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But scientists are now finding that the story is much more complicated.<\/p>\n
New research shows that not all ultra-processed foods<\/a> affect the body in the same way. Some are clearly linked to health problems, while others may actually support a healthy diet. <\/p>\n Because of this, researchers and health experts are starting to rethink how these foods should be viewed.<\/p>\n One category hides the differences<\/p>\n The term \u201cultra-processed food<\/a>\u201d comes from a system called NOVA. It describes foods made with industrial ingredients, additives, or processes that are not usually used in home cooking.<\/p>\n The problem is that this category includes a huge mix of foods. Soda, hot dogs, packaged cookies, whole grain bread, breakfast cereal, protein bars, and plant-based burgers can all be called ultra-processed foods.<\/p>\n That creates confusion because these foods are very different from one another.<\/p>\n Processed foods are not all the same<\/p>\n Researchers have started looking at smaller groups of ultra-processed foods instead of treating them all the same. Once they did that, important patterns appeared.<\/p>\n Studies found that sugary drinks and processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, and deli meat are linked to higher risks of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n At the same time, some foods in the same ultra-processed category, such as whole grain breads and certain cereals, were linked to lower health risks.<\/p>\n This suggests that processing alone may not decide whether a food<\/a> is healthy or unhealthy.<\/p>\n Plant-based foods perform better<\/p>\n One trend keeps showing up in the research. Plant based ultra-processed foods often seem healthier than animal based ultra-processed foods. <\/p>\n Foods like whole grain bread, fortified cereal, and some plant-based meat alternatives usually perform better in studies than processed meats.<\/p>\n Sugary drinks remain one of the biggest concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cMany people have been told to avoid processed foods, but the science is clearly telling us that we need to be more nuanced,\u201d said Noah Praamsma, registered dietitian with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cProcessed meat like bacon, hot dogs, and deli meat should absolutely be avoided, but many plant-based foods that are considered ultra-processed, like breads, cereals, and meat alternatives are actually good for your health.\u201d<\/p>\n New rules proposed<\/p>\n A recent report<\/a> from Healthy Eating Research says nutrition policies should better match the science.<\/p>\n The group suggested that some ultra-processed foods should not be treated the same as unhealthy products like soda or processed meat. <\/p>\n Foods with useful nutrients and lower amounts of sugar, sodium, and saturated fat could be treated differently.<\/p>\n The idea is to separate healthier packaged foods<\/a> from products strongly linked to disease.<\/p>\n Policies informed by science<\/p>\n The U.S. government is currently working on an official definition of ultra-processed foods. That definition could affect school lunches, food labels, taxes, and advertising rules.<\/p>\n A broad definition could place healthy cereals and plant-based burgers in the same category as sugary drinks and hot dogs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need polices informed by science, not ideology, and that are robust enough to actually promote beneficial food and discourage unhealthy foods,\u201d Praamsma said.<\/p>\n Changing the conversation <\/p>\n Major health organizations are also changing how they talk about ultra-processed foods.<\/p>\n In 2025, the American Heart Association stated that not all ultra-processed foods are unhealthy and that some can fit into a balanced diet.<\/p>\n That kind of statement would have been unusual a few years ago.<\/p>\n Nutrition advice often becomes popular because it sounds easy to remember. \u201cAvoid processed foods\u201d is one example. But simple advice does not always match real science.<\/p>\n A slice of whole grain bread and a hot dog may both count as ultra-processed foods, but they do not seem to affect the body in the same way. <\/p>\n Treating them as equals may confuse consumers and make nutrition advice less helpful.<\/p>\n A more careful approach<\/p>\n Researchers are now looking beyond simple labels. Instead of asking only how a food is processed, they are also asking what nutrients it contains and how it affects long-term health.<\/p>\n That approach may not fit into a short slogan, but scientists believe it could lead to better nutrition advice in the future.<\/p>\n The growing research around ultra-processed foods shows that the issue is not as simple as \u201cprocessed equals bad.\u201d <\/p>\n Some processed foods may still have a place in a healthy diet, while others remain a major concern.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.<\/p>\n Check us out on EarthSnap<\/a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls<\/a> and Earth.com.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For years, people have heard the same nutrition advice: whole foods are healthy and processed foods are unhealthy.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134,111,139,556,69],"class_list":["post-437627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nutrition","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}