – data analysis, dietary pattern modeling and systematic reviews – to examine evidence on health and nutrition. As part of Step 1, HHS and USDA developed a list of proposed scientific questions to inform the committee’s work, and one of the first questions is: “What is the relationship between consumption of dietary patterns including varying amounts of ultra-processed foods and growth? , body composition and risk of obesity?
While the commission was deliberating, the food industry’s lobbying campaign has already begun, the Washington Post reports.
“At least half a dozen food industry trade and lobbying groups have written letters to HHS urging the government to be cautious before issuing a recommendation on ultra-processed foods,” wrote Anahad O’Connor of Post in November. “They claim that industrial processing makes foods safe, convenient and affordable, and argue that there is no accepted scientific definition of what exactly constitutes an ultra-processed food.”
However, many nutrition experts say there is enough evidence on the effects of ultra-processed foods that dietary guidelines can make recommendations on the subject.
“I think there is enough evidence to recommend reducing calories from ultra-processed foods,” Marion Nestle, professor emeritus of nutrition, food studies and public health at NYU, told the Washington Post. “I wouldn’t say don’t eat them at all – that doesn’t make any sense. But ultra-processed foods fall into one category: “Don’t eat too many of them.” »
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