[mchanson]

I often find the definition of ultra processed difficult. I put pea protein powder in my smoothies. That is certainly ultra processed however it has good macro nutrients and is not empty calories.

I understand the concept of “empty calories”, but ultra processed seems like a blend of that and how the food was made.

[TillE]

There's obviously nothing inherently evil about "processing". If you put some fruit in a blender you've made no significant changes to its nutritional value.

The terminology is so annoying because it's hopelessly vague to the layperson. The actual research I've seen generally finds that the problem with "ultra processed" commercial foods are the usual familiar villains: salt, sugar, saturated fat.

[azinman2]

Having put fruit in a blender you are changing how it’ll get absorbed, because the blender did the breaking down versus your body. You probably changed how nature of the fiber in the fruit.

[nprateem]

I read something saying blending in industrial food production affects absorption into the body which is thought to cause some of tut negative effects. So yes, the industrial production methods are also implicated.

[Pikamander2]

It's a great example of correlation vs causation.

"Processed" or "ultra-processed" foods are often unhealthy, but they're not inherently unhealthy. What matters more than anything is the specific ingredients in them, like how much salt/sugar has been used to alter their taste or keep them preserved.

[mfer]

Consider the goal of these things. It's not to be scientific. It's to lead people make healthier choices and to lead decision makes to guide for healthier outcomes. Most people don't read labels. They don't even read articles. They see headlines.

"Ultra processed" is headline friendly and can steer people away from things.

This is health marketing for the masses.

[Scarblac]

There is this paper, "Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake", Hall ea 2019 : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S155041311...

They tried to control for all that, the same amount of sugar, fat, calories etc.

And yet people ate more of the ultra-processed food.

[rcMgD2BwE72F]

>Ultra-processed foods (…) are not modified foods but formulations made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives, with little if any intact Group 1 food.

https://world.openfoodfacts.org/nova

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrit...

[passwordoops]

I'm sure "ultra processed" is a term concocted by the industry to cause a muddying of the waters leading to discussions of semantics over specifics.

[_ea1k]

Indeed... this term is about as useful as "chemical" or the general usage of the word "toxin". It can mean a lot of things and is generally ill-defined, but it somehow always manages to sound scary.

[antif]

> certainly ultra processed

Pardon, but where's the ultra processing? Isn't pea protein just dried peas in a blender?

I figured ultra processed was reserved for things like ascorbic acid, pectin, and xanthan gum.

[float4]

Most people buy pea protein isolate. This is a more complex product where the protein has actually been separated from the remainder of the peas.

(Not sure if it would qualify as ultra processed though.)

[fjkdlsjflkds]

> Pardon, but where's the ultra processing? Isn't pea protein just dried peas in a blender?

Obviously not. Protein meal contains 20 to 25% protein, while pea protein concentrates/isolates have more than 80% protein. For more information on the process required to reach such high levels of protein, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pea_protein

> I figured ultra processed was reserved for things like ascorbic acid, pectin, and xanthan gum.

You could have chosen better examples. All those three things are naturally occurring in non-processed foods, two of them are not even digestible by humans (both pectin and xanthan gum are technically "soluble fiber"), and the other one is a water-soluble vitamin (i.e., good luck overdosing or suffering from chronic exposure from that).

[TylerE]

You’re literally pulverizing the peas. That’s pretty extreme processing compared to, say, steaming some veggies

[Scarblac]

That's the weird thing about about this field, the definition for ultra processed they use is pretty arbitrary from (iirc) some Brazilian paper. And still, effects are found.

So it's really important what the mechanism is why e.g. it leads to higher calory intake.

I think it's something to do with mouth texture or chewiness that causes us to eat more of processed foods, but I've only read a small bit.

[voisin]

Off topic but I just switched to hemp protein. It contains omegas, and has a hugely positive ratio of potassium to sodium, whereas pea protein has no omegas and super high sodium (apparently to isolate pea protein it is washed in a salt brine). The drawback is that the protein per gram of powder is a bit lower.

[carbine]

A helpful framing I once got from a nutritionist: "processed" food exists on a spectrum. Could you make it at home, or at least conceive of how to make it at home? (i.e. a can of soup, a baked cracker); or would it require a lab and advanced chemistry?

[randerson]

The definition I've seen before is: If there are ingredients on the label that you cannot buy in a grocery store, it is ultra-processed.