Another way to use this ratio, she said, is to look at the Nutrition Facts label for the number of carbohydrate grams and the number of fiber grams and divide the total carbohydrate grams by the fiber grams. The resulting number should be less than 10.\n<\/p>\n
VanBeber said an even better ratio would be 5:1\u2014a rule that was developed by physician and author Michael Greger, MD, to help identify healthier breads, cereals, and other starchy foods. For every 5 grams of carbohydrate, there should be at least 1 gram of fiber.\n<\/p>\n
However, “this test is really only meaningful for grain-based foods, and it also falls short when a food manufacturer adds isolated fibers during processing<\/a> to boost fiber content. This doesn\u2019t make the product any less processed and doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s healthier,” said Matthew J. Landry, PhD, RDN<\/a>, an assistant professor of population health and disease prevention at UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health.\n<\/p>\n Starchy Foods That Could Be Considered ‘Ultra-Processed’ <\/p>\n Foods that would not meet the 10:1 rule include:\n<\/p>\n White breadWhite flour tortillasWhite riceWhite pastaCereals made with white processed grainsFruit juicesSalty snacks, such as pretzels, potato chips, and pita chips<\/p>\n Healthier Starchy Foods That Meet the 10:1 Rule <\/p>\n Starchy foods that might meet the 10:1 carb-to-fiber target are:\n<\/p>\n Whole wheat bread, tortillas, and pastaCorn tortillasOatsQuinoaBarleyTeffLegumes, such as black beans, chickpeas, navy beans, pinto beans, etc.Some brown rice and wild riceWhole fruits and vegetablesNuts and seeds<\/p>\n Reading the Nutrition Label Is Easiest <\/p>\n Math isn’t always necessary to determine if a food is ultra-processed. Landry said the most reliable approach is simply reading the ingredient list<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n “If the first ingredient is ‘enriched flour’ rather than a whole grain, that can be a red flag,” he said. “Since ingredients are listed by weight, if ‘whole wheat’ or another whole grain is listed very early in the list, that means that product is made primarily of that.”\n<\/p>\n Additionally, when looking at the ingredients list, he said you\u2019ll want to look for ingredients you typically wouldn’t find in your home kitchen, such as emulsifiers, artificial flavors, modified starches, and color additives. These suggest that an item is ultra-processed.\n<\/p>\n However, relying solely on unfamiliar-sounding ingredients can be misleading, since some additives are genuinely beneficial or benign (ascorbic acid is simply vitamin C, thiamin is vitamin B1), he said.\n<\/p>\n![\"Mira](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/FE3F9AD2-9085-40B8-8E8E-AF95656B0B37-048bcc651b0f4063b40038d3df45e712.jpeg\")
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